Helpful Tips for Settling in For a Chicago Winter

You’ve just moved to Chicago or you are on your way and the excitement of living in the Windy City is about to begin. While you’ll be blown away by the beautiful high rises, the gorgeous views, and the excitement of big city live, you also need to prepare yourself for what a Chicago winter is like.

Many newbies to the area aren’t prepared for just how cold it is or what it’s like to get around. Having an idea now will make it easier to enjoy yourself once you arrive. Take a look at these helpful tips that you’ll want to know before settling into your new Chicago home this winter.

What is Chicago’s climate like?

The first thing to understand is what the climate in Chicago is really like. While you’ll get to enjoy all four seasons between the humid summers, the mild autumns, and the cool springs, you’ll have a very cold winter, especially during January and February.

You’ll have the humidity and the cold that comes with being next to Lake Michigan. The winter season in Chicago can change in one week from highs of 30 degrees to lows of 16 degrees. You’ll likely see temps below zero and spontaneous snowstorms in the winter, but if you hold out until May or June, you’ll see warm weather again.

Flying in and feeling the cold

If you’ve never visited during the winter season, the first thing you should do is plan to fly into Chicago Midway to lessen your chances of a delay or cancellation. O’Hare tends to get more of the winter weather effects than Chicago Midway. Prepare before your flight by checking on the current weather conditions.

You may be surprised how cold it is when you arrive. The best thing you can do is embrace the season of cold temperatures and enjoy the things that cold weather brings with it. You’ll be able to spend this season enjoying ice skating at the park, enjoying Christmas lights, and shopping at holiday markets.

How to dress

The most important thing to do is to prepare your wardrobe for the weather. You’ll want to dress appropriately when you arrive and then consider how you’ll dress commuting each day. You can always make the weather more tolerable by dressing appropriately. This means that you need to have waterproof boots for snowy and slushy sidewalks, a warm jacket to protect you from the wind, as well as gloves, a hat, and a scarf for protection.

Make sure you dress each day in layers that can be removed since you’ll enter heated buildings. You can always pack different shoes to change into when you arrive at the office. When it comes to your days off with sightseeing, you’ll have more options to tour the city outside of public transportation, such as the hop-on and hop-off tours where you can warm up without having to commute to the subway or buses.

Safety at home

You’ll probably be tempted to stay indoors this season. You’ll love the indoor attractions around town, as well as snuggling up by your fireplace. Be prepared for a higher heating bill but also beware of fire safety especially if you’re using a wood or pellet stove or are unsure if your HVAC system has been checked. Make sure to get out to avoid Seasonal Affective Disorder, but be sure to take a winter driving course to make sure you stay safe on the road. 

Have some winter fun

Don’t forget to have some fun this winter. Talk to the locals about staying warm this winter when you’re out enjoying ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo, the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza, or the caroling and ice skating at Cloud Gate in Millennium Park Plaza. If you want to stay indoors, check out a Christmas performance, a museum tour, or dinner out in your new town.

Moving in the winter can be tough, but planning ahead can make all the difference. Make sure you’ve hired your professional moving crew that can transport your household goods safely in the winter conditions and knows how to keep things protected in slippery conditions. Buy a new wardrobe and start booking your flight. When you arrive to your new home, enjoy the most exciting season of the year in the Windy City!

Simple Holiday Moving Guide

The holidays are here and it’s time… to move? This is one of the least popular times of the year to move, but once it’s done, you’ll get to spend the holidays at your brand new home! It may be one of the most exciting times to move since everyone is already available to celebrate the holidays, help you pack, and give you an extra special sendoff.

While you’re singing carols and driving past holiday lights, you can still successfully move your family into your new home without missing a beat this holiday season. You’ll want to plan ahead, consider the weather, and make it a fun process being the holiday season. Take a look at this guide that will make winter moving during the holidays a little more simple and exciting.

The planning process

Start with a great game plan. While you probably won’t have time to do everything you would normally do during the holiday season, you can still do what you make time for. Keep your expectations reasonable knowing that you are going through a big life change of moving during an already busy holiday season. It’s time to make a list of the things that have to be done and what things could be missed this year.

Instead of putting up your decorations this year, pack anything that you would normally pack away to put up your holiday decorations. If you’ll be spending a decent amount of time in your original home, be sure to decorate at least one space to keep the holiday spirit alive before moving to the new house. Start purging the rest of the house to eliminate things that you don’t need anymore, and start purchasing your moving supplies to pack up right away.

Consider your budget with the move and what you can afford for holiday shopping this year. You can have presents shipped to your new home by buying online and updating your shipping address. Pack up plates and dinnerware in exchange for high-quality paper and plastic items that can make party cleanup a cinch while still looking elegant. Then be sure your professional moving crew is hired and ready for moving day.

Have a moving holiday party

This is a great time to have a holiday party that can also be thought of as a moving party. Keep out a few holiday items for the party and that can get you started in your new home. Have a holiday playlist for the party that you can also enjoy on your travels to the new home and for when you arrive. It will be a great send-off that also gives you that holiday cheer you want to enjoy right now. This is also a great time to hand out your holiday cards with your new address!

The actual move

For the moving day, be sure to have your first-week box ready for your essentials, favorite holiday items, and supplies for the actual trip. You may want to pack a picnic if you plan to drive far and try to stop somewhere fun on the way, such as a national park or landmark that the kids would love. Bring hot drinks and blankets for the winter move. Don’t forget your holiday playlist, snacks for the trip, winter supplies such as coats and ice scrapers, and preparing your driveway to get the car and moving truck in and out safely.

Of course, you should have your utilities set up in advance so that your home will be nice and heated upon arrival. Once you’ve unpacked everything, you’ll now have the convenience of boxes to use for wrapping gifts, and a new home ready to start new traditions in. Allow yourself to dine out as you get settled and enjoying community holiday events for the first time.

Try to have fun with your holiday move knowing that you’re moving during that time of year where everyone is already a little bit jollier and there’s an excitement in the air. Enjoy your new home and the new space to celebrate your family holidays every year!

When and what should you vacuum seal during a move

Sometimes people opt to pack their house with vacuum sealed bags, helping to save space and protect items during the move. While this is a great method for some items, it’s not going to work for everything. Vacuum packing simply means to vacuum the air out of a plastic bag designed for such task, and keeping the items in the bag sealed tight and taking up minimal space.

When you remove the air from the bag and seal it, you’ll save space for things that are normally space-killers, such as bedding and clothes. Take a look at the items that people often vacuum seal for their move and which ones won’t benefit from this method.

Bedding and pillows

One of the easiest ways to save space in your boxes is to vacuum seal that bulk bedding you own. Bed sheets and comforters are very hard to pack efficiently because they take up so much space and are very large. When you use a vacuum-sealed bag, that big, fluffy comforter can now fit in a more efficient box rather than an oversized one.

Your pillows and other bedding are perfect for this type of bag as well. Bed pillows, throw pillows, bed skirts, and other bedding items can become bulky when folded up or attempted to be stuffed into moving boxes.

Use a vacuum-sealed method for these other bulky items so that you don’t have to feel guilty about how much room these favorite fluffy items are taking up in the moving truck. Your pillows and blankets will spring back to life once you open the vacuum-sealed bag at destination.

Clothes

Just like your bedding, your clothes may start to become bulky when you pack them for the move. These are the most common items for vacuum-sealing, for everything from moving to just going on vacation. Each piece of clothing on top of one another becomes more and more layers in your box, but your vacuum-sealed bag can smash them into one simple layer.

They won’t even wrinkle when put in a vacuum-sealed bag while packing normally will more likely cause them to become wrinkled. Instead of lugging heavy clothing boxes into the truck and out of the truck, get them into vacuum-sealed bags in just a few boxes.

Food

You may have never heard of vacuum-sealing food, but this can be one of the handiest places to use these bags. It will help keep your perishable foods lasting longer when you vacuum seal. It’s a great way to protect your food during the move, avoid food going bad, keep the food fresh, and ensure the food will last longer.

By BBCLCD (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Perks of vacuum-sealed bags and what items to avoid

In addition, to protect your items and saving space, vacuum-sealed bags are an inexpensive purchase that will keep your stuff organized. It will keep your food fresh, turn bulky items into a smaller, more manageable size, and will save you money when moving due to needing fewer boxes and a smaller truck. You also can stop worrying about things getting into the bag since they are air-tight.

Can I just vacuum-seal everything in my home for the move? Watch out for solid items, like antiques, knick-knacks, and office items, which will not benefit from a vacuum-sealed bag. Only flexible items that can be layered will benefit from this process. They will condense from the removal of the air, which means solid items won’t be able to become any smaller for space saving.

If you’re considering vacuum-seal bags for your upcoming residential move, these will come in so much handy while you’re packing up the bedroom and refrigerator!

Learn the lingo: Moving terms to know on moving day

When moving day is approaching, you are probably in overdrive preparing yourself and your family for the big day. Part of that preparation should be to get familiar with some of the lingo that might be tossed around during moving day conversation.

You may hear about these things during a pre-move survey, during an estimate, on moving day, or after moving day when it’s time for the final tab. The sooner you get to know these terms, the easier it will be to ask the proper questions and prepare yourself for the move. Take a look at some of the lingo you may not have heard before such as accessorial charges and operating authority.

Bill of lading

One of the terms you’ll hear mentioned is the bill of lading or contract between you and the moving company. This is the binding contract regarding the transport of your household goods.

Consignor or consignee

If they mention of consignor or consignee, you may immediately think of a co-signer on a loan. "Consignor" is actually a term for the person that at the point where you move originates that is the pick-up point person. The consignee is the one that will receive the goods at destination, which is often times the same person as the consignor.

Accessorial charges

If you hear about charges for accessorials, keep in mind that this is very normal. This is the term for any extra charges due to additional services needed outside of the standard services. This could mean that you were charged extra for the moving company supplying you with moving boxes, extra charge for needing an extra pick-up, or you had a higher than usual inventory of something like books.

These miscellaneous items that aren’t going to happen in the standard move just get charged under accessorial charges to cover the extra time, labor, or supplies provided by the movers.

Claim

You’ve probably had to file a claim with a company in the past. You’ll have the option to file a claim if you discover damage or loss of any goods. Submit claims right away to avoid missing out on reimbursement.

You’ll receive standard coverage for free on your move to cover any damaged goods, at approximately 60 cents per pound, but you can purchase additional coverage if you want to be sure your expensive TV or furniture is covered from significant damage. You’ll also want to ask about transit insurance, the insurance that covers the items during transit, to see what is covered and what you need to acquire.

Reweigh

Your movers will weigh the final product of all of your goods on their truck. They’ll go to a weigh-in station in the area to weigh the truck in order to determine what your final weight was, minus the weight of the actual truck.

Your bill will reflect the weight that was moved by getting the weight at a weigh station. They always take an estimate before the move and then the reweigh indicates the actual final weight which is tweaked on the final bill from the originally estimated weight.

Operating authority

If you hear the term “operation authority,” this refers to the certification that the state of federal government gives to authorize the move between geographical areas. This would be acquired before the bill of lading is signed.

Linehaul charges

Lastly, you might hear line haul charges mentioned on the bill. These refer to the basic charges for a long distance move. They are calculated based on your moving weight and the mileage.

When you hear lingo you don’t recognize during the move, don’t feel alone. These are the terms that are often misunderstood by families, but you can go into your move feeling more prepared by learning them here.