Most removal companies’ calendars show how busy the period between late May and early September can be, with an extra busy patch on the final Fridays of each month. Schools are out, the weather is (usually) cooperative, and landlords often also schedule tenancy swaps to sync with pay cycles.
Mix those factors together, and you end up with vans double‑parked on suburban roads across the country during those periods. But knowing the busy months is only half the picture. The rest lies in planning around it, to make sure you manage your move as easily as reasonably possible.
Book early, no matter when you move
Good services get booked out very quickly, long before the move actually starts. Aim to lock in your removals team from somewhere like Bright Movers eight to twelve weeks ahead, especially if you’re eyeing a June or July date.
Left it a little late? Try mid‑week, mid‑month: a Wednesday load‑up on the 12th might cost a bit less, and you’ll face lighter traffic than the end‑of‑month Saturdays that everybody else is chasing.
Declutter
The less stuff you have, the easier the move will be more generally. Spend a rainy Sunday chucking those old T‑shirts, that bread maker you used twice, the stack of mismatched wine glasses you really hate. Facebook Marketplace or your local WhatsApp group will help you move your clutter quickly and means fewer boxes to pack when things start to ramp up a little.
Stagger out all the admin
Utility suppliers, council tax, broadband provider: all of these need notice, and ideally not on the same caffeine‑fuelled midnight mission. Set calendar nudges to yourself weeks apart, so that the tasks get done in more of a dribble than a flood.
It’s dull, but nothing sours the feeling of having just moved like realising the fibre install backlog has pushed your Wi‑Fi live date back several weeks.
Get the kids and pets somewhere less stressful
School‑holiday chaos peaks when your timetable already feels like it’s literally packed to breaking. Line up a grandparent visit, day camp, or pet‑sitter for your actual moving day. Even the most patient Labradoodle goes feral when sofas start levitating, and toddlers have a habit of discovering packing‑tape dispensers at exactly the wrong moment.
Try to avoid the busy dates
If you’re part of a sale‑and‑purchase chain, remember everyone else wants that same sunny Friday completion. Push for exchange of contracts with a little breathing room – an extra working day or three can absorb the inevitable hiccups along the way. Flexibility beats exasperating email back and forths at 4 p.m. while the keys are supposedly “on their way.”
Peak moving season isn’t a single day; it’s a series of dates that emerge towards the end of all the summer months. Spot these early, make bookings before everyone else decides to do so, declutter, and spread the admin out as much as you reasonably can. Do that, and the only sweat you break on moving day will be the weather’s fault, not your planning.
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