Moving is always stressful, no matter why you’re moving. There are many reasons why Americans choose to move, and there are often serious advantages to taking that step. You may be moving in order to be closer to a new and better job; you may be moving to upgrade to a different home that will accommodate your changing needs; or you may be moving because you want to make a lifestyle change, transitioning from the city to the suburbs. But even if your move will be offering you new financial opportunities, there are still stressors that come with it. For one thing, meeting new people and getting used to a new place can be difficult. For another, despite the fact that you may make more money at a new job, or may be able to save money in a new location, there is an inevitable financial strain to the moving process. This leads to many of us focusing on that issue, and not the other problems that can come with moving, including safety issues and of course potential issues with movers if you aren’t careful about the company that you choose to work with.
This is why it’s important to have a checklist involved when you move. With the help of a checklist, you can make sure that you’re marking all of the proper safety tips, and have as low risk a move as possible. Let’s look into some of the most important aspects of conducting a safe moving process. The more you consider before you move, the less likely you will be to run into some of the most common mistakes that come with moving.
1. Be Careful About What You Lift
If you’re trying to avoid spending money on a move, you may want to attempt packing up on your own. This is understandable, especially if you’re moving only a short distance. But one of the main reasons why people work with moving companies is to avoid the potential injuries that can come with packing up on their own. The main source of those injuries is lifting heavy objects, especially boxes. If you have back, knee, or shoulder problems, you may want to reconsider moving those heavy objects on your own. But even if you don’t, you need to think about safe practices when lifting. It’s estimated that lifting just 10 kilograms of weight can put about 180 kilograms of force on the spine. You can offset that weight by bending your knees and squatting when you lift and stretching your muscles before lifting. However, your capacity may vary depending on your own personal health.
2. Exercise Caution When Moving Tools
It’s easy to accidentally hurt yourself when moving certain types of tools, like screwdrivers, drills, and heavy pieces of equipment. Therefore, you should do your best to move them carefully, which will often involve using gloves. You may even have to at times use dollies, or perhaps a forklift for particularly heavy pieces of machinery. While this might seem a little ridiculous, it’s much better to go ahead and take care of these matters safely rather than risking an injury.
3. Ask For Opinions About Moving Companies
It’s crucial that you’re careful about the moving company that you use if you decide to use one. There are many benefits to using a moving company, but you could be risking the safety of your belongings if you aren’t careful about who you choose. Furthermore, the moving company that you work with will be allowed access to your home and may be walking in and out of it all day. You want to make sure that you’re working with reputable people. This is a key reason why you may want to talk to friends and acquaintances about their personal experiences. Of course, it’s completely possible that you won’t know anyone who’s moved locally; though the typical American moves around 12 times in their life, you never know what an individual’s experiences with moving will be. If you need to rely on online reviews, try to focus on social media reviews and community groups. Sometimes, major websites like Yelp and Google Reviews can be flooded with promotional reviews or paid reviews, skewing the results. Make sure that you’re getting a good estimation of what a company is really like before working with them.
4. Make Sure That Your Kids And Pets Are Occupied
Whether or not you’re working with a professional moving company, there is always going to be a risk of your kids or pets getting in the way, or even running out an open door. Therefore, you may want to think about using a babysitter or a doggy daycare to watch your beloved little ones, animal or otherwise. Pets in particular should be out of the house on moving day, especially if you’re working with a moving company that isn’t familiar with the pet’s particular personality. Kids and pets getting underfoot can also potentially cause injury for those moving the boxes if they throw them off balance. One of the major reasons why you should have your children, on the other hand, watched at a babysitter’s house is that kids are much more at risk of hurting themselves during a move than an adult; but they also will find themselves bored and stressed out by the process. Why not save them the stress and keep them away from the move?
5. Be Careful About Weather
It’s so easy to be so consumed with other aspects of moving, and forget that it’s also easy to slip, fall, and hurt yourself during a move. You may not be able to coordinate your entire moving plan around weather conditions, but you can take steps to be conscious of them. The weather can be so unpredictable! For example, Washington D.C. had rainfall exceed the baseline average of 40.57 inches by over 66% in 2018. Just taking the steps to set up dry walkways can make your moving process significantly safer for yourself and for anyone helping you move.
There are clearly a lot of issues that can come up when you’re moving. But if you take these steps and plan ahead of time, you’ll at least be as safe as possible!