Moving can be fun, exciting, and stressful all at the same time. With so many things happening and so much to keep track of, it can be easy to get overwhelmed.
When you’re stressed and trying to multitask, there’s also an increased risk of personal injury and damaged belongings.
While it may seem worth it to overlook safety in order to save time or money on moving day, it’s important to remember that you and your family’s health and well-being is much more important than saving a few minutes or dollars.
In this article, we’re going to give you a few simple moving day tips that will help keep you and your belongings safe so you can rest easy on the first night in your new home.
Ask for help
Many moving day injuries result from one person attempting to lift, carry, or move items that really require more hands. It’s easy to see how this mistake is made. Everyone is busy with their own tasks, whether they’re packing boxes or cleaning.
To avoid injury when lifting items, know your limits and always ask for help. If you don’t feel comfortable moving heavy items, now is no time to push yourself--you’ll be needed throughout the day, so depend on your family or hired movers.
Plan your route
Many damages and injuries occur when we haven’t properly prepared. Know the terrain of the place you’ll be carrying your items to. Plan ahead for the size of staircases, dangerous hills, or ruts in the ground. Put safety cones down in dangerous areas so no one is hurt or drops fragile items.
Load your truck wisely
Whether you’re moving far away or just a few blocks, a lot can go wrong once the truck starts moving. However, even if you don’t have many fragile items inside, there’s the risk of boxes toppling on you and your family when unloading the truck if the boxes haven’t been stacked wisely.
First, try to keep boxes lighter than what you’re comfortable carrying. It’s easier to move more boxes than to struggle with one particularly heavy one.
For heavier items, utilize equipment like dollies, hand trucks, and furniture sliders to protect you and your belongings.
Finally, practice smart loading and unloading techniques in your moving truck. Load the heaviest items (like appliances) first, and put lighter boxes on top of them. Think of loading like a game of Tetris--always aim for a strong foundation to stack on top of to avoid boxes falling on you or each other.
Take breaks
On moving day you may be on various deadlines, whether it’s moving trucks or getting things unloaded before sunset. However, it’s important that you take several breaks while loading and unloading, especially if you’re moving on a hot day.
First aid
Sometimes, even if you do everything right, mistakes can happen. It’s important to be prepared for when they do. Make sure you have a first aid kit in your moving truck that contains unexpired first aid supplies.
Be sure to have your cell phone handy and know the location of the nearest hospital in case of an emergency.
If you follow these tips, you should be on your way to having a successful, injury-free moving day.
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