The last thing you want to do when preparing or orchestrating a move is injure yourself. Therefore, in order to ensure you get your belongings moved from one location to another without injuring yourself or causing damage to your prized possessions, keep the following six tips in mind:
1.) Don’t Overexert Yourself Moving Heavy Furnishings
If you hire movers, they will often do the heavy lifting for you, but if you don’t or if you help them on moving day and try to move things on your own, take precautions. Make sure you use a dolly or furniture sliders anytime you move something heavy. The furniture sliders are made of either durable rubber or hard plastic and allow you to literally slide furniture from one place to another without picking it up.
2.) Dress Appropriately
Make sure you are dressed appropriately for the job at hand. This means no flip flops or dress shoes, which will increase your risk of slipping, stumbling or falling. Also, avoid wearing overly baggy clothing that can become hooked on items during moving. Wear a closed toe pair of shoes such as tennis shoes when packing boxes, loading trucks or moving furnishings.
3.) Double Tape Boxes and Pack Properly
There are many tips on packing properly to remember. However, when it comes to not injuring yourself, the most important thing to remember is not to over pack your boxes. No box should weigh more than you can easily lift without straining your back. Also, once you have a box packed, double tape it to ensure it doesn’t pop open in transit and spill out, possibly damaging the contents or injuring someone.
4.) Eat Regularly and Take Frequent Breaks
Moving is a physically taxing exercise. Therefore, you must take the time out of your day to eat well, stay hydrated and don’t go without sleep. It can be tempting to push on through meal time or pack up just one more room instead of getting the sleep you need, but being sleep deprived and malnourished can lead to all sorts of physical problems.
5.) When Lifting, do so Carefully
Although this was touched on briefly above, it’s important to remember that when you do lift something heavy you have to take precautions. Using a dolly or furniture sliders isn’t always applicable. When moving heavy boxes; for example, keep the following tips in mind:
- Wear gloves to ensure a firm grip.
- Keep your back straight when lifting. Lift with your back not your knees.
- Center heavy objects close to your body, at your waist.
- Don’t ever twist your back when carrying heavy objects. If you need to turn, move your feet together.
6.) Keep Children and Pets Away on Moving Day
When it comes time to load up a moving truck and then unload and set up house in a different location, keep pets and children out of the picture. This is not a safe environment for them as they often are hard or impossible to see when you lifting something in front of your body. It is super easy for them to get underfoot, causing you to drop your box on them, injuring them or yourself or worse.
Follow the six tips listed above to ensure your move goes smoothly and you don’t become injured during the process.