16 Tips for a Safe Moving Day
Are you ready for a safe moving day? If you are concerned about moving during the time of the pandemic or have more general concerns about moving, read the following 16 tips for a safe moving day.
The First Eight
- Ask for help. The professionals at Moving Ahead Services are well-practiced at providing reliable, expert, and safe services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving Ahead Services has implemented numerous best-practice standards and protocols during this time, and has successfully completed thousands of moves over the past year. Trust the experts to provide the help you need.
- Plan your move. Like most things, planning in advance for major life events provides innumerable benefits to achieving any goal. Regarding your move, it helps to plan as much as possible. Giving yourself enough lead time before your move will allow you the mental space to think of all the variables you need to consider. While you need to plan for moving inanimate objects, you also need to consider plans for your loved ones, including children, pets, and elderly. You also need to plan for any work you may need to miss, both before your move and on moving day.
- Use good moving supplies. The last thing you want to have happened on your moving day is to have your supplies not work. Choose quality supplies. You may be tempted to save costs on this line item. However, having a tape dispenser that you’ll need to tinker with or having previously used worn boxes fall apart will only create stress for you during your move.
- Don’t forget packing supplies. Related to Tip #3, have enough packing supplies on hand. If you’re using a professional like Moving Ahead Services, you will be glad to know that they come fully stocked and prepared. The last thing you need on moving day is to run out of supplies, pause the move, and leave the premises in order to purchase more supplies from a general retailer.
- Don’t over-pack. What does this mean? It means don’t pack too heavy and don’t pack too crunched. The likelihood of your items becoming damaged from “too” anything is higher than allotting for the right space and padding for your goods. Trust us, it’s worth the extra box.
- Use moving equipment. How great would it be to finish your move and begin the next day with back pain? Not great at all. Don’t have a dolly or nylon straps? Don’t know how you would use them if you did? Not to worry, your professional movers know what to do. The importance of in-tact and functional moving equipment can not be overstated.
- Save your back. (See above.) The last thing you need once your move is complete is to be in pain or, worse, to inflict upon yourself long-term injury from improperly lifting or moving heavy items. We know you can do it, we also know you shouldn’t. Completing a safe moving day means not injuring yourself or others, whether for the short or long-term.
- Measure your furniture. One of the easiest and most forgotten “top tips” when planning or executing a move is to measure your furniture. This helps you and your movers understand the general scale of your items, and plan accordingly. An additional suggestion is to plot out your furniture to scale on graph paper, so you can ‘see’ and ‘feel’ it in your room before it actually gets there. It is also helpful to know in advance whether you need to take some doors off their hinges before any piece is moved. Finally, measuring furniture in advance helps to understand traffic flow around your space, and identify choke points or narrow passthroughs.
The Second Eight
- Check your grip. Check your grip. Don’t lift, balance, hold, or move anything you unknowingly underestimate. Let the professionals manage it!
- Dress accordingly. Professional movers will testify: you’re going to work up a sweat, and your clothes can’t be too precious for moving day. Between the last-minute packing and the dust-bunnies that appear, you want to be comfortable. You don’t want to worry about snagging a knit top or cleaning off long-unnoticed goo.
- Wear good shoes. Like the above tip, your shoes will make or break your safe moving day. Moving is a physically exhausting experience. Wear shoes that won’t slip on a truck ramp, slide on a stairway, or come out from under your feet when you are racing around your house.
- Clear a path. If you have pre-packed your house into zones, you likely already have cleared a path for movers to work. If you haven’t already, it is helpful to move that center entry table, the chairs in front of your sliding back door, and any boxes that are piled near or around the staircase.
- Keep pets safe. By “keep pets safe” we mean “keep pets out of the way”. You know your pets best; if your dog or cat or other loved four-legged friend doesn’t like strangers, it is best to keep them crated or with a friend during the duration of a move. Our animals know and are sensitive to change Keeping them away from the moving activities will help you, your movers, and your pets.
- Check the weather. Don’t let the weather stop you if your dates are inflexible, but set your expectations and plan in advance. You probably don’t want to move in the middle of a 75 mph wind storm, or when torrential rains will soak your boxes. Please note: professional movers can mitigate expertly any weather situation!
- Use common sense. It’s not like this tip needs much explaining. If you’re reading this you already have the sense to make advanced plans and try to get organized. “Use Common Sense” might encapsulate not over-scheduling yourself (for instance, make no other plans for moving day other than getting take-out for dinner) or expecting everything to be perfect the day after. Have patience for your utilities to get connected and for your other service providers, and have patience with yourself!
- Hire professionals. This one’s easy: contact Moving Ahead Services for a free, no-obligation way to get started on a seamless and professional experience. Check!