If you’ve done your share of moving house, you’ll either have suffered an injury, a broken piece of furniture, or something even worse, at some point in time. But that doesn’t mean we should take it for granted that, during a move, something will get damaged or someone will get hurt
It’s not that difficult to make safety a priority during your move.
While it all begins with common sense, even the sharpest among us can’t necessarily foresee every safety issue that can pop up during the move. But anyone can take a number of precautions to minimize the chances of injury to your family and friends and the chance of damaging your household possessions.
1. Get Rid of Everything You Can Before the Move
While you probably already have plans to get rid of your junk and put a few things in your friend’s garage sale, we suggest you take it even further.
Moving is a feat of endurance for everyone involved. Just like the marathon runners who get a little wobbly at the end of the race, so too can your moving helpers get tired as the day wears on. If fatigue itself doesn’t increase the chances of stumbling or dropping something, it can force you to take short cuts that will.
The more you can get rid of before the move, the longer you can go before exhaustion starts to take its toll on your help and possessions. Think about getting rid of heavy and/or awkward things, like old books (donate them to the library or your favourite charity), and that 1980s ‘vintage’ wall unit in the basement.
2. Do A Safety Inspection
Before you begin your move – before moving day if possible – take a walk through your home and the path to the moving truck to identify any potential spots that my cause problems on moving day. Things like door sills, narrow doorways and the edge of walkways should all be noted so you can let all your movers be aware of them.
Pick spots is each room where you can store boxes or other items that will not be in the way of moving things into or out of the room.
3. Disassemble
Larger and heavier items are very often the culprit if someone gets hurt. While it’s extremely time consuming to take everything apart, and move seven pieces instead of one, and reassemble it all at the other end, it’s the best way to keep everyone healthy and everything intact.
Even aside from reducing weight, even slight disassembly of some pieces can save major damage. Especially if it’s larger or a sectional, couches are always awkward to move. But by simply removing its legs, you’ll make it way easier to get through narrow door ways. And, again, that will reduce the fatigue of anyone who had to wrestle through.
4. Be a Team Player
Larger and heavier items can be deceptive. Maybe they’re just a little awkward to carry, or maybe they feel just a little too heavy when you lift them. In any case, it’s these pieces, versus an obvious two-person item, like a couch, that tempt us to ‘get ‘er done’ and just take care of it ourselves. And that can lead to pain and damage.
5. Proper Style & Technique
Wearing the right clothing and footwear, and using safe procedures for lifting and carrying, will do as much as anything to stave off painful accidents. Let your moving team know this before they.
It’s always best to be prepared for accidents, and prevention is the best way to prepare.