Moving can be a demanding task, especially if you’re doing it yourself without help from professional movers! By following these tips and tricks you can make your moving experience a lot easier.
1. Clear Obstacles
Be sure that things that can serve as obstacles on moving day are set aside. Make sure your packed boxes are accessible and you have a clear pathway to get from your house to the moving van. Be sure someone is monitoring your pets and children because they can get in the way and cause accidents.
2. Remove Doors from Hinges
Having trouble figuring out how to get the bulky furniture out the door? If it came in, it can go back out. One good way to make sure this happens is to remove the doors from their hinges. This gives a little extra space to get wider furniture out.
3. Appoint a Spotter
Having someone help you guide your way through inevitable obstacles, by giving a warning when stairs or walls are in the way definitely helps. This will make it easier for you to concentrate on holding the weight instead of having half your attention divert towards checking for things that could get in your way. Losing focus on the weight you’re carrying can be detrimental to safety.
4. Rent a Dolly
Relocating can be demanding when it comes to strength and stamina. And even though some of us may be able to answer to that demand, not everyone can. Renting a dolly to lift and move around heavy objects can make things a lot easier and even safer. You can rent a dolly from almost any moving company, and it’s affordable.
5. Do Some Stretching Before Lifting
We are all pretty familiar with the well-known concept of stretching before exercising or lifting weights. The same applies here. Moving can be almost as exhausting, if not more, than a two hour workout at the gym – weights and cardio combined!
Stretching will help reduce the risk of potential injuries, as will following the rules to always lift with your legs, not your back, and squatting to pick up heavy objects rather than bending at the waist.
6. Wear Appropriate Clothing and Footwear
You should try to avoid baggy and loose clothing or accessories that could get caught in something and cause accidents. Wear close-toed shoes, gloves for better grip, and if you have a back problem, be sure to use a lifter’s weight lifting belt for heavy objects.
7. Use Wheeled Suitcases For Books
Packing books into boxes can be easy, but not necessarily the best idea. Books carry a lot of weight, being the heaviest boxes to carry. An alternative is to pack your books in a wheeled suitcase and roll the suitcase rather than having to carry the weight.
8. Protect Fragile Items with Socks
When packing fragile items, we want to ensure that they make it to your new home just as we last remember them. Pack your delicate items between thick socks to provide a cushion for the object as well as to make it stable inside the box.
9. Use Styrofoam Plates
Packing plates can be a little tricky. The safest way to pack fine china is to stack between Styrofoam plates, alternating the china with the Styrofoam. This will help provide a cushion and stability when the boxes are moved around.