If you happen to excel at multitasking, you may find out that you don’t really mind the vast array of moving tasks that a house move usually has in store for you. Preoccupied with fundamental financial, organizational and packing matters, one crucial aspect that you could fail to take into account in your relocation preparations is personal safety.
You are strongly advised to take the necessary preventative measures to protect your property against damage and to keep your belongings safe and sound during the actual transportation between your current home and your new residence. However, nothing compares to the painful misfortune of sustaining a personal injury of any sort, and the pain will be even greater if a dear member of your family got hurt simply because you had failed to implement the necessary safety measures.
It’s of paramount important to know exactly how to avoid injuries when moving house and thus stay on the safe side of your moving adventure. Pay attention to the following safety tips for moving and have your peace of mind that Moving day, as well as all the days leading up to it, will be 100% pain- and accident-free.
Have a safe moving strategy in your head
Generally speaking, personal injuries when moving can be easily avoided if you plan well your every action before you decide to put it into practice. During a residential move, time is always against you and the more your moving date approaches, the faster the hands of all the clocks and watches in your house seem to move. Nevertheless, insufficient time should never be your excuse for rushing a particular relocation related task, and thus increasing significantly the chances of inflicting damage, causing harm or sustaining injuries.
To stay safe throughout your move, always have a good plan of action in your head and make sure you share it with the people who are helping you move. One of the worst things you can ultimately do when getting ready to move out is to act impulsively without having given considerable thought to whatever it is you’re about to do. Wise people advise to measure twice and cut once, but when it comes to keeping things perfectly safe during your own move, you must measure at least 5 times before taking out the big pair of scissors. For example, if you’re getting to ready to wheel out a kitchen appliance out of your home, secure it tightly against the moving dolly, distribute the roles clearly among your helpers and map out your exit one tiny step at a time.
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Sometimes even zero obstacles along the moving route won’t make things easier for you.
How to avoid injuries when you move? Two of the most frequent culprits for moving related accidents are insufficient space for safe movements and partly or fully blocked indoor hallways and outdoor paths.
Not surprisingly, you need to make sure both problematic moving scenarios do not happen during the course of your relocation. Packed boxes should be well organized in neat piles, all labelled and clearly out of the way of moving feet. There should be enough space for unobstructed moves in each room and hallway.
Before moving day arrives, take a test walk around your entire home pretending to be carrying a large and heavy box full of breakables, and take care of anything that is limiting your view or your movements, or simply anything that might prove to be a danger when chaos descends.
Look for protruding parts (especially nails), sharp-edged pieces of wood that are not in their right places, menacing carpet edges ready to trip anyone who’s not being careful enough, and just about any other type of indoor hazard.
Once your house or apartment has been made safe, make sure the high traffic areas outside your home are 100% clear of any dangerous obstacles such as litter, debris, dust, water, mud or anything else that can easily endanger the success of the entire operation. Also, don’t forget to trim overgrown tree branches and roadside bushes to avoid injuries when moving heavy boxes.
Use the right moving equipment
The wheel is probably the greatest invention in the history of mankind and there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t take advantage of that earth-shattering discovery. If you wish to know how to prevent back injuries when moving house, then the answer’s more than clear – use the irreplaceable two-wheeled helper known as a moving dolly.
If you’ve made the informed decision to hire a professional removal company to help you out, then you shouldn’t worry too much about how to go about lifting heavyweight furniture pieces, moving boxes and kitchen appliances as the pros will come with the right moving equipment and most importantly, with the knowledge of how to use it properly.
On the other hand, if you have made up your mind to move without professional assistance, then you must invest in purchasing or renting at least one dolly, as well as moving straps, moving blankets and non-stick mats to prevent slips or falls.
In the end, it won’t be long until you realize the importance of the proper moving equipment that will enable you to keep injuries away from your doorstep when moving house. Be smart to have the equipment you need, and any instances of heavy lifting during your relocation will suddenly be made easier and most importantly – safer.
Know when to get professional assistance
Avoid injuries when lifting and carrying heavy boxes and furniture pieces by using proper moving equipment even if you feel as strong as a jib crane.
As you might come to expect, there are rules to prevent accidents and injury during a move, and one truly fundamental such rule states that you shouldn’t attempt to play it solo from start to finish. Moving house is a collective effort that tends to favor coordinated and organized teamwork. Your own family members aside, you’re very likely going to need additional relocation help either from non-professionals /good friends of yours/ or from professionals /hired labourers from a local removal firm/. In any case, the choice which party to turn to is strictly individual and is determined by your specific needs and requirements.
As far as moving day safety is concerned, the wise choice is to turn to the individuals who deal with moving house safety on a daily basis and know very well not only how to stay safe during a move, but what it takes to keep everyone involved in the move safe and sound as well.
Do consider hiring professional assistance if:
You have a large number of heavy furniture pieces to be disassembled, protected, carried to the moving vehicle, loaded, secured, transported, unloaded, carried inside the new home, and re-assembled.
You possess fragile household items which happen to be valuable as well: antique furniture pieces, a grandfather’s clock, etc.
You’ve decided to move more than one extremely heavy kitchen appliance: a refrigerator, a freezer, a washing machine, a dishwasher, a cooker, etc.
You own specialized objects that almost always require a professional touch: a pool/snooker table, an upright piano, etc.
You are facing an unusual set of circumstances that may increase the chances of personal injuries when moving house: an emergency move, a move in inclement weather /extreme heat, heavy snow, gripping ice, torrential rain, dense fog, strong winds, / and so on.
Dress appropriately to match the occasion
What else can you do to avoid injuries during a move? This one is easy – just mind what you wear and things will be just a notch or two easier and safer. Oh, and more comfortable too!
Clothes
Is that the most comfortable pair of shoes you own?
When you’re planning what clothes to wear on your moving day, go for the highest level of comfort to negate the highest level of discomfort that your house move will probably put you in. Choose garments that will let you move freely and perform all types of unusual movements without any limitations. If you’re moving in the summer, wear clothes made of breathable fabric to prevent possible body overheating. Stay away from baggy pieces of clothing no matter how fashionable they are at the moment – you surely don’t want to be hooked onto by a protruding furniture piece while you’re carrying a 50-pound box full of heavy books.
Shoes
Avoid injuries while moving house by wearing the most comfortable pair of shoes you own. Ideally, you will have a pair of high-top sports shoes to not only protect your toes and ankles against painful accidents, but to provide an excellent grip on most surfaces and thus help you avoid any slips or falls during the most unpredictable 24-hour period during a house move.
Personal protective gear
The best moving house safety tips advise you to wear the ultimate protection for your hands and fingers in the form of durable work gloves of high quality. The better your grip is, the lower the chance of dropping a heavy object onto your feet, right? During a summer move, protect your head and eyes against the harmful sun rays by wearing a suitable hat and a pair of quality sunglasses.
Random moving safety tips
How to avoid injuries while moving house? You should know that safety comes in different shapes and sizes, and you need to be extremely vigilant from the moment you open your eyes all the way until you switch off your weary mind ready to go to sleep. And although there’s no way of knowing how exactly a trouble might find its way into your relocation, as long as you have learned how to prevent major accidents from happening, things should be just fine.
In the end, we have prepared 4 seemingly random moving safety tips to help you have the accident-free moving experience you deserve.
Safety tip #1: Moving day is clearly not the safest time to have young children and/or pets running around the house and looking for empty cardboard boxes to play with. Ask a family member or a close friend to look after them in a room away from the chaos so that you can concentrate on keeping things running smoothly.
Safety tip #2: Do not commit the most common packing mistake of making your boxes too heavy to lift and carry. Even with the assistance of a moving dolly, any boxes packed over the limit of 45-50 pounds run the risk of breaking under their own weight and making a real mess. When packing up your household for a move, remember the fundamental packing rule of using small to medium sized moving boxes for your heavier belongings and large boxes for lighter items.
…and neither should you.
Safety tip #3: Whenever possible, use the right moving equipment to safely wheel out your items without having to strain yourself. On the other hand, when you absolutely have to lift and carry bulky and heavyweight objects, be sure to use these 5 basic principles of proper lifting techniques – (1) lift with your legs, not your back; (2) turn with your feet when holding something heavy, not with your hips; (3) push heavy objects rather than pulling them; (4) when holding and carrying heavy objects, keep them close to your body, and (5) bet safety on slow and smooth movements instead of sudden and jerky ones.
Safety tip #4: Most importantly, use your common sense. Moving day is not a good time to brag to your friends how physically strong you have become – you won’t really prove anything by lifting and carrying 3 heavy boxes simultaneously down the stairs. All in all, it’s better to leave such strenuous feats for the gym where, believe it or not, it’s much safer than a house on moving day.
It’s crucial that you know how to stay safe during your move by preventing personal injuries and avoiding moving day accidents. With the above moving safety tips in mind, you can now have a perfectly safe move to your new home and turn your attention to the exciting life that’s waiting for you there.
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If you happen to excel at multitasking, you may find out that you don’t really mind the vast array of moving tasks that a house move usually has in store for you. Preoccupied with fundamental financial, organizational and packing matters, one crucial aspect that you could fail to take into account in your relocation preparations is personal safety.
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