Not sure if it’s just me, but each time I have to move I live through a nuclear episode of emotional stress. There’s just so many things that can go wrong that I become anxious. If this wasn’t enough – you can also get hurt. With our without professional help. The chances of such injuries are more present when you are moving. However, even with professional help, they are not impossible. This article will try to prevent injuries on a moving day. Nothing sucks more than getting hurt.
The emotional difficulty a move brings – we can’t fix that. Prevent injuries on a moving day we possibly can! Or, at least, minimize the chances of such occurrences. We don’t wish for anything as much as we wish for your moving experience to be as smooth as possible. We’ll list some of the most common sources of injury, and hopefully by doing so prevent you from making the same mistakes.
Don’t Underestimate the Weight of your Boxes
A common misconception is that people think they remember how many things they’ve placed in each box. You probably will forget about at least two. There are two potential injuries that might happen in this scenario:
- The bottom of the box might snap, dropping the entire content over your feet, or worse.
- You might get stuck with your back unless you lift the box properly. Make sure to squat in order lift the box with your entire lower body, and not just your back.
Another very important thing to keep in mind when packing boxes is not to exceed the weight of each box by 50 pounds. In order to prevent injuries on a moving day, you need to pack right. Don’t go ham on a single box, you’ll have plenty more to fill. You need not have a scale, just try to pick it up to test. There shouldn’t be too much strain and you should feel steady on your feet. If you don’t wish to be bothered with all this, hire packing services, NJ!
If you Want to Prevent Injuries on a Moving Day – Rent the Right Tools
Having the right tools for the job is pretty much essential. This goes especially for when you are moving on your own. Usually, if you hire professional moving services, NJ – the movers will own such equipment. Unless you hired some shady, scammy movers off of craigslist.
However, if you are doing it yourself you will definitely need a dolly or two and some straps. At least. The dolly will let you stack up boxes and move them without too much strain, and straps will help with the heavier stuff (such as furniture). Again, if you don’t feel fully comfortable, do make sure to consult moving professionals, NJ. Better safe than sorry.
If Hiring Professionals…
The professionals are there to make your move a breeze. For this reason, you must try not to help them. This does not mean not being present entirely, this just means physically not trying to help them – unless they ask you to. I am very against being asked for physical help since this is why I hired them in the first place. But whether you wish to jump in or not is completely up to you.
Stay Out of Their Way!
Since they are professionals you must understand that they received training for what they are doing. And fortunately, your home is not the first nor the last home they will relocate. This all means that they fully know what they are doing. They don’t need (most likely) any suggestions or help unless they ask for some. It is wise to remain home during the move for your movers might have some questions such as: “How fragile is this”, etc. But some of the most common injuries that occur on a moving day is when people get in the way of their movers.
If you can restrain yourself from being in their way you are one step closer to prevent injuries on a moving day. Otherwise, you could hurt yourself or your movers. Or both. Try to stay aside, make a few rounds of coffee (or lemonade on an extremely sunny day), and you’ve helped more than you can imagine!
Prevent Injuries on a Moving Day – Additional Hacks
There is another set of lesser actions you can take to negate any potential injuries. Try to follow all of these and we can guarantee that the chances of having any injuries will be reduced by 60% at least!
Proper Clothing and Footwear
This is essential. Know that moving is not a walk in the park, so dress for the occasion. You don’t want baggy, loose clothes that can catch corners. Also, you want to have durable clothing – especially footwear. Preferably with a rubberized bottom in order to have very firm grip. Also, you will want some footwear that would be in a shape of a boot – in order to provide support for ankles. I won’t even begin to talk about every sprained ankle I’ve had (or my friends did).
Make Sure Kids are Out of the Way
You are not just trying to prevent injuries on yourself. You wish nobody else to get hurt, too! Children are, believe it or not, the ones that get hurt most often. Why? Because they look at the move as a game, and they wish to play around. By doing so, they could easily get in a way of two people balancing a couch and voila – injury! Even if an injury is fully avoided, the couch is destined for damage.
You will want to have some either really close friends or family be with the kids during the moving day. You want to keep them out of the way of the move as much as you can. This goes for your pets as well. They can watch and be present, they just need to be supervised.