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Moving to a new home is exciting but can be exhausting. As a mom, you’ll have to take care of the kids, make meals, clean up, and juggle other tasks while packing endless boxes. While it's doable, it becomes strenuous when there are many heavy household items such as freezers, furniture, and wardrobes involved.

These items require you to perform heavy lifting, which is risky and unsafe. You must be strategic when moving heavy items to avoid physical harm. Let’s discuss helpful tips for safely transporting furniture, appliances, and other weighty items during a move.

Set Limits for What You Can Carry

Though you might want to do it all, it's important to know where to draw the line. A smart moving practice is to identify items that weigh more than 11kg. Though the limit varies based on individual strength, keep it at a low range if you’re pregnant or in the postpartum stage.

Generally, avoid bulky objects that make you strain or jerk while lifting them. If you experience pain and discomfort, or struggle to keep a good posture while holding the item, don't bother carrying it with your bare hands.

Purchase Good Material Handling Equipment

If you’re going through the moving process without any other adult nearby, purchase and rent lifting and moving tools. You can get gloves to protect your palms and enhance your grip and lifting straps to limit back strain.

Furniture sliders are also useful as they enable you to move household items without taking them off the ground. You can also use wheeled handtrucks to stack and move appliances. These instruments limit manual effort and reduce the risk of injury.

Get Your Kids Out of the Way

Kids are always hovering around or playing in nooks and crannies, and this poses dangers of home accidents. To avoid moving day accidents, consider sending your children to a relative's or friend’s house. If there’s none nearby, clear out a room in advance as a designated safeplay area. You can have teenage kids watch over their younger ones or hire a nanny to help out for the day.

Free up Passage Ways

When moving large items out of the house, clutter increases the risk of tripping and accidents. It’s essential to create clear pathways, so remove rugs, footmats, wires, or items that obstruct movement. Find the best angles to move large household equipment through your doorways and open up the doors ahead of time.

Disassemble Knock-Down Furniture and Modular Items

Separate the components of bulky equipment that are modular in nature. For example, you can separate tabletops from the frame and detach shelves from bookcases. Disassembling items helps to reduce their weight and saves space when packing. As you box up items, label their parts. Proper labelling helps you prepare for your move into a new home and makes it easier to unpack.

Follow Safe Lifting Practices

Carrying heavy items can cause hernia, dislocations, and muscle injuries. If you are not careful, you may hurt someone else or damage your items. Hence, always use these safety tips:

●       Wear protective and supportive gear

●       Bend from your knees

●       Don’t twist or make sudden movements while moving

●       Keep the items close to your body for added support

Get Help

Don’t push yourself beyond your limit. For extremely heavy items, ask your neighbors, family, or friends to help. After packing them up, hire a moving company cross country to transport your belongings to your new home. Their movers can help you transfer heavy loads into the home and reassemble them.

Endnote

The transition between homes doesn’t have to leave you burnt out or exhausted. Avoid lifting heavy items, and if you must, use material handling tools, keep your kids safe, and clear up pathways. Detach household goods, follow safety practices, and seek assistance from loved ones or professionals.