Monday, July 25, 2011

Top 5 Not-So-Obvious Moving Safety Tips

When you think of moving safety tips, you probably think of obvious hazards, such as watching out for dangling electrical cords that can trip you or closing partially-open bottles of household chemicals. Those certainly apply but there are also other important yet less obvious moving safety tips, as you’ll see below:
Moving Safety Tip #1: Make sure you have all the equipment you need to stay safe. You can save yourself from back strain or even worse problems by having the correct equipment and supplies. For example, an appliance dolly will keep you from having to carry boxes long distances. As a bonus, you’ll also be able to move more boxes at a time. Make sure to have straps to secure items to the dolly or to help you when lifting larger items.
Moving Safety Tip #2: Prepare your body for the move. Moving is some of the most aggressive exercise that some people get, so injuries are common. To prevent that, do some simple stretches to loosen your muscles before you begin. This will help prevent general soreness, shin splints or even more serious injuries. If you don’t have a normal warm-up routine, try this one: touch your toes 10 times slowly and do 10 backward arm “windmills.” Repeat these exercises three times with breaks in between. Also do the exercises after you’re done moving to further help reduce soreness.
Moving Safety Tip #3: Dress the part. Make sure your clothes don’t have loose sleeves or shirttails that might catch on something and pull you down, and wear good shoes that protect your feet from falling objects and support your arches and back. Work gloves are also a good idea to protect your hands from sharp edges.
Moving Safety Tip #4: Keep first-aid items and health essentials handy. Keep a first-aid kit with aspirin, various-sized band-aids, antibiotic cream and other first aid items handy during the entire move. If you’ll be driving to your destination and it’s not too hot out, keep the kit in the car so you’ll know where it is at all times. If that isn’t practical, keep it in a “last out, first in” box that will be the final thing you remove from your old home and the first thing you bring into your new one. If you or any of your family members need medication, keep that on hand as well. Bear in mind that many medications are temperature-sensitive, so treat them accordingly.
Moving Safety Tip #5: Make sure you have enough to eat and drink. It’s important to have plenty of water and food available throughout the move, so no one gets injured from being lightheaded or running on empty. You might even want to prearrange breaks so everyone will be sure to get something to eat and drink at regular intervals.
These moving safety tips are simple to implement and you’ll be surprised how much safer and more comfortable they’ll make your move! 

Source: http://www.saveologymoving.com/articles/top-five-moving-safety-tips.aspx

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