Though vaccinations have started, the threat of COVID-19 still looms large. If you have an upcoming move, you could be asking yourself if the time is right. If you or a member of your household suffers from chronic health conditions, such as cancer, lung or heart disease, type-2 diabetes, or obesity, you’ll be at a higher risk of health complications if affected by the coronavirus, advises Mayo Clinic. Making a move is risky for the aged people as well, especially those in the 85+ age group. Ideally, you should avoid moving home in these situations and wait until vaccines have been extensively distributed and Covid-19 restrictions are lifted. However, it may not always be possible to delay your move. For instance, after wondering ‘how do we buy houses cost-effectively’ for long, you may have finally got a good deal from a company like Cash Buyer New Jersey or someone ready to ‘sell my house for cash’ that you simply don’t want to miss out on. Thus, if you must move house now, you’ll need to adhere to some extra precautions to keep yourself as well as others safe.
Preparing for your move during Covid-19
According to the U.S. NIH (National Institutes of Health), coronavirus can survive on plastics for up to 72 hours while on stainless steel and cardboard surfaces, it can live for up to 48 and 24 hours respectively. This makes it crucial that you sanitize your boxes and items to be packed to ensure you and your movers are safe. Disinfecting high-touch or communal surfaces and your belongings are equally important. To sanitize your home the right way, you can follow the CDC guidelines. Additionally, ensure you wear a disposable pair of gloves to prevent the spread of the virus and other harmful germs. You may even choose reusable gloves provided you’re wearing them exclusively when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and areas to steer clear of COVID-19.
Buy all your cleaning and packing supplies in one go
Make a list of all the cleaning and packing materials you’ll need to buy for your move. Then, make a solitary trip to the store to buy them all at one go. By avoiding frequent trips to the store, you’ll lower your chances of coming in contact with others, thus reducing your health risks.
Don’t hesitate to buy a bit extra to avoid running out of your cleaning or packing supplies. Since some retailers have still got restrictions on buying cleaning supplies beyond a certain limit at a time, you could face problems when trying to stock up on cleaning supplies. But you shouldn’t have problems buying some additional packing materials. However, if that sounds like an uphill task or you want to avoid a trip to the store, you could try placing your order of packing materials and storage boxes with home improvement stores like The Home Depot or even with Staples, U-Haul, Penske, etc. All of them will ship the order to your doorsteps, thus letting you save a lot of time and effort, not to mention reducing the health risks triggered by in-person contact as well.
Keep soap and hand sanitizer easily available
Washing your hands is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself and even others against Covid-19, says the CDC. This makes it crucial to ensure you wash your hands with soap and water before and after touching communal or high-touch surfaces or things like the doorknobs, faucets, sinks, etc. If you can’t get soap and water, make sure you’ve got a bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer (with more than 60% alcohol) to use. While packing your things, during the move, and even after getting into your new home, make sure you have either soap and water or a hand sanitizer easily available.
Final words
Handling your entire move on your own may not always be possible. In case you engage a moving company, make sure they follow the COVID-19 safety guidelines strictly. Starting from getting a price estimate to scheduling the initial contact and tracking the move, you should restrict in-person interactions as much as possible and use digital solutions instead. With all these tips, your move during Covid-19 shouldn’t be a herculean task.
