Relocating In The Time Of Coronavirus
The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and the disease it causes, COVID-19, have drastically changed our entire world in a matter of a few months. What was once a regular routine is now more difficult and requires more forethought. Still, some things in life will go on. If you’re relocating your home or are relocating for a job, you might still have to go through with it.
The following blog is meant to be a guide to keeping you, your family and your possessions safe when you are moving during the pandemic.
Moving by yourself is not the best idea right now. Driving a big truck full of your belongings will be a lot more hassle than driving your own vehicle. While people are working hard to keep themselves and everyone safe, the less time you spend out in the world the better it will be.
Even if you decide to rent a truck and decide to move by yourself without any professional help, the process of purchasing moving supplies, donating your unwanted items, and travelling is very exhausting.
Hiring professional movers, for local moves or long-distance moves, will increase your ability to maintain social distancing while still making your move easy, smooth and hassle-free.
So what should you consider when moving during the pandemic? We explore these in the article below and laid out some of the most important things you’ll want to do — or avoid!
Give yourself plenty of time for moving preparation
Moving to a new home can be plenty stressful on its own. With packing your belongings, making inventory, planning itinerary, adding in the constraints and challenges of moving during the pandemic, suddenly all the hardship is amplified!
Recognize that things usually take longer than we think, even in non-pandemic times. Now, due to the pandemic, things are even slower because stuff like going to the store for packing supplies isn’t as quick and easy as they once were.
Offer yourself and your family some extra relief during this time and start planning for your moving process as early as possible to reduce the pressure.
Hire A Professional Moving Company
A professional moving company can help you pack up, pick everything up, store it if needed, and deliver on exactly the day you request. This means you can have it delivered before you arrive or on a day and time that you’re not home.
The biggest advantage to having professional movers handle the moving is that you don’t have to have extra contact with people such as a truck rental agent, picking up or dropping off. You can get to where you want to be without having to take the extra contact that a rental usually takes.
Often, people avoid hiring a professional moving company for their move because they think it is expensive. However, if you account for the time spent behind moving on your own as well as taking into account rental, gas costs, food, additional lodging, and more incidentals, you will find out that hiring professional movers is less expensive than you might think.
Get a virtual moving quote
To reduce the number of times you need to let others into your home, most professional moving companies are providing virtual walk-throughs and virtual moving quotes.
This makes the process of getting all of the numbers and data you need to select the best movers for your needs easier. Movers in Canada are using video walk-throughs via FaceTime, Zoom, Google Meet or other services to provide you with an estimated quote, while others work with a detailed inventory instead.
Ask about your moving company’s COVID protocols
Moving companies are bound by provincial and local safety protocols regarding COVID just like every other business. Still, it is a good idea to find out the specifics of what the company you hired requires. After that, consider what will help you to feel most at ease.
From preparing a handwashing station, placing hand sanitizer around the house to staging your home well can be really helpful in keeping you, your family as well as the movers safe.
Professional movers come prepared with their masks and gloves, nevertheless, purchase masks and gloves for use — having extras on hand is never a bad thing.
Always be sure to be informed completely about your moving company’s cancellation policy when it comes to COVID, as it may differ from their usual policy. Professional moving companies take the health and wellbeing of their employees seriously and don’t want to put their employees in danger, after all, if someone in your family gets sick.
Plan your travels well in advance
Whatever the mode of transportation you take, whether you fly, drive or take the train, always plan with all of your travels. Do not expect to just pull up to a hotel and hope that they have rooms available! Call ahead to make reservations and ask them about the COVID safety protocols they follow before booking.
Keep in mind to be informed about their cancellation policy, just in case something comes up that changes your moving plans.
Packing Up
According to information available on COVID, the data shows that the Coronavirus doesn’t survive well on porous surfaces, like cardboard boxes. So, to ensure the full safety of your family as well as the movers, pack your belongings into cardboard boxes and let them sit for a few days before the movers arrive.
Another thing that can greatly benefit everyone is to wrap your furniture in plastic. This will give you a removable coating around your furniture that you can discard immediately. If you wrap your furniture in blankets, be sure to wash and disinfect them thoroughly as soon as you move into your new home.
Avoid being near when the movers arrive to take your belongings away. While the movers should be following the safety protocols and wearing masks and gloves, good social distancing guidelines would dictate leaving before they arrive. If you can’t leave before they arrive, try to sit outside to minimize contact with them.
If you are worried about leaving your belongings to strangers to move, you should make sure to hire a licensed professional moving company. All professional movers are licensed, however, if someone claims to be a professional moving company and yet fails to produce any license, be sure to avoid them — they could potentially be scams.
Mark everything and make a detailed inventory of your belongings well. It’ll be easier to distribute as well as track when you arrive at your new home.
Keeping safety in mind, you should wait a couple of days after delivery before unpacking your belongings to give the virus time to die off. Even if everyone is taking the proper precautions, you should do this to ensure your family’s safety, especially if someone in your house is in a vulnerable group.
Moving The Family
Moving your family is tough, especially during a pandemic. One of the most important parts of safely moving your family is to keep everyone together and out of crowded public spaces as much as possible. This can be done by the following:
- Avoid densely populated areas: If you are taking routes through places with high population density, the more likely you are to enter a “hot zone” where the virus is very common. Even if you are out of your path, it is recommended to stay as far away from densely populated towns and stay near rural areas.
- Pack essential foodstuffs: Pack all the food and snacks you’ll need for the first day or so. If you wish to purchase food from a drive-through or eat in a restaurant, make sure that they’ve all put in place measures to keep you safe.
- Wear Masks: Wearing masks is one of the best safety protocols. It protects others from you in case you have the virus. Always keep up to date with the latest instructions from national as well as local health experts.
- Staying overnight. If you decide to stay in a hotel, even if your move was local, choose to make sure the hotel is following all safety protocols. Look at how they’re cleaning their rooms. Hotels are now taking extra measures to clean rooms more thoroughly than before.
Arriving At Your New Home
After you arrive at your new place, be sure to thoroughly clean your new home before you settle in. With the possibility of the Coronavirus around every corner, it is very important to clean well now.
One of the things to keep in mind when moving in is time. If the property you’re moving into hasn’t been occupied for over a week or so, there’s a good chance that all the surfaces are safe. Again, always make sure to check current national as well as local safety guidelines, but the information as of this writing is that the virus can only survive on surfaces for about three days.
Bringing Basic Cleaning Supplies
It is recommended that before you arrive at your new house, you should pick up some basic cleaning supplies. Then when the movers leave, make sure to thoroughly disinfect and clean the entire space, especially the high-touch areas and prepare your space to start unpacking!
According to health experts, soap and water are the best tools for killing the Coronavirus.
So, be sure to thoroughly wash all the hard surfaces, such as floors, kitchen counters, tiles and more with soap water. As for carpets, you can use rug cleaning shampoos or have someone hired to come and clean them for you, if they follow social distancing procedures. Curtains and blankets can be cleaned in the washing machine using regular washing machine soap.
Although moving during the pandemic isn’t ideal, sometimes due to circumstances, it’s unavoidable! By taking the following considerations, your move will go much smoother. Hiring a team of vetted, professional movers can tremendously help you in your moving endeavors!
How to Search For Professional Moving Companies
You may be having a hard time finding a moving company to help you out, especially in the wake of the second wave of the COVID pandemic. Many professional moving companies have been adversely affected and are not providing their services due to health concerns.
The easiest way to look for a moving company is the internet. Looking up moving companies in your local area is easy by typing specific words; for example, if you live in Canada, you can look up “Moving company in Canada” “professional moving company in Canada” “professional movers in Canada” or “Movers in Canada”.All these search strings will show you moving companies in your local area.
However, do be careful before hiring any moving company you find on your search results. You need to properly research various moving companies, their past reviews, their rates, so on and so forth.
One of the most trustworthy ways of verifying whether a moving company is reputable or not is by checking in with the Canadian Association of Movers. The Canadian Association of Movers (CAM), is the association of movers operating within Canada as well as international movers. The association certifies moving companies that have passed a background check and agreed to uphold a Code of Ethics.
You should also check the companies’ history with the Better Business Bureau. If you see lots of unresolved complaints — especially recent ones — that’s a huge red flag.
Other ways of searching for a professional moving company include asking your family, friends or acquaintances.
No matter how you learn about a moving company, the general idea is the same — only a thorough investigation can provide you with the movers best suited for you.
Safe Moving In The Time Of The Coronavirus
With proper precautions taken, safety protocols followed and a little cleaning, you can get everything, and everyone moves safely. The COVID pandemic won’t last forever, but, according to health experts, we can expect to adapt to change how we live over the next few years.
Do your research and make sure you know that you’re dealing with a moving company that is dedicated to following all the safety precautions to keep you and your family safe and treat you fairly; You’ll thank yourself when you’re settled in your new home.
If you are looking for professional movers, who follow will make your moving easier, look no further! Mr.Relokate is a moving company in Canada providing professional residential & commercial moving and packing services.
Dedicated to protecting the health of our customers, we have taken extensive measures to ensure the strict following of all health protocols and safety guidelines.
All our staff wear masks and use gloves. We have taken extensive measures of thoroughly cleaning & disinfecting our trucks before and after any move, as well as taking care to maintain social distance from our clients.
Book an appointment with us today and get your moving job done, in a quick, safe and efficient manner by the best movers in Canada.
