While we are still in the midst of a global pandemic, life still goes on. During quarantine, people were still virtually showing homes and apartments to potential residents. Summertime is the peak season for people to move. College students are moving home or closer to their jobs and you don’t have to worry about snow, making it a prime moving time in Philadelphia. Keep in mind that we still do not have a cure for COVID-19, so precautions will need to be taken when moving. Here are some helpful tips and tricks to help with this stressful period!
Bag Hanging Clothes
With your clothes that are already hanging in your closet, pack them already hung so it’s easier to pack and unpack. Take a big trash bag and place a section of hanging clothes in the bag. Tape the opening of the bag around the neck of the hangers and you’re done! When you get to your new home, just pop them in the closet and tear the bag off.
Pack Essentials (Outside of Everything Else)
Pack essential items that you will need when you get to your new place in a suitcase. Pretend you’re going on a vacation and you’re packing things you’ll need. You don’t want to waste time looking for things in boxes when you move. Things you should be packing: toiletries, toothbrush/toothpaste, toilet paper, clean bedding, 2 changes of clothes, your Brita filter (or a clean source of drinking water), and a phone charger.
Make Sure You Have Clean Bedding
Before you move, either wash your bedding or make sure you have a clean set of sheets and blankets. And make sure you know where they are! Pack them in your essential items. When you get to your new home, you don’t have to worry about doing laundry or looking for them, and you’ll be able to have clean sheets to sleep on when it’s time to crash!
Organize Your Packing
Try to keep your packing as organized as possible. Don’t mix items from different rooms in one box. Try to label boxes as accurately as possible, use a color system, or to take it to an extra step, create an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of what is exactly in each box. This is most helpful for those moving from houses instead of apartments.
Handle Your Irreplaceable Items YOURSELF!
One thing that I’ve always been told is to handle the things that can’t be replaced yourself! DO NOT RELY ON OTHERS! Not because you don’t trust them, but for the sake of your relationship. If your friend accidentally broke your grandmother’s heirloom jewelry box, your relationship would be strained. You can’t freak out at your friend and you know they will feel terrible about it. Handle anything you do not want to lose or break, yourself. This includes TV, computer equipment, jewelry, expensive or sentimental items (shoes, handbags, wedding dresses, etc.), important documents (taxes, birth certificate, etc). It’s best for you to know where those things are at all times.
Provide Disinfectant and Supplies for Everyone
Make sure you are providing hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, and hand soap for your movers. If you can, provide face masks if possible. If you can’t, make sure you are practicing social distancing and staying 6 ft away as much as you can. We still want to make sure we are keeping our hands clean and limiting all forms of contact during the move. We are still in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic!
Improve Ventilation
In your new and old home, leave doorways and windows open to improve airflow. Have someone stay at each residence to make sure everything is secure. This will help with airflow and will provide fresh air while moving. It can get very stuffy with people moving in and out of the residences.
Disinfect Boxes and Your Home!
We all know COVID-19 can linger on hard surfaces for a couple of days. With that being said, if you have people helping you move (whether they are movers or friends), pack things in boxes and bags. When they arrive at your new home, designate someone to disinfect the boxes as they come into your new place. Make sure you deep clean your place after everyone leaves!