Moving During the Coronavirus Pandemic: What You Need to Know |

Moving during the coronavirus pandemic: what you need to know. Steps for safely planning your move to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19.

Moving during the coronavirus pandemic when most neighborhoods are practicing social distancing is tricky, but it can be done if you take proper precautions to reduce the risk of exposing yourself or others to COVID-19.

Moving During the Coronavirus Pandemic: What You Need to Know

The first thing you’ll want to do is look up local COVID-19 restrictions both where you live now and where the new home you’re moving to is located. This will give you some guidance on any coronavirus pandemic regulations that might affect your move and they might list resources you can use to make your move easier.

Hire Movers vs. DIY?

Next, you’ll want to turn your attention to the move itself. If you are planning to DIY and are counting on friends and family to help out, you might want to reconsider. Even if you have enough masks, hand sanitizer and wipes for everyone you’re still putting them at risk of contracting coronavirus by asking them to leave their homes for a nonemergency reason during a pandemic.

Moving companies are considered an essential service in most areas. They’re incentivized to take extra precautions when sanitizing equipment and should maintain social distancing in order to continue operating.

Packing Your Belongings

After you’ve hired your movers, it’s time to pack up your belongings. Typically, consumers try to save money by sourcing free used boxes from local retailers to reduce their moving costs. While it’s usually a smart idea to save money, the novel coronavirus COVID-19 can live on surfaces for several days. This time, the safest move is to buy new boxes, even if it costs you a little extra money for supplies. (But shop around, as typically movers charge more than online suppliers for packing materials.).

Take care to have your belongings packed and staged by the time the movers arrive. If you rush around to pack at things up at the last minute, not only might you forget where you packed some items, it also makes it harder for you and the movers to maintain social distance.

Anything that you’ll need urgently, like a change of clothes or toiletries, should be packed and marked in a separate box. Once your belongings are off the truck and into your new home, you can find that box, wipe it down and get what you need. Wipe down all of your other boxes and to be extra-safe, consider wearing gloves. Once your unpacked boxes have been sitting for at least 48 to 72 hours, they should be fine to unpack.

Finally, make sure you carefully wipe down all doors and handles, wear a mask and frequently wash your hands.

You can safely move into your new home during the coronavirus pandemic if you’re willing to take extra precautions like these to protect yourself and others.