Bay Area Movers Help You Prepare with the Following Suggestions

Moving to a new home when you have a disability requires a bit of extra planning. Here are some suggestions that may be helpful for people with disabilities and those helping them during their moving process.

Tick Off Some Boxes Before You Pack Boxes

A couple of weeks before moving day, make sure you’ve lined up your moving company, ordered medications, handled address changes with the Post Office, your bank, the DMV (which also assists with voter registration), and businesses and organizations you want to stay in touch with. Make the necessary arrangements with gas and electric, phone, cable TV, and Internet, water, and garbage disposal utilities.

Inspecting the New Place

Make sure all plumbing, appliances, and switches in the new home are working. Then check the new place, inside and outside, for hazards and challenges, and do whatever possible to address those in advance. Non-skid strips or mats, visibility tape for hard-to-see uneven places, or other safety measures may be called for. When orienting a visually impaired person to the new landscape, pay special attention to tripping and collision hazards that cannot be removed.

Packing and Moving

Hiring a residential moving company takes much of the stress out of moving. If you must move yourself, enlist plenty of friends and family. Ordering pizza or having one or a few people cook up a big dish of something are ways to keep everyone fed; then just make sure that each person has a clear job, each box is meticulously labeled on its sides (not on top), and the items needed for immediate use are packed in a separate box or two so they can be opened first at the other end. These items will include toiletries, medications, and a change of clothing. Adaptive technology equipment, obviously, must also be kept at hand. During the move, make sure boxes and other items stay well clear of main paths within the old home and the new one.

Unpacking

Get the essentials in the new home set up right away with the necessary adaptations. For blind people, organization is key. The different configuration of a new kitchen is disorienting for everyone; Braille labels may help in the beginning. If mobility and dexterity impairment make accessing the insides of drawers difficult, then shelf and countertop systems should be in place as soon as possible for everyday items in the bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom. With a bit of care and maybe creative skill, a kitchen pegboard with labels or a painted silhouette of implements on their proper locations can be useful. For one-sided mobility impairment, see that refrigerator, cupboard, and room doors swing open on the easier side.

If the move is being made in response to a newly acquired disability, time pressure and the stress of adapting to the new circumstances may be added to the uprooting experience. Get in touch as soon as possible with local and national resources. The “Community Life” section of the disability.gov site provides an 88-page Health and Disability Organizations list.

Contact Our Bay Area Residential Furniture Moving Company to Help

When choosing among packing and moving companies, look for one that actively works with you on the details of your move. At Movers N’ Shakers, we strive to meet each customer’s individual needs. Knowing those needs in advance helps us to respond appropriately. We’ll want to create a plan for moving any special equipment properly, and we’ll work with you on the layout of your belongings in your new home. Call us today at (877) 797-4253 and we will help make your local or long-distance move an easy, seamless transition for you or your loved one.