subject: Tips For Packing Boxes And Moving Without Breaking Your Back [print this page] Packing up the contents of your home can be quite hard workand we all know what hard work can do to your back! But if youre careful, you can get all your packing and moving done without giving yourself either backache or a hernia. Its all down to taking a little bit of care:
Try to pack over the course of a few weeks, rather than rushing everything at the last minute. This will ensure that you pack efficiently and carefully but, most importantly, that you dont overwork your back. Packing a few moving boxes a day at first will allow your back to get used to bending and lifting, without straining.
Dont leap out of bed and begin packing straight away. Get your body moving first, to loosen your joints and, if possible, do the sort of warm-up youd do before exercising, followed by a short stretch of your whole body. After each packing session, while you are still warm, rather than letting yourself fall into a comfy chair, spend another 5 or 10 minutes stretching again, to release the tension in the muscles. This way you shouldnt be sore and stiff the next day. If you wish, and especially if you have a weak back already, use a support belt when actually lifting and moving boxes.
Use large moving boxes only for items that really need them, and dont overload them. If you have a bulky item, put it in a box with space around it, then fill the space with light packing fillers, such as bubble wrap, air-filled bags, or polystyrene chips. It may seem expensive and wasteful of space, but it will make moving the box much easier, and you can always save the fillers for use next time you move, so the expense will be worth it in the end.
Pack heavy items into small moving boxes, so that each one is not uncomfortable to pick up and move. Lighter items, such as clothes and shoes, can go into medium moving boxes, but try to stick to ones that are not too big to grasp and lift easily.
Once boxes are packed, stack them neatly in piles of boxes of the same size against the wall of the room. If you have a spare room, use this one in preference, so that you wont have to walk around the moving boxes in the rest of the house. When stacking, and when lifting in general, follow best practice: to pick up, keep your back as straight as possible, bend at the knees, and be sure to grasp the box firmly. Straighten your knees rather than using your back to lift the box off the floor, and try to keep your neck aligned with your back while lifting, moving, and lowering the box.
Take care of your back when moving from your old house and, believe me, youll enjoy being in the new one all the more!
