Can I move during COVID-19?

In mid-March, it felt like our entire country stopped. Non-essential businesses closed their doors and everyone hunkered down to weather this pandemic together. There are, however, many things that kept moving forward – perhaps your escrow closing or your lease expiring. That’s where we come in.

Moving is essential and we have made drastic changes to adapt during this new COVID era. You can absolutely still move, and we are here to help with some tips:

First and foremost: if you’re sick, reschedule. If you can’t reschedule, have a representative present on move day.

Let’s all be safe together. Our team is working tirelessly to maintain extreme cleanliness standards and we hope that our customers are taking similar precautionary measures on Move Day. This could mean all keeping our social distance, or avoiding our usual handshake greeting in exchange for a smile and wave. Also, if you are in a high-risk group or have a loved one in a high-risk group, that is another reason to consider a reschedule or representative on move day.

Our team is encouraged to leave any situation where a customer might be sick, and we urge you to ask for different movers if you feel that they might be sick.

Now is not the time to be polite. If you hear a cough or suspect a fever, don’t hesitate to call the company’s Operation Center to request a rescheduled move. Also, all team members are required to wear cloth face coverings on the move, but we also strongly recommend that our customers wear cloth face coverings. The safer we can all be, the better.

Ask about the company’s COVID-19 safety precautions.

We have all had to adjust during this pandemic, so don’t be afraid to ask what your moving company is doing to increase safety procedures. To find a full list of our safety precautions, visit our COVID response blog, or print the list for quick reference: /blog/meathead-movers-response-to-covid-19/

Packing up your belongings is the perfect time to clean as you go.

Before we enter your house, or maybe a realtor, or apartment cleaning staff, we encourage you to wipe things down as you pack up. Make time to wipe down the handles on your cabinets or clean your household items before loading them into boxes for us to move into your new home. The CDC has a great resource for preparing your home during this pandemic: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/get-your-household-ready-for-COVID-19.html

Don’t touch your boxes for at least 24 hours.

A study released by the CDC suggested that COVID-19 can live on cardboard for up to 24 hours. Knowing that, we encourage you to avoid touching packed boxes for a full 24 hours before your movers arrive. Better yet, hire the Meathead Packers to pack up your belongings for you.

Talk about social distancing in advance to make everyone more comfortable.

We always call our customers before a move to confirm our time of arrival. That is the perfect opportunity to express to the team that you’d rather maintain your social distance and not even shake hands upon arrival. Want to thank the movers for their efforts to remain socially distant while still working hard on your move? Maybe tip them in advance and ask that they remain conscientious.

Plan for travel to your new home.

Whether your move involves an airplane or car, it’s important to remember that restaurants are closed, flights are limited, and restrictions are different in every country. Be sure to research your destination and plan accordingly to avoid any interruptions on move day. We recently expanded our service area to the entire country, so we are keeping a pulse on local and state regulations too.

Remember: although we are taking every safety precaution we can to ensure that our team, customers and communities are safe, we always offer no-cost rescheduling. If you do need to move but are currently facing financial hardship, we are happy to offer 0% payment plan options for qualifying customers through Affirm.

Contact us today to learn more. Together, we are strong.