Top Tips for Babyproofing Your New Home

The keys to a successful household move include detailed planning, being proactive, and hiring professional residential movers. But, moving with a baby or young child requires even more forethought and creativity because you will need to babyproof your home immediately.

Fortunately, many babyproofing products exist, but how do you get started? Here are some tips to make your new home as safe as possible.

Start Early

If your little one isn’t mobile yet, that will likely change before you know it. Babies start crawling at around six or seven months and can start walking at about a year old. Use this time to babyproof your house. Of course, the more mobile your child, the more you have to be on guard, so make sure you’re not behind the eight ball on this.

If you have early access to your new home before moving day, that’s an ideal time to start the babyproofing process. Otherwise, pack a separate box filled with your babyproofing gear and bring that with you like an essentials box. That way, your babyproofing supplies will be available immediately upon arrival at your new home.

Get a Baby’s-Eye View of Your Home

You may not be fully aware of the dangers lurking inside your new home. While you might focus on things like outlets and furniture corners, other elements could be dangerous as well, such as

  • Fireplaces – Put a gate around the fireplace so those little ones won’t venture too close.
  • Stairs – Until your child knows how to climb and descend stairs, you must protect them from potential falls — at the top and bottom.
  • Vents – Little fingers can get stuck in vents and other crevices.

If necessary, crawl around the house and try to see things from your baby’s perspective. This way, you may catch things you’d otherwise miss by walking around as usual.

Consider Unsupervised Children

Toddlers love to explore, especially in places marked as “off-limits.” For this reason, you need child-proof locks on practically everything, including cupboard doors, drawers, and any items they can open by themselves.

Realistically, you can’t keep your eyes on your kids at all times, so these locks can provide peace of mind when you’re not watching them like a hawk. Also, you may need to barricade some rooms so your little one can’t get in, no matter how determined they are.

Anchor Large Furniture

A baby learning to walk may discover that your television, bookshelves, tall dressers, and plant stands make excellent climbing platforms. Furniture often comes with hardware that anchors it to the wall, so make sure to use it! It is always best to be safe, even if your dresser seems heavy enough to keep it from tipping over. If you have a TV within reach, install brackets on the back to secure it to the wall.

Windows and Blinds

Make sure you either keep the strings of traditional blinds out of your baby’s reach with special brackets or install cordless blinds on the windows. Cordless blinds are safer since the strings of conventional blinds present a potential suffocation risk. In addition, consider installing window guards to eliminate the possibility of unintentional falls out of windows.

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7 Tips for Planning a Winter Relocation

Winter relocations can be challenging because of weather conditions, road conditions, and more. Working with a professional moving company can help make the process easier, as can taking the steps below. With good planning, you can avoid winter-related relocation problems. Here’s what you need to know about planning a successful winter relocation.

1. Watch the Weather Forecast

Winter weather can change on a dime, with sunny conditions followed by a terrible snowstorm. Failure to watch the weather can lead to a nasty surprise, especially if the bad weather coincides with your relocation date.

Watching the weather can help you plan for storms, low temperatures, and other adverse weather conditions. For instance, if you hire professional movers, you can let them worry about loading and driving the truck in bad weather. They also usually have contingency plans when bad weather approaches.

2. Keep Track of Weather-Appropriate Clothes and Shoes

Your winter coat, hats, and boots are essential this time of year, but losing them would be easy during all the packing. So instead, keep track of weather-appropriate clothes and shoes, either by packing them in a duffel bag separate from your moving boxes or by packing them in a box labeled “priority.”

3. Protect Your Flooring

Protect your new home’s flooring during move-in and your old home’s flooring during move-out. Lay down runners, rugs, tarps, and other protective layers to keep snow, ice, and salt off the floor.

If you’re working with professional movers, they should take care of this for you. If you’re doing all the moving yourself, you’ll be responsible for this. Get the rugs and runners ahead of your relocation to ensure you have the supplies you need when the time comes.

4. Signing the Kids Up for School

Since school is in session this time of the year, signing your little one up for school should be a priority. First, find out which school district you’re in at your new home and what kind of paperwork that school will need to get your child signed up. Then, set those papers aside – don’t pack them yet- so you’ll have access to them when you register your child.

5. Label Holiday Boxes Clearly

You might want access to your holiday decorations this time of year. Label your holiday boxes clearly, so you can find them easily when you need them.

You may find that decorating your new house is too difficult under the circumstances. So give yourself a pass on decorating for the holidays this year. You’ll do it next year!

6. Establish Utilities

At this time of year, it’s essential to have heat, hot water, electricity, and more. Sign up for utilities before moving into your new home, then confirm they have turned the utilities on before relocating. Don’t move into a cold home!

7. Hire a Reputable Moving Company

Don’t try to navigate dicey winter roads and uncertain weather conditions alone. Instead, work with professional movers to ensure that your relocation goes smoothly. Contact us today to get a quote for your upcoming winter move.