ARE YOU MOVING? Be involved in the whole process, start to finish.

This last week and ahalf has witnessed my old apartment’s disarray and it’s cleanest moments. It went from stacks of boxes and very thin areas where to walk to being vacant. Then, in a matter of hours, my new apartment took on the reverse appearance. From being a hollow shell of plastered walls and puffy carpeted floors, it filled fast with cardboard boxes, furniture strewn wherever it could fit and kitchen appliances that faced the wall.

Yes, moving can throw even the most experienced blind traveler into disorientation. That’s true if you are married or single, having pets or kids or both. One moment, you maybe directing the flow of traffic as movers carry dozens of boxes to a moving truck or even helping them yourself. The next, you find yourself sidelined for a time while everyone else buzzes around you putting your desk, fridge, books, workout equipment, clothes, and furniture into place.

In short how may we who are blind handle the moving process? Here are a few tips I’ve picked up by experience and by knowing others who have done it? If you are blind, you probably have your own system. If you are a family member or friend of someone who is blind,, I hope this trip through Dave’s top ten will encourage you in giving the best assistance possible.

1. If possible, label not only your boxes in numerical order but code them where they are going to be put in your new house or apartment. Even if that’s wrapping them in different colored tape, make sure you write words like “kitchen,” “living room,” “bathroom,” and office” in large letters. And don’t forget those stickers labeled fragile when appropriate. That way, your movers wil distinguish how best to distribute your stuff. Even if the rest of your family is sighted, you need to be aware of where everything will live so you can be a key part of the unpacking process.
2. Make sure your movers and anyone else carrying boxes and other containers leave wide enough space for you to navigate your house-old and new. It’s one thing to trip, catch yourself and stand again. It’s even worse to be rendered to a chair in the corner, told to let everyone else handle the unloading and then direct you around as if they know best what your needs are.
3. If you are physically strong enough to do it, encourage others who are moving boxes and, furniture, and other containers to let you join in the fray. Especially if you are single, you should direct where your furniture goes so you can best navigate your new home for the first time own your own.
4. After settling on a new apartment or house, take your time walking through it while it is empty so you can get the hands-on glance. Then when others describe the details, you can fit their word pictures to what you have already begun to sense with your feet and hands. This is especially important if you are totally blind. Being able to gain that spatial relations in your house yourself will go a long way toward more quickly memorizing its layout when all the furniture and fixings fill the rooms.
5. Ask lots of questions of those who are helping you move-colors of the wallpaper and carpet, the height of the ceilings, the way your windows face, and so forth. Then everyone there will know that you care about the finer points of how your house or apartment will look and invite others when you want to hang together. Remaining totally passive in the moving process gives the impression that either you won’t really care how things are done for you or that it’s okay to be taken care of rather than joining in the fray yourself.

6.When cleaning up your old house or apartment, make sure that you have work to do just like anyone else. Take out the trash, sweep the floors, remove nails and spackle the holes where they were. The main point here is to remain as involved as folks you’ve asked to help.

7. If moving to a new house, take an early stroll around the block or neighborhood. The more you are visible early, the quicker people living around you will know you are blind, capable, and engaged in the world where you live. It’s much easier to be visible than to hole up isolated and waiting till some undetermined time to emerge in nhopes that people notice you. This is especially important when you live in busy urban or suburban areas where there’s a lot of traffic. After some time, folks will recognize you at street curbs and intersections when driving by.
8. Did I emphasize so far to be involved in the whole moving process from start to finish? Yes. And that’s especially important for you who are blind when signing the rental contract with an apartment manager or when setling matters with your home lender and real estate agent. Unless your house is totally a gift surprise, which doesn’t happen very often for folks,-you need to know absolutely everything that is in writing and what you are required to sign. Be ready with your signature guide or other method used to know where the lines are. Then if your landlord or other involved personnel ask how you can do such a thing, you can explain how you’ve signed your name and other information on important documents from bank accounts to medical records before.
9. Be systematic about your unpacking the moved-in boxes. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so there’s no need for your house or apartment to be in tip-top shape in one either. With that said, keep those pathways open so you can get from room to room, knowing where all the boxes you need to unpack are sitting. If getting the place settled takes a week or two, let it take that long. Mostlikely, you’ll be getting acclimated to your new neighborhood, bus stops, walking routes to nearby restaurants. If you’re working, the move-in process will take even longer. Count that as time for you to get even more acquainted with your new house or apartment and the safety precautions you’ll consider when adjusting to it.
10. If renting, make a list of maintenance requests as you unpack. I’m talkin g hardcopy and on your phone or PC files. That way you don’t forget some things and let woodwork decay or leaky faucets persist.