MOVING FURNITURE IN 10 STEPS
Posted on 31/05/2016
If you have to do a house move soon one of the biggest tasks will be to move the furniture. Furniture pieces are large and heavy and they need the use of dolly, enough help and the right techniques and tools. You can’t just grab a sofa and tilt it over your back, no matter how strong you think you are. Most furniture pieces are too big to be packed in a box so they require special handling. If you have decided to do the move without the help of a moving company and simply rent the moving truck, then you need to do all the packing and loading yourself. Since it’s best to load the furniture pieces and the heaviest items in the truck first, you will have to start moving the pieces as soon as the truck parks outside your house. Be prepared that this might be the most tiring part of the entire move and it comes first, so you will need plenty of people helping out with the boxes and other belongings. Here are 10 steps which will help you move furniture pieces successfully on your own.
1. Take the inventory of what you are going to move before you start. Think of the amount and type of packing material you require in order to manage.
2. Choose the tools that you need as you will have to disassemble beds, tables, sofas, cabinets, etc. Make sure you have enough moving blankets and at least two dollies throughout the moving day.
3. Start disassembling first and have some help by your side. Put the small pieces in plastic bags and tape them to the furniture they belong to.
4. After you disassemble certain pieces, wrap them in shrink wrap and move them to the truck.
5. Never slide big furniture on the floor, but instead tilt it slightly and put it on the dolly. This is the easiest method of moving everything to the moving truck.
6. Use stickers and a black marker where possible to label disassembled parts, as well as the room they go to. Keep track of everything and check it on the inventory list as soon as it has been loaded inside the truck.
7. Apply some wax to the furniture pieces made of fine wood. This will protect them from scratches.
8. Inside the truck try to balance the large furniture pieces at the furthest end of the truck, close to the cab. You can put boxes or bags inside the closets and cabinets to make them immovable.
9. The cushions and pillows should be removed from sofas and armchairs and ideally wrapped in stretch wrap or placed in plastic bags. Use these items to provide some cushioning inside the truck, in the voids between the biggest furniture.
10. Use ropes or straps to secure the doors of cabinets and closets. Remember that everything that can move will surely move inside the truck during the transportation. If you want your furniture to arrive intact, make sure you provide enough padding.
Avoid cleaning the furniture thoroughly before the move. You will have plenty of time after you are settled in. If you have never moved furniture before it could be quite hard to manage, so consider hiring a few movers who will do the job within a few hours and you won’t be worried about the safety of your belongings.
