There’s one part of a move that everyone dreads: the furniture. It’s difficult to lift, the handholds are nonexistent, and if you do it wrong, you could leave holes in the wall and scratches on the furniture itself. With that in mind, our Southern California moving professionals have prepared a few tips for moving furniture the easy (and safe) way.
Read below for our top furniture-moving tips! And if you’re looking for an even better way to move your furniture, call (661) 622-2636 for a free moving quote from Affordable Quality Moving and Storage.
Get Honest About What’s Worth Moving
Handling furniture is the most time- and effort-intensive part of moving day. With that in mind, you should really take some time to figure out which of your furniture pieces are actually worth moving (and which ones are ready for replacement).
While you don’t want to throw away good furniture, here’s what you should think about:
- Is it obviously damaged?
- Are the cushions or upholstery older than 10 years old?
- Does it still work correctly?
- Do you still have a place for it?
- Do you still like it?
Sometimes we keep furniture out of habit or for sentimental reasons. Planning for a move is a great way to make us really think about what is worth keeping.
Don’t Be a Hero: Use the Right Tools, Equipment & Packing Supplies
Take it from moving professionals: there’s no glory in lifting a couch or fridge with pure brute force. Furniture dollies or moving straps are a great way to make moving furniture easier and faster. These dollies (which look a little like a square skateboard) are available for rent from most hardware stores or truck rental companies. Apart from saving you from working too hard, furniture-moving tools are also safer. The last thing you want is to strain your back on moving day, especially if you have to work later that week.
We recommend taking inventory of all the furniture you need to pack—it will help you figure out the tools you'll need to disassemble them. Disassembly will be the most time-consuming step, so gather all the right tools before you start taking your furniture apart.
Make sure you have everything you need to move your furniture as effortlessly as possible. Moving is tiring enough without having to wrestle a fridge. Renting a dolly with straps will make it easier to move heavier furniture.
Items you may need to disassemble and pack furniture include:
- Bubble wrap
- Sofa and mattress covers
- Plastic stretch wrap
- Plastic bags that can be sealed
- Screwdriver (get an electric one)
Disassemble Furniture
Once you have all your tools, you can begin disassembling your furniture. Remove table legs, glass tops, and shelves. Save the bolts and washers in plastic bags and write which piece of furniture it belongs to and the tools you will need to reassemble. You can keep all these plastic bags in a box, or you can tape them to the furniture they belong to. This simple step will save you from a considerable amount of headache when you’re trying to reassemble everything in your new place.
Break Down Your Bed
It’s likely that you assembled your bed inside your bedroom, which means there’s no way of knowing if your bed frame can actually fit through your doors, halls, and out of your house. The best way to move your bed frame is the say way you moved it in: in pieces. Disassemble your bed, and it’ll be easier and safer to move.
Wrap & Protect Furniture
One of the best ways to wrap furniture is by using bubble wrap, plastic sheeting, or moving blankets. Bubble wrap is great at protecting delicate wood pieces, and plastic wrap or plastic sofa covers protect upholstered items. Bubble wrap is also ideal for protecting glass tabletops and mirrors. We recommend taping a giant “X” on the item so if the wrap rips, it will be less likely to shatter. When wrapping glass, a mirror, or a frame, corners often get damaged, so wrap the edges carefully for extra protection.
Put Extra Protection on Sharp Corners
Sharp corners are the first things to get damaged while your things are rumbling around in the back of a moving truck. Keeping your things safe is partly a matter of packing your truck tightly without extra space, but you’ll also want to put extra padding around the corners of your dining room table, coffee table, dressers, and any other items with straight edges.
Don't Forget to Measure!
Before you start moving your furniture out of your home, you will want to make sure that all your large items will fit through the doorways, hallways, elevators, or stairways (both in your old place and your new place). Measure these areas to make sure your pieces will fit. You might not have to take everything apart, but to get large pieces like sofas or dining tables out, you might need to unhinge a few doors.
Measuring is an important step that could save you from a major headache on moving day.
Plan Your Path Before Lifting the Furniture
This one seems a little obvious, but you’d be surprised at how often people will start moving their couch only to realize it won’t fit through the front door. Planning your path means accounting for any obstacles in your way, measuring doorways to make sure the piece can fit, and making sure there are good places to set the furniture down if you need to take a break halfway through. You might even need to unhinge a few doors.
Just remember: it’s better to go slow than to accidentally drop a couch on yourself (or your friend).
Dealing with Different Types of Furniture
In many ways, furniture is directly tied to who a person is and how they express themselves. The colors, height, patterns, and even materials of someone’s furniture are usually hand-picked by a homeowner to represent their style and taste. While furniture can be aesthetically pleasing and give a home its “voice,” it can also be a pain to move from one home to another. There are plenty of types of furniture, but it is good to understand what kinds of problems you will face as you move furniture into your new home.
Metal Furniture
Metal furniture fits in with the minimalist styles that are currently in demand by younger homeowners. This furniture is durable, sleek-looking, and sturdy—meaning it’ll last a long time. However, depending on the metals that were used to create the piece, the item may be hard to carry due to its leaden frame. Additionally, metal furniture can easily scratch walls made of plaster, drywall, and wood. You should use extreme caution when carrying metal pieces of furniture through an older home.
Wood Furniture
Furniture made of wood is a classic part of nearly every home. There are hundreds of thousands of wooden furniture pieces that boast varying designs, colors, and weights. Unfortunately, furnishings with better quality wood are much more substantial than your average plywood furniture. Higher quality wood pieces are also likely to get scratched when moved across pavement and concrete. Therefore, high-quality wood furniture is both difficult to carry and prone to scratching.
Additionally, some pieces of wood furniture are permanently fastened. Permanently fastened furniture is reliable in the home but problematic when it needs to be moved. Permanently attached pieces do not come apart, which means that awkward shapes, like the legs on a living room table, need to travel as-is.
Permanently fastened furniture is tricky to move because:
- It is not as pliable as other pieces of furniture.
- It may not fit through nontraditional door frames.
- It may be awkward to carry.
- It is difficult to stack with other parts of furniture.
Glass Furniture
Glass furniture is elegant and can transform a room into a timeless space. Arguably the most precarious of all furniture, glass pieces require extreme caution when moving. One misstep can cause your favorite furnishing to shatter right before your eyes. Therefore, larger glass tables, clocks, and mirrors should be handled by multiple individuals when moved. When moving glass pieces, the furniture and the surrounding items need to be secured so they do not fall over or slide when in transit.
Should You Move Heavy Furniture by Yourself?
Deciding whether to move heavy furniture by yourself is a choice you'll need to make based on your unique situation and what you need to move. If you only have a couple of large pieces of furniture and have the right supplies and manpower (whether they're friends or family members), you might be able to handle it without too much trouble. If you have awkward and delicate items, are concerned about whether you have the physical strength to move furniture, or are uncertain in any way, it's worth talking to a professional furniture mover about your options. We offer customizable services and can give you a free estimate so you know whether hiring AQMS is the right thing to do. Your safety should always come first.
Helping Southern Californians Move Their Furniture
If you are worried that the moving process will damage your furniture or are concerned about heavy and cumbersome items, you should call in a team of professionals like those at Affordable Quality Moving and Storage. Our team of Santa Clarita movers uses only the best moving practices to get your furniture to its new home. We have expertise in moving delicate pieces of furniture that need finesse and extra care. Plus, we handle local, out-of-state, and even international moves for homes and businesses of all kinds. If you want results at an affordable price, look no further than AQMS.
If you are interested in having your furniture moved, contact us at (661) 622-2636 for a free in-home evaluation with your treasured furnishings. We have locations in Temecula, Burbank, San Diego, and Santa Clarita to serve customers throughout Southern CA.
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