Whether relocating or simply renovating your space, moving household furniture is simply a laborious task. It involves clearing and preparing the space, strenuous packing, and heavy lifting, which may result in back pain and mental stress.
The good news is that moving household furniture can be made a load easier if you’re armed with the right tools and information.
Read on to discover 10 tips for moving household furniture.
1. Get Rid of Obstacles
Before moving any furniture, clear the floor of any obstacle that could cause tripping or falling. Remove shoes, toys, crumpled carpets, packing boxes, and wraps from the walkways and floors. Ensure that kids and pets do not play around close for enhanced safety.
2. Prepare the New Space
Decide where you want the furniture to go at the new home you are relocating to.
Before relocating, draw up a floor plan with accurate measurements for the rooms and your furniture to come up with a room layout. You can set the furniture up at your chosen spot once and for all when you move in.
If you are working with professional movers in Kenya, a wall-to-wall plan of every room can aid in deciding where you want every furniture piece placed.
3. Wear the Right Attire
Moving heavy furniture requires that you put on proper shoes and clothes. Avoid high heels and slippers.
Wear closed shoes with rough treads for a non-slip grip and reliable shock absorption to protect you from accidents. Wear loose, light, and breathable outfits you can walk around and stretch in comfortably.
4. Get Proper Moving Gear and Materials
Using the right moving materials protects your furniture from scratches and other damage while in transit.
Moreover, the right equipment and accessories will save your arms, back, and feet from applying too much pressure and sustaining injuries.
Some tools for moving heavy furniture include:
- Moving straps: You can easily lift even the heaviest furniture pieces with straps. You can adjust them to your size and move furniture without too much bending. Moving straps help lower the furniture’s center of gravity to manage the weight and enable carrying without injury.
- Furniture dollies: These are ideal for moving pianos, wall units, and other oversized pieces. You can choose between the two-wheeled hand truck or the four-wheeled dolly, depending on the height and weight of your furniture. Remember to use straps, ropes, or tape to secure your belongings before moving the dolly.
- Sliders: An essential tip for moving furniture is to use sliders for your move. Placing foam or rubber sliders under the furniture makes a move more manageable and protects the floor from damage. Unique carpet sliders are available for gliding furniture over the carpet.
- Ramps: You can quickly and safely hoist large furniture onto a raised area such as a truck bed using ramps. You can create ramps using scaffold planks and lumber to maneuver furniture.
5. Protect your Furniture and Space
You might face bumps during your residential move in Kenya, especially with heavy furniture. To protect the edges and finish of fragile pieces such as tables and dressers, wrap them entirely with moving blankets and secure them with stretch film. However, old blankets and sheets work fine if you are on a tight budget.
Use furniture pads and cardboard on the floor and walls to reduce scrapes, scratches, and dents. Most of these items are reasonably priced at home centers and moving shops.
6. Disassemble What You Can
Separate all detachable parts from your furniture, including drawers, cushions, and dresser knobs. Removing parts that add unnecessary weight makes your furniture light enough to carry through doors.
Remember to keep the dismantled items in a bag with the proper labels, so you can easily find them later.
7. Use Appropriate Heavy Lifting Techniques
You should prioritize safe lifting techniques to avoid getting hurt, especially with items you prefer moving on your own, even with professional movers. While moving furniture mainly entails pushing, dragging, and gliding using the right equipment, lifting becomes necessary at the stairs and when loading onto the moving truck.
Use the following tricks to avoid injury:
- Bend your knees and exert pressure from your legs to avoid back injury. You should feel the weight on your arms and legs, not the back
- Carry the items closer to your body so that it’s easier to find the right balance. This will keep you from tripping and getting hurt
- Avoid turning and sudden movements
- Watch your path, so you don’t trip over any obstacles.
8. Moving Furniture Up and Down the Stairs
Some pieces, such as shelving units and filing cabinets, can be tough to move up or down the stairs. To center the weight and keep it in balance during the move, tip the item over at an angle and have a helper carry the top and another the bottom.
Taking the furniture up and down the stairs becomes a breeze since the carrying angle almost matches the slope of the stairs.
Always let the person at the bottom set the pace. Meanwhile, you should try going as slowly as possible to avoid accidents. Rest if you must.
9. Getting Furniture through Doors
Use the “hook” method for sofas and bulky chairs you can’t disassemble to move through doorways. You will be curving the seat around the door corner in an L shape as you get it through. Try different angling techniques for larger sofas to appear narrow and fit.
10. Make an Unloading Plan after the Move
Your furniture move is not yet complete without a plan for unloading at the new space. Make an inventory checklist for every piece of furniture, including the detachable parts, for easy tracking of your belongings. Since the heavier furniture is likely at the back of the moving truck, you might have to start offloading the small items first. Some moving companies in Kenya also provide furniture installation services for IKEA furniture and similar designs.
You will likely accomplish your move faster and safer with proper planning and early preparation. You can hire storage services to ease your furniture move even further if you still need time to plan your space. Contact Nellions today for all your furniture installation needs.
