Feeling nervous as you’re about to move heavy furniture by yourself? Scared? Stressed?
If your answer is affirmative for any of the questions above, you’ve come to the right place.
Sure, moving heavy furniture on your own can be pretty scary in thoughts, but don’t let the fear get on your way. Every job gets easier when they’re done in well-planned steps. And this is exactly what you need right now, some steps to hop on.
So, jump on the steps below and get the task done.
What you need to know before Move Heavy Furniture by Yourself
1. Plan It First
The foremost thing (and also the wisest) you should do before moving furniture plan the whole process thoroughly. How does it help? It builds a proper picture of furniture placement in your mind, which also works to calculate what should be done to move heavy furniture to a certain place.
You have to lift some stuff, some pieces will require to be moved through staircases, there are several doorways to go through; proper planning will make it easier for you to handle all the situations on your own.
2. Get Some Help
Are you feeling tricked? Cause this was supposed to be a helping advice for a person who’s willing to move heavy furniture by themselves, right?
Well, if you’re finding it “UNACCEPTABLE”, that’s okay; but hear us out first. This has nothing to do with you being alone or hurting your independent ego. We’re just stating facts.
After all, you’re just a human. And perhaps not a very strong one (just guessing, we can expect some physically weak visitors, right?) in certain cases. Besides, when it comes to moving heavy furniture, things get difficult even for strong people.
Also, you don’t want to risk your physical health, do you?
That’s why it’s better if you hire someone for the work. A professional mover of course, particularly if you’re moving something up or down the stairs. We bet lots of people down the street or from Craigslist will be willing to give a hand.
Having someone by your side to help you lift the heavy couch is always better than pushing it vigorously through the living room while scrapping the hardwood floor.
3. Detach the Parts
When it’s hard to complete a task one way, take another way. Big, tall, heavy pieces of furniture are not easy to deal with. So, if your furniture come in split parts, like those cupboard drawers or detachable dressers; disassemble the parts and move them separately. This way the furniture become less heavy to move as the weight is evenly distributed in parts.
4. Gather All the Moving Accessories
Since you’re not Hulk or Superman, it’s obvious that you don’t possess any superpower that will make this whole moving thing smooth for you. You got to invest on some tools to get the job done.
And yes, by tool, we mean furniture sliders, lifting/moving straps and moving dolly. This equipment is essential for moving heavy stuffs.
When you’re lifting furniture, you have to worry about your body. Specially the spine, shoulders and the neck area. People often make this mistake of lifting loads that are excessive for their bones. And you don’t want to repeat the same mistake.
If you’re moving something across the hall or up/down the stairs, moving straps are the best option if your ‘something’ happens to be a chair or anything with the similar structure.
Pushing or dragging are the most common activities in a moving scene, and for that reason, sliders have to be included in the list.
Sliders make it easier to push things from this place to that place by making it all slippery. Also, you don’t have to pressure your body much when you’re using one. Just place it under and slide the furniture across the room. Your floors won’t get scrapped either!
And bring a dolly. Bam! Moving heavy furniture had never been easier! With moving dolly, you don’t even have to deal with lifting a side of the furniture like sliders. The dolly will take all your loads on its back and set you free! Let those wheels move the furniture for you!
5. Protect Your Furniture
Yep, like a knight in shining armor, your furniture needs some protection too. And, let’s not forget your walls, floors and doors, shall we?
Moving heavy furniture can be one heck of a headache when you’re trying to keep things intact around you. Legs of chairs and other wooden/metal pieces are pretty harsh on wooden floor/doors. One wrong step and you may have to add some more bucks on renovation tab.
Moving blankets are one of the best protective stuffs you can go for that will come handy for shielding your things. Just wrap the blanket around tightly (not too tightly to damage the furniture) with rope/tape and go for it!
There are other helpful stuffs that can be used for this purpose. For instance, you can always attach cardboards on sides or wrap detached parts in bubble wraps (large sheets for a whole piece of furniture).
About your doorframes, walls and floors, you can use some duct tape to keep the surface out of touch, or tape pieces of cardboard/rug to them for better protection.
6. Use Necessary Tactics
Just not your hands, you got to use that brain as well. Cause the safety your body, your furniture and your home rely completely on the decisions you make.
When you’re moving things through a certain location, hold those things in a certain way. For example, hold the couch sideways to fit it through a narrow door; or curl it around carefully if the piece happens to be a chair. Or make A DIY ramp for taking things up or down the stairs.
Toes and fingers often get hurt in the moving process, so take care of that. Always put your knees and legs ahead for the task, keep your back out of it. Keep your brain fully conscious while moving.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, some essential tips on how to move heavy furniture by yourself. Follow the tips and save yourself from unexpected disasters!
This is Autem Decker. Main Author of ‘TheHomeDigs‘. You may not find her on the list of top 10 contemporary Canadian interior designers, but everyone who knows her says she was born to be an interior designer.
She makes her plan in her head and draws them in her years-old diary with a note in the corner. The way she plays with color and shape amazes us.
Connect Her On – Twitter