Moving furniture can be hard work. It pays to find hints that will provide you with tried-and-trusted techniques to take the backache out of the arduous task of furniture removals. Learning the right way to lift awkward, heavy items of furniture without damaging yourself, the furniture or the premises is a positive first step on any road to relocation.
1. It is important not to mark walls or doors when moving furniture. Shipping furniture can be costly enough without having to pay to repair damaged plaster or to touch up paintwork that has been knocked about whilst shifting hefty pieces of furniture. Using moving blankets to wrap all your furniture will protect the items and the property. Cover the blankets in stretch film to hold them securely in place.
2. Mattresses can prove hard to shift. The handles on them are not intended for carrying, only for properly positioning the mattress on top of the bedstead. These handles are not strong enough to allow you to wrestle the floppy mattress through tight spaces. It is straightforward to make a sling out of rope to allow two people to easily move any mattress.
3. To save time and effort at your destination it will help to use a floor plan. Prepare your plan in advance to show exactly where every article is to go. Take measurements of the rooms in your new home and of the furniture you want to put there. If you are using a removal service, you can give the movers a copy of this layout so that they can position your furniture in accordance with your wishes without you having to supervise or to move the items again once the removals company have finished. Use Blu-Tack to stick a room plan inside each room.
4. Get any required materials ready in plenty of time. The day of your transportation journey can be stressful enough without a last-minute rush to the shops to find packing materials. You might well be paying by the hour for your removals van, so you don’t want the moving van sitting idle whilst you rush to wrap-up your fragile goods. Store up necessary items in the month leading up to your removal day; you might need moving blankets, lifting straps, ropes, furniture slides and stretchy plastic film. A tape measure, scissors and a cordless drill/screwdriver will also come in handy.
5. Get tips from the pros. Learn how to hook chairs through narrow doorways. Put the chair sideways-on into an ‘L’ shape and take the back through the gap first. You can now easily curl it around the frame and be on your way to successful furniture removals.
6. It is possible for one person to get heavy items down stairs using a ramp and a rope. Scaffolding planks or similar pieces of wood can also be used to slide awkward items up into the transport vehicle. Make sure that the furniture does not runaway on the ramp by anchoring one end of the rope securely to an immovable object.
There are many ways to move furniture; be aware that the cheapest options are not necessarily the safest. Always do plenty of homework and generate a checklist that will keep you focused on organizing the details of your removal journey. One thing that you must not overlook is insurance. Make certain that you have sufficient cover for any precious possessions during the entire process of relocation and/or storage.
