Are you on your way to moving into a new house? Feeling troubled and stressed over the whole moving process? Well, fret not as we have compiled a list of tips for you when you move heavy furniture all by yourself! Without further ado, let’s head right into the nitty-gritty details!
This article is about moving furniture before and after your move. Of course, hiring reliable moving companies like Mesa Moving and Storage will lighten your load greatly when it comes to the actual move. If you are keen on trying them out, check them out at:
Mesa Moving and Storage
2275 South 900 West
South Salt Lake, UT 84119
P: (801) 908-6683
And for more tips on moving heavy furniture, read on!
Making a Plan
To be as efficient as possible in moving heavy furniture, a plan is necessary, especially an inventory list of heavy items to be transported onto the truck. Usually, the way to go around this would be to move heavy items first, towards the back of the truck, as well as, around the sides. This helps to provide an all-round balance for the load and secure the belongings. Therefore, the sequence would be heavy lifting in the earlier stage while the moving of lighter items and furniture will kick in later. Although having to make yet another plan on top of everything else can be a pain, having such a plan will make things a lot easier as it saves you plenty of time and effort later needed to rearrange the furniture.
Utilize Equipment
Moving straps
Also known as “furniture or lifting straps”, these straps are a massive help in lifting heavy furniture as they help to ease the load off our backs and arms, allowing heavy lifting to become manageable. Furthermore, they can be adjusted, so this means a tailored fit for all individuals and the various sizes of furniture.
Furniture Sliders
Next, we would like to introduce the must-have equipment when it comes to moving heavy furniture — furniture sliders! Made from plastic, these sliders are meant to be slotted under each corner or legs of a piece of furniture so that the furniture can be glided across the room with a breeze. Even more amazing, they work on carpet surfaces as well! The functionality of sliders is made possible due to a mobile barrier created between the item and the floor, which greatly reduces the level of friction, the main cause of difficulty faced in moving heavy furniture. As such, not only does it help to get you to move your heavy furniture with ease, it prevents damage to your floor too!
Furniture dollies
Commonly used to move heavy furniture, furniture dollies are useful to have around. There are two types to it, the first one is designed with a square platform supported by four wheels, with or without a handle to push. On the other hand, the second type is a two-wheel hand truck that comes with a smaller base. Nonetheless, it helps to distribute weight, especially in a vertical way, making it particularly useful for tall items.
Breaking Down Furniture and Move Them in Smaller Parts
To better move heavy furniture, it would be best to break them down into smaller compartments and move them piece by piece. For example, remove all the detachable parts, such as legs, drawers as well as bed frames and sectionals so that these smaller parts can be transported separately. However, for instances when you need to remove screws and other small pieces, do store them in a separate bag and label them for easy reference.
Using Proper Lifting Techniques
Remember to Not Bend at your Waist
The biggest reminder we would like to put out there would be to place the weight on your legs, and not your back. This is important as back injuries can be very serious and often lead to lifetime complications and we would not wish for anyone to suffer from this! Hence, to distribute the weight appropriately and lift safely, do not bend over but first squat at your knees during lifting. The reason being, this will settle most of the load onto your legs and arms as you rise, instead of your back.
Carry Heavy Items Close to Your Body
Do try to carry heavy furniture as close to your body as possible, as it would help you with maintaining your balance. By involving upper arms and shoulders instead of forearms, you can reduce the strain level on your body.
Do not twist your body
Not to mention, do take note that your body should be kept still as you lift and move heavy furniture around. We cannot stress enough how important this point is as any form of fast movement or twisting can lead to injury. In place of twisting, if you ever find yourself needing to change your body direction, let your hips lead the way and follow up with your feet. Besides, we would like to caution readers to have a clear sight of where they are moving. There should not be anything blocking your point of view while moving heavy furniture as our body mainly follows our sense of vision. Do keep your head facing forward and minimize looking down.
Getting Up or Down the Stairs
When it comes to the arduous task of moving heavy furniture up the stairs, there is simply no other way out but to seek help from a partner. Carry the furniture from both a high and low perspective, this means the person at the lower portion of the stairs should carry the furniture from its bottom surface while the person on the higher part of the stairs to carry the furniture from its top surface. Do not try to rush things, take your time as it pays to be safe when you go slow, with the person at the bottom setting the pace.
Plan for Unloading
Last but not least, the end finally approaches nearly as all that is left to do is the unpacking and placing them at the right spot in the new house. Just like how we recommended you guys to have a plan for the loading of furniture, do the same for unloading as a good plan will always come in handy by saving any unnecessary trouble later on!
Bottom Line
All in all, while moving heavy furniture may seem like an unapproachable task at first, it is still manageable ultimately, as long as you follow our list of tips! With that said, we hope this has been an informative read for you and if all plans fail, there are always moving companies to seek out help from. We wish you all the best and most importantly, stay safe!
