5 Ways to Protect Your Furniture During a Move

Properly packed moving van with everything securely in place

Mov­ing any­where, let alone across the coun­try, can be a has­sle, and trans­port­ing expen­sive fur­ni­ture can be a major cause of anx­i­ety dur­ing the process. Being well-pre­pared for your move will make things sig­nif­i­cant­ly eas­i­er. While fur­ni­ture is heavy, bulky, and dif­fi­cult to move, these fur­ni­ture mov­ing tips and best prac­tices will help to pro­tect your fur­ni­ture and prop­er­ly pre­pare you for the move.

1. Clean and Photograph Furniture

Man vacuuming and cleaning his grey tufted couch to prepare for his move

The first thing you should do is thor­ough­ly clean and inspect your fur­ni­ture before pack­ing it up. Not only does a thor­ough clean pre­pare your fur­ni­ture for the move and for your new home, but it also gives you the oppor­tu­ni­ty to inspect your fur­ni­ture close­ly. Note and pho­to­graph any pre-exist­ing dam­age so that you have records of the con­di­tion of your fur­ni­ture and per­son­al items before the move, in case any dis­putes arise with your movers.

Make sure that you clean your fur­ni­ture prop­er­ly and with the cor­rect mate­ri­als. For exam­ple, if you’re clean­ing a couch, find an appro­pri­ate fab­ric clean­er and test the clean­er on a swatch of fab­ric some­where unno­tice­able to see if the clean­er caus­es dis­col­oration. For wood fur­ni­ture, use a nat­ur­al wood clean­er to avoid stain­ing or dam­ag­ing the wood.

2. Take Apart Furniture

Woman taking apart her shelving unit before she packs it to move

If pos­si­ble, dis­as­sem­ble your fur­ni­ture before the move. Tak­ing apart your fur­ni­ture will not only help you get it through your door­ways, but it will also make pack­ing much easier.

The strain and pres­sure on fur­ni­ture while mov­ing may loosen screws or lead to bent or bro­ken pieces, so tak­ing it apart will also help pre­serve it. You can dis­as­sem­ble fur­ni­ture items such as bed frames, desks, tables, book­shelves, and dressers. If you’re unsure about how to take these items apart, con­sult the build­ing man­u­al or instruc­tions. If there are large pieces, such as table legs, label these with stick­ers. Be sure to keep track of all screws and hard­ware that you remove from your fur­ni­ture. Sort­ing the hard­ware and clear­ly label­ing which piece of fur­ni­ture it’s from will save you time and frus­tra­tion when it’s time to rebuild your fur­ni­ture in your new home.

3. Pack and Move Properly

Furniture and personal items efficiently packed into a moving van, a top furniture moving tip

Now that you’ve cleaned, cat­a­loged, and dis­as­sem­bled your fur­ni­ture, the best way to pro­tect it is to pack it prop­er­ly. Remove any cush­ions or pil­lows and place them in clear plas­tic garbage bags. Care­ful­ly insu­late any­thing frag­ile or mate­ri­als that could be scratched or scuffed. Uti­lize pack­ing mate­ri­als, such as bub­ble wrap, mov­ing blan­kets, and card­board to pre­vent items from tap­ping against each oth­er or falling dur­ing transit.

When it’s time to load the mov­ing van, max­i­mize the space inside by strate­gi­cal­ly load­ing in your items. Start with the heav­i­est and bulki­est items in the back of the van. Next, fill in space with box­es and bins. Final­ly, fill the remain­ing space with odd­ly shaped items and frag­ile items that need extra cushioning.

4. Hire Reputable Movers

Two men from a reputable moving company moving a dresser into a new home

To ensure the smoothest expe­ri­ence pos­si­ble, hire rep­utable movers.  Movers, espe­cial­ly those expe­ri­enced with cross coun­try mov­ing, will know best prac­tices for moves and help you pre­pare your fur­ni­ture and belong­ings for the trip. There is a lot to con­sid­er when mov­ing, includ­ing the size of van you need, the option of ship­ping some items in advance of your move, and stor­age units at your new des­ti­na­tion; movers can offer advice and help take the guess­work out of the move.

5. Check Furniture for Damage Upon Arrival

Furniture moving tip example: checking the edges of a couch for damage after moving

Once you reach your new home and unload your fur­ni­ture and belong­ings, be sure to inspect your fur­ni­ture for any new dam­age such as scratch­es, dents, break­age, and more. Refer to the pho­tographs and notes you took at the begin­ning of the process. If some­thing is dam­aged, do not repair it your­self; instead, sub­mit a claim with the mov­ing company.

Wrapping Up: Safely Transporting Your Furniture

Although mov­ing can be stress­ful, it doesn’t have to be! Tak­ing your time to prop­er­ly pre­pare and pack your fur­ni­ture and belong­ings can alle­vi­ate a lot of the anx­i­ety and frus­tra­tion that comes with relo­cat­ing. Clean­ing and inves­ti­gat­ing your fur­ni­ture for pre-exist­ing dam­age pre­pares you to then dis­as­sem­ble and prop­er­ly trans­port your per­son­al belongings.

Make sure you pack intel­li­gent­ly, uti­liz­ing pack­ing mate­ri­als and best prac­tices for load­ing a mov­ing van. Con­sid­er hir­ing movers to aid with the move, and inspect your fur­ni­ture for dam­age upon your arrival. These fur­ni­ture mov­ing tips and steps will make your move a breeze so you can enjoy the trip and be excit­ed for your new home.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Scroll to Top
Scroll to Top