Essential Tips for Moving Home Furniture Efficiently

Whether it is to another part of the house or another house completely, we all face times where we need to move furniture.

Depending on the size of the items and where you are moving them to, this can be a tricky endeavour. It can also take a fair bit of time and effort to coordinate.

However, there are some things you can do to move your home furniture more efficiently, while reducing the risk of personal injury or causing damage to your property.

In this post, we’ll outline some tips and techniques you can follow to make the process go a lot smoother. If you bear them in mind when it’s time to shift your appointments, you shouldn’t encounter too many issues.

1. Call in the professionals

If you have very heavy or bulky furniture that needs moving, we’d always recommend calling in the services of a professional moving company, using a site like Muval to find removalists.

These types of businesses are experts in transporting all styles of furniture, including big, bulk items like sofas and tables. They also have the tools, techniques and experienced staff that will do the job much quicker than you will be able to.

2. Make sure your fragile items are well-protected

Before you move anything in your home, it is good practice to ensure your most fragile pieces of furniture are well protected.

One of the best ways to do this is to wrap them with moving blankets, which not only offer good protection against the kind of ‘regular’ damage that happen in transit but can even make some odd-shaped items a bit easier to carry too.

If you are engaging a professional removal firm, they should provide these blankets as a part of their service – or at least offer them as an added extra.

However, if you are planning to move the items yourself, you can purchase them from hardware and home renovation stores like Bunnings, Mitre 10 and Officeworks.

Regardless of how you obtain the blankets, once you get them, you should make sure they are properly wrapped around the furniture – paying particular attention to any sharp bits or areas that could otherwise cause issues.

You may also want to cover the item in bubble wrap first before putting the blankets on as an extra precaution.

3. Use ramps and a trolley

For those wanting to move the home furniture themselves, you can make things easier for yourself by laying down a makeshift ramp.

This could be made with material like cut to size MDF, and will help you to move your furniture through a doorway or up or down stairs much more easily. Especially if you use a stair climbing trolley that has straps built into it.

When moving the items along this course, it is a good idea to wear gloves to give you a firmer grip on the furniture pieces. This way, you are at less risk of your hand slipping or your fingers suffering cuts, abrasions or injury.

4. Use straps 

While the trolleys might have straps, you should consider getting some to use for your heavier furniture items that aren’t able to be moved by them.

The great thing about straps is that they put much less stress on your back by using the purchase it gets from your skeleton. In turn, it enables your body to engage your larger muscle groups to do most of the heavy lifting.

Try to get straps that are adjustable, as these will make it much easier to move taller furniture pieces through doorways without having to resort to bending down, crouching or tipping them onto their side.

They also make carrying cumbersome items a lot more manageable, particularly those which do not have good places in which to hold them normally.

5. Adopt the high and low holding technique

Those needing to move large dressers, bookcases, tallboys and cabinets usually require the help of a second person.

If this is the case for you, it is a good idea to adopt the high and low holding technique when shifting the furniture.

This involves tipping the piece at an angle sideways and ensuring one person holds the top of one side of the furniture and the other the bottom.

By doing this, you will stabilise and centre the weight of the furniture piece, which will make it significantly easier to move. This is particularly true if you go downstairs, as the angle you are carrying it will mimic the decline of the stairs.

6. Carry sofas end-up

Of all the items in your home that need moving, couches can be the most awkward. Not least because moving them down a passageway or through a doorframe horizontally might make it more difficult to manoeuvre in and out of rooms.

For this reason, you would be better off turning the couch on its end and then trying to move it through the door.

If you angle it back a little before you get to the opening, you should find it easier to go through it.

As a rule, the more you can lean it back, the easier it should be to slide through.

Whether it is to another part of the house or another house completely, we all face times
where we need to move furniture.
Depending on the size of the items and where you are moving them to, this can be a
tricky endeavour. It can also take a fair bit of time and effort to coordinate.
However, there are some things you can do to move your home furniture more
efficiently, while reducing the risk of personal injury or causing damage to your property.
In this post, we’ll outline some tips and techniques you can follow to make the process
go a lot smoother. If you bear them in mind when it’s time to shift your appointments,
you shouldn’t encounter too many issues.

1. Call in the professionals
   If you have very heavy or bulky furniture that needs moving, we’d always recommend
   calling in the services of a professional moving company, using a site like Muval to find
   removalists.
   These types of businesses are experts in transporting all styles of furniture, including
   big, bulk items like sofas and tables. They also have the tools, techniques and
   experienced staff that will do the job much quicker than you will be able to.
2. Make sure your fragile items are well-protected
   Before you move anything in your home, it is good practice to ensure your most fragile
   pieces of furniture are well protected.
   One of the best ways to do this is to wrap them with moving blankets, which not only
   offer good protection against the kind of ‘regular’ damage that happen in transit but can
   even make some odd-shaped items a bit easier to carry too.
   If you are engaging a professional removal firm, they should provide these blankets as a
   part of their service – or at least offer them as an added extra.
   However, if you are planning to move the items yourself, you can purchase them from
   hardware and home renovation stores like Bunnings, Mitre 10 and Officeworks.

Regardless of how you obtain the blankets, once you get them, you should make sure
they are properly wrapped around the furniture – paying particular attention to any sharp
bits or areas that could otherwise cause issues.
You may also want to cover the item in bubble wrap first before putting the blankets on
as an extra precaution.

3. Use ramps and a trolley
   For those wanting to move the home furniture themselves, you can make things easier
   for yourself by laying down a makeshift ramp.
   This could be made with material like cut to size MDF, and will help you to move your
   furniture through a doorway or up or down stairs much more easily. Especially if you
   use a stair climbing trolley that has straps built into it.
   When moving the items along this course, it is a good idea to wear gloves to give you a
   firmer grip on the furniture pieces. This way, you are at less risk of your hand slipping or
   your fingers suffering cuts, abrasions or injury.
4. Use straps
   While the trolleys might have straps, you should consider getting some to use for your
   heavier furniture items that aren’t able to be moved by them.
   The great thing about straps is that they put much less stress on your back by using the
   purchase it gets from your skeleton. In turn, it enables your body to engage your larger
   muscle groups to do most of the heavy lifting.
   Try to get straps that are adjustable, as these will make it much easier to move taller
   furniture pieces through doorways without having to resort to bending down, crouching
   or tipping them onto their side.
   They also make carrying cumbersome items a lot more manageable, particularly those
   which do not have good places in which to hold them normally.
5. Adopt the high and low holding technique

Those needing to move large dressers, bookcases, tallboys and cabinets usually
require the help of a second person.
If this is the case for you, it is a good idea to adopt the high and low holding technique
when shifting the furniture.
This involves tipping the piece at an angle sideways and ensuring one person holds the
top of one side of the furniture and the other the bottom.
By doing this, you will stabilise and centre the weight of the furniture piece, which will
make it significantly easier to move. This is particularly true if you go downstairs, as the
angle you are carrying it will mimic the decline of the stairs.

6. Carry sofas end-up
   Of all the items in your home that need moving, couches can be the most awkward. Not
   least because moving them down a passageway or through a doorframe horizontally
   might make it more difficult to manoeuvre in and out of rooms.
   For this reason, you would be better off turning the couch on its end and then trying to
   move it through the door.
   If you angle it back a little before you get to the opening, you should find it easier to go
   through it.
   As a rule, the more you can lean it back, the easier it should be to slide through.