6 Tips for Moving Heavy Furniture

If you’re wondering how to move heavy furniture by yourself, or with the help of friends, preparation is key. Moving heavy items incorrectly could risk someone getting hurt – not to mention damaging your prized dresser or sofa. To minimize these unnecessary mishaps, we’ll run you through some important steps you can take.

You might be able to save money by not hiring a professional mover, but if you opt for the DIY approach, make sure you do it right. Following these simple but straightforward tips for moving furniture can make transporting big, awkward items easier and safer. From proper lifting techniques and packing supplies to moving straps and everything else, we’ll explain how to move furniture easily.

1. Prep for Moving Furniture

Whether you’re moving home or putting furniture into a storage unit, it’s a good idea to write down what needs moving and when. This includes listing an inventory of everything you need, from packing supplies to moving trucks, as this can help you break down how to pack your furniture for moving. This may seem like an obvious step but taking your time and thinking through every part of the move is important.

Will you need any help from friends to move your items? If so, note how many. Think about potential difficulties or dangers – for example, if you are moving heavy furniture, it could be too weighty to carry alone. We will show you how to move heavy furniture by yourself safely.

Examine entries and exits

Knowing where to enter and exit is crucial, this helps to efficiently route the transportation path of your pieces of furniture. This is critical if you want to protect your furniture and fragile items. This can include:

• Doing an entry and exit audit on more than one room in case you need to carry your things through multiple rooms.
• Examining windows and doors to make use of all entry/exit points.
• Measuring each point of entry/exit with a tape measure to see if your items will fit through.

If you need to know how to move a couch by yourself, for example – taking these into account beforehand can save you a lot of hassle.

Clear a path

A smooth path to an exit allows for easy transportation. No matter what piece of furniture you are moving, obstacles are a health and safety matter. The last thing you want is to trip over and have an accident.

Before moving any items, ensure that nothing stands in the way. Move other pieces of furniture to make space. Remember, clearing the physical pathway can also help clear your mind during a stressful move, making the entire process smoother and easier.

2. Moving aids for heavy items

There are plenty of tools you can use to help you move furniture. Check out our list of useful items below:

• Furniture sliders
• Bubble wrap
• Lifting straps
• Hand truck
• Furniture dollies
• Plastic wrap
• Moving blankets
• Packing supplies
• Moving straps
• Moving trucks
• Packing paper
• Packing tape

Slings

Moving large items can be tough. Consider a mattress, for example. What may feel light and soft to lay on at night, is heavy and cumbersome if you’re shifting it elsewhere. Moving a mattress is a two-person job, as you’re moving something heavy and awkwardly shaped. We advise getting someone to help you with this.

When moving large and heavy items like a mattress, you’ll need to make sure it’s secure.

Creating a mattress sling can prevent it from flopping around and causing damage. These function as moving straps, helping to distribute the weight of the item evenly, making carrying much easier.

You will find it easier to keep your mattress steady when using a sling, which should make the process much simpler. Here’s how to create one using a piece of rope:

• First, make sure the rope is much longer than the mattress you’re trying to move.
• Next, secure the rope underneath the mattress.
• Then, pull the rope out at each side to create handles. You’ll hold one side while a friend takes the other.

Dollies

Furniture dollies are simple yet amazingly effective. They’re often just a wooden rectangle on four wheels. Lift your heavy furniture and position it so the center-most flat surface is sitting on the dolly. This makes moving heavy items much simpler.

Using a furniture dolly is often a two-person job, with one steering in front on the lookout for obstacles while the person at the back pushes. Take it easy and don’t go too quickly – and be careful of gradients on the floor. Make sure your item doesn’t tip or roll away.

Sliders

Friction can cause problems when moving large items around. If you’re moving heavy furniture on your own, furniture sliders are essential – not just for ease of movement, but for your own health and safety, too. It’s often a lot easier to push heavy furniture around than it is to lift it.

Furniture sliders are usually made of single part or multi-part plastic. When placed under each leg or corner of furniture, they help it glide across the floor, even on carpet. Furniture sliders create a mobile barrier between the furniture and the floor. They also mitigate the risk of scrapes and damage to wood, tiles, or carpets.

Straps

Lifting straps are also useful for lifting heavy furniture. They can help prevent you from hurting yourself by making lifting heavy or awkward objects easier.

The straps work like a pulley system, centering your weight and allowing you to use your muscle power more effectively. The simplest straps wrap around an object with handles or loops at either end to help you get a better grip. You can get braces for your:

• Forearms
• Shoulders
• Back

Moving straps can help you move items by evenly distributing the weight, reducing strain on the body, and shortening the move time. Full back braces are ideal for extra heavy items, especially if you want to avoid the risk of injury. Home improvement and DIY stores, like Home Depot, usually stock them.

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3. Protect doorways and railings

With the best will in the world, and even after following these tips, accidents can happen. Doorways and railings are often the cause of damage when moving heavy furniture. One slip or drop can result in scratches or ugly dents. To prevent this, why not try:

• Foam corners and doorway pads.
• Items around the home to cushion potential blows, such as blankets, furniture blankets, and mattress covers.
• Removing the door and molding altogether.

For extra protection, you might want to consider wrapping your furniture too. As well as the doors, you don’t want to damage your furniture, either. With these methods, you can help protect both.

4. Remove parts to cut weight

If there are parts of your large furniture you can remove, it’s a good idea to do so. Package them separately – it will make it easier to make your way through doors and rooms. It’s easy to disassemble things like table legs, sofa cushions, and office chairs. Try looking up the instructions online for further information on putting pieces together.

When removing parts, just make sure to label them to avoid confusion when you reassemble them later. Save any screws, nuts, and bolts in a plastic bag or container and attach them to their furniture pieces or label them well. That way, you’ll be able to reconstruct your furniture when you arrive at your destination, without worrying about replacing a lost screw or attachment.

5. Use the correct lifting technique

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to forget when you’re stressed and want to finish the job quickly. This is one of the most overlooked tips for moving furniture but doing it correctly can make the process much safer.  

Always lift with your legs by bending your knees and keeping your back straight. Pushing is better than lifting, and when carrying, keep the item close to you and near your center of gravity. Here are a few more important tips to remember:

• Two people can make large objects like dressers less awkward to handle.
• Tall items are best carried high and low, at an angle. This centers the weight and stops it from swinging out of control.
• If you’re carrying upstairs, your angle will be at a similar one to the slope. Do it right and you reduce the risk of a trip to the hospital with a bad back.

6. Find the right transportation

If you’re moving furniture from one home to another, or into storage, think about the vehicle you’re planning to use and if it’s big enough. Make sure there’s parking nearby and take measurements of the furniture you are moving and of the vehicle you’re planning to use.

Planning to move your furniture to a storage unit? It’s a good idea to check if the storage facility has any partnerships with moving truck companies. CubeSmart offers moving deals other amenities when you store your items with us. Before committing to a unit, make sure your furniture will fit with our storage size guide.

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