How to Pack Furniture and Protect It When Moving to a New Home
How Do You Pack Furniture for Moving?
How to prepare furniture for moving? You need to stay focused and organized if you want this process to go smoothly and to move efficiently. You should start by writing down a list of all the items you want to relocate and decide about your priorities. If some of the objects are super fragile and delicate, you should definitely consider hiring professionals, at least for relocating a piano. They know how to pack fragile objects, so you’ll learn some convenient relocation hacks you can later apply to other objects.
Should You Wrap Furniture for Moving?
Packing furniture is a delicate process. Depending on whether we’re talking about a sofa, queen-size bed, or a closet, you should use different techniques. Some fragile objects, such as glass, require extra layers of wrapping and protection, preferably bubble wrap. On the other hand, wooden chairs, tables, and similar pieces should be wrapped with cushioning materials, such as blankets, not in plastic wrappers. Ensure you’re familiar with all of these rules before you start doing anything on your own that you might regret later.
First Things First – Get Appropriate Packing Supplies and Equipment
This process can be and will be much easier if you get all the necessary equipment in advance. Some of the basic materials and supplies you should include in your relocation expenses checklist are:
- Boxes,
- Paper,
- Plastic and bubble wrap,
- Tape,
- Markers for labeling,
- Blankets.
For relocating bulky and heavy belongings, you might need some additional equipment that includes special dollies and straps that will help you maneuver these pieces without getting injured. Adding wheels underneath some bulky belongings will make everything much more achievable.
Where Can I Get These Supplies?
You can find most of these materials in local stores for an affordable price. On the other hand, the final price depends on the size of your move. If you need to relocate your whole residence, you might spend more money just on the equipment than you would spend on the professional residential relocation services that include all the supplies plus transportation in a specialized truck. Make a wise decision to save yourself from unnecessary relocation stress and hire the best Seattle movers. The only thing you need to worry about is the items movers won’t move – everything else is our concern.
Prepare Your Belongings – Disassemble Pieces if Possible
Sometimes, you’ll be lucky enough to be able to disassemble pieces for relocation, and by doing that, your process will instantly become much easier. Obviously, if you want to do this, you need to follow some of the basic instructions, and you’ll also need a couple of tools such as screwdrivers. If you don’t have the necessary tools for these activities, ensure to get them on time – once you check the type of screws you’re dealing with. If you decide to hire professionals, they can assist you with the disassembling process if that bothers you.
Follow Manuals When Disassembling Items and Keep Your Screws
Every item you have in your house that gets disassembled (usually items from Ikea) comes with a manual that we hope you didn’t throw away. If you keep it somewhere in your storage, find it and use it because it can speed up the process significantly, plus it can be helpful once you get everything to your new home. Once you succeed in disassembling all of the pieces, place all the screws in plastic bags or other containers and somehow mark and make notes for yourself which ones go where. This short video shows exactly how to assemble a chair from Ikea and use it again.
Wrapping Procedure Guidelines
Once you’re done with all the preparations, you can get on to the actual wrapping and packing part of the task. This will require most of your gathered supplies, so make sure you have them by now. If you don’t know how to pack books or anything about packing dishes for relocation, you should also look up some instructions, because they can vary depending on the special category of belongings. For wrapping some bulkier inventory, here’s what you need to do:
- Cover each item with blankets and padding, wrap legs and other parts – this is essential because covering them will prevent any external damage or scratches.
- Secure it with tape or rubber bands to stay tight. It’s not enough to just cover everything if you don’t secure it to stay tight and in place during the whole process, which includes many movements and possibilities for coverage to fall off the item.
- Start wrapping plastic around the padding. This additional layer of protection will provide extra safety to some extremely fragile pieces.
- Cut cardboard and place it on the corners of the item, and tape it carefully around the corners. These parts usually stick out and can easily get broken or damaged if you hit a wall or something else falls on the item, so extra protection is more than necessary.
How Do You Wrap Wood Furniture for Moving?
Wrapping furniture for moving can be much easier if you know all the relocation tips and hacks. The most important thing you should know when packing wooden chairs and tables is that their surfaces might get damaged if you choose to “protect” them with plastic or bubble wrap. In order to prevent this, you should put some soft padding as the first layer, and once you secure it, you can add additional layers of bubble and plastic wrap as described earlier. Some of the old wooden belongings, such as pianos, can be extra delicate, so you should be very careful with their protection, and you need to follow all the guidelines.
If you don’t follow the instructions, lacquer and paint may come off, and you’ll end up with a piece that needs complete repair. Save yourself the trouble by hiring professionals and enjoy more free time exploring some of the best parks in Seattle with your family or exploring exciting Seattle nightlife with your friends. Professionals can even remind you about the most commonly forgotten things to pack so you won’t have any worries on your mind.
How Do You Wrap Furniture in for Storage?
Preparing and wrapping belongings for storage is similar to previously described procedures. Some of the main instructions you should follow are:
- Make sure everything is clean,
- Don’t leave any food behind,
- Use special chemicals to prevent decay of items,
- Wrap items for long-term storage because you’ll never know how long they are going to stay there,
- Raise items off the floor.
All of these steps should be on your to-do list if you want to protect and secure your belongings. If you’re going to relocate your storage inventory from one storage unit to another, our Seattle moving company can offer you convenient in- and-out-of storage relocation services.
You Need to Be Careful When Trying to Load the Truck
Another important part of a successful move is loading the truck. You might think that protecting everything using described techniques is enough, but it is not. There is not enough layering that can, for example, stop your piano or TV from getting damaged if they fall over or topple while on the truck. To prevent this from happening, you should consider organizing everything in a way that the larger and heavier objects are underneath lighter and more fragile ones.
You should also use specialized straps and other equipment to prevent unwanted movements around the truck. Another thing to consider, especially if you’re relocating with pets, is that they shouldn’t get on your way while carrying heavy objects. Keep an eye on any other potential road obstacles and remove everything you find dangerous and threatening.
Follow Appropriate Lifting Techniques
Lifting heavy objects on your own can be dangerous and cause severe injuries, especially if you don’t get any assistance from your friends or professionals or you don’t follow the proper lifting techniques. When lifting a heavy object, here’s what you need to do:
- Keep your legs wide and steady on the floor,
- Squat a bit by bending your knees and hips,
- Keep your spine straight,
- Start lifting slowly by straightening your knees and hips while your back is still straight,
- Start making small steps and use hips to navigate and keep the balance,
- When putting the object down, follow the same procedure.
If you need someone to assist you with heavy duties because you’re planning an apartment relocation and your building has no elevators, our team can offer you additional labor-only service.
If You Don’t Know How to Pack Furniture on Your Own – Hire a Professional Moving Company in Seattle
After relaxing at a fun going-away party that you organized for your friends and family, you can focus on your other priorities. If you have enough reasons to move and think that one of the best neighborhoods in Seattle for families is perfect for you but still don’t know how to pack furniture for moving, the best thing you can do is to hire professional movers in Seattle.
Our company has a year-long tradition of providing clients with the highest quality local relocation services. You don’t need to stress out packing everything on your own – our trained packers and movers will do everything for you and even give you a free quote on your residential move. With our local movers in Seattle and their convenient packing services, everything will be ready for your move in no time. Feel free to contact us to get a free quote or any other information you may need, and we’ll be happy to help you out.