How to Pack Furniture

By Scott Boone

Image courtesy of wikimedia

During the course of the past year, I have shown you how to pack everything from artwork and breakables to pets and plants.  Whether a possession is large or small, sturdy or fragile, there is a right and wrong way to ready it for moving.  Follow my suggestions and the odds favor you getting most any object from point A to point B in one piece.  Believe it or not, the same principles work just fine when it comes to moving furniture. 

      1.      Anything with a cushion – Whether you’re talking about a chair or a sofa, anything that has a cushion needs to be handled with care since wood and fabric have wildly different characteristics.  Wood is tough as nails, yet relatively easy to scratch.  That’s why professional movers always swaddle them in several layers of plastic wrap before they move them to the truck. 

Cushions, on the other hand, are not only easy to stain, they are easy to tear.  Since everything stacked in a truck has a tendency to shift slightly during transit, if you don’t remove as many cushions as you can, you run the risk of having them marred.  When possible, always remove and bag or wrap cushions separately.  This will keep them out of harm’s way during transport.

     

Image courtesy of Pixabay

2.      Beds are bad – If you’ve ever tried to move a mattress, then you know how difficult it can be.  Especially when dealing with king and queen-sized mattresses, anything that’s big and bendy can be tough to handle.  They are also easy to rip and stain.  That’s why movers wrap and stack them on their side in the truck.  Box springs, while being just as bulky as mattresses, aren’t as hard to handle since their frames are stiff and light.  Still, you want to leave these for your movers to handle. 

      3.      The trouble with tables – Tables come in all shapes and sizes.  There are wooden end tables, glass and chrome coffee tables and large dining tables.  While the size and shape of the multitude of tables to be found in the average home is staggering, their vulnerabilities are limited to three: flimsy legs, easily scratched tops and sometimes fragile glass components. 

When it comes to legs, depending on the type of table, these can be removed, or on smaller tables they can sometimes be nested after being wrapped.  The trick is to keep those flimsy legs from taking undue pressure from the sides during transport.  While most tables can support a lot of weight, it doesn’t take much lateral force to snap their legs off.

When it comes to protecting the tabletops, that’s what furniture blankets were made for. These heavy-duty cloth covers will keep tables from being scratched or dinged during transport.

When it comes to glass tops, if it can be removed, it should be removed.  If not, you definitely need to leave it for your mover to wrap and pad.  If you swaddle a glass-topped table without telling your movers, there’s a high probability that it could get broken. 

Image courtesy of flickr

      4.      Some assembly required – Most homes come equipped with a plethora of shelves and cabinets.  Everything from elaborate entertainment centers and some desks require a bit of disassembly to get them ready for transport.  Unless you pay your movers to do this, the task will fall on you to disassemble and assemble these items.  The most important factor to keep in mind if the task falls to you is to tag and bag all the hardware, then tape the bag in the recesses of the furniture.  This way they’ll be out of the way, but you won’t spend an hour trying to hunt down the fasteners once the move is complete.  The other thing to remember is that drawers and glass doors need to be removed and carefully stacked nearby.  Other doors can be tied together with twine to keep them from opening while being carried.

      5.      The big and the bulky – While any mover will be more than happy to move the biggest sofa-bed and the bulkiest bookshelves, what many won’t move are things like hot tubs, pianos, large statues, full-sized pool tables or floor safes.  If you have any of these items in your home, you may need to contract with a specialty mover.

      6.      Major appliances – When it comes to the fridge, make sure you empty it, clean it and unplug it before the movers arrive.  If not, you’ll be adding to your bill as the movers cool their heels while they watch you clean out your fridge.  The dishwasher, washing machine and dryer need to be disconnected before they can be moved as well. Once again, unless you contract with the movers in advance, this task will fall to you.

While it takes a little bit of time to prepare your furniture for shipping, it’s time well spent since you probably paid a lot for them in the first place. 

With over 5,000 moves, Scott's Discount Movers has handled moves of all sizes, including local and cross country. If you are looking to move your home or office, you can depend on Scott's Discount Movers to provide a stress-free relocation.