Moving Large Furniture: How to move it Safely and Easily by Yourself

Moving Large Furniture: Tips, techniques and hacks to move it safely by yourself

Lifting, holding and moving large furniture requires right techniques and appropriate tools. And when you try doing it yourself without right tools or knowing the right techniques, you are always at some risk. But when you have the tools and know the techniques used by professionals, you can move heavy and large furniture safely and with ease.

This is one of the primary reasons why we prefer hiring moving service is because we find it hard to pick and move larger furniture from one place to another. And, it is actually a fact, that if we are not able to hold or lift the large furniture comfortably, we may end up getting hurt or end-up damaging the furniture and other surrounding items in the house.

But, the professional moving service providers are well trained, and they know the right techniques and have all the tools to lift and move even the larger and heavy weight furniture without causing any damage.

However, if you are planning to go for a do-it- yourself move and you are not quite sure about how to move the large and heavy furniture on your own, then I have got you covered. Today, in this post about moving larger and heavy weight furniture I am sharing a few of the quick and simple hacks that can help you to move all types of furniture by yourself.

Tips for moving large furniture by yourself

You know, when you have right set of tools, and you know the right techniques, then doing something becomes much easier, and that’s the case with moving companies. They have all the tools, know the right process and therefore they are able to move your goods, including heavy and larger furniture.

And therefore, if you are moving large furniture by yourself, it’s important to get right tools, and know about the right techniques like how to hold, pick and move heavy weight furniture. And that’s what I am going to share in this post for you to move large furniture by yourself easily and safely.

However, before you try these large furniture moving tips and hacks, just check and see at first, whether you are able to manage or not and then accordingly take a call. And don’t hesitate to take help from friends, family, neighbors or professional moving service providers, when needed.

And here are the simple packing moving hacks and tips for moving large furniture easily and safely by yourself.

Access feasibility of moving by yourself

In order to make it easier for you to move large furniture smoothly and safely, you need to plan things really well. At first, access whether you require someone to help or you can pull it off on your own.

After that, figure out what are the things that you are going to carry exactly and where. Since you are moving the furniture alone, it’s important to jot down all the potential risks, and prepare yourself to tackle those carefully.

Also, take into account where you will be keeping the things after unloading them in the new home, because that will help you to pack the items in the right order.

Lighten the load before moving

When you are moving the heavy and the bulky furniture, try to lighten the load as much as you can. Remove all the attached parts if it can be removed before lifting and moving the furniture.

Like when it is about moving a desk, avoid moving it without removing the drawers and the other contents inside it. If removing is not an option available to you, at least tape the drawers and the shelves shut so that they do not open while you are lifting and carrying the item.

Removing the furniture legs and the protruding handles, knobs and pulls will also make things easier for you. However, do not forget to label things while removing so that you can put them back in the right place later.

These will not just make the furniture lighter to carry but will also help prevent gouging walls, scratching floors and pinching fingers.

Get the right tools for moving furniture

You will obviously need the right moving tools, equipments and packing materials if you have to move the large and heavy furniture by yourself. So, some of the items that you need to arrange for are as below:

  • Dollies– Dollies are the most essential tools used by moving companies for moving large and heavy weight furniture. A utility dolly is an upright tool that has got two wheels. But a furniture dolly is flat with 4 wheels. In case of moving furniture, you need to buy the furniture dolly. These are easily available for rent, so grab one before the moving day. Furniture dollies are best for moving washing machines and dryers. However, in case of objects that are higher than your chest level, be very careful or maybe avoid using a dolly.
  • Lifting straps– This moving tool works like a pulley system and helps you lift large and heavy furniture with ease. The best thing is that when you are using lifting straps, it will help you put less strain on your body by lowering the center of gravity of the large and heavy furniture that you are lifting.
  • Stair rollers– Stair rollers help you to roll the heavy furniture easily down the steps. However, it is a bit risky if you are not aware of how to guide the furniture safely down the stairs. And, even if you are confident that you can do it, I will suggest you to take help from others instead of doing it all alone.
  • Glides and sliders– It is very much advisable that you go for sliders for your large furniture instead of lifting them by hand. These are typically the plastic disks that get easily fitted under the large and heavy furniture so that they glide easily across the floor when you are pushing it. You just have to slip the slider under the legs of the furniture, not lift it. After that, tilt it on the side and slide the right material underneath it. For dressers and couches, the sliders are the best option to go for.

In fact, the sliders, besides helping you to move the large items easily, they also help you protect both carpet and hardwood floors from getting scratched or damaged while moving the large objects.

Protect doorways

You are very likely to bump against the doorways while moving the large and heavy furniture from one room to another. So, in order to prevent that from happening, you can remove the molding of the doorways that falls in the path as that you get some extra space to move the large furniture.

You may also consider covering your furniture using quilted pads as that will also help you protect your doorways. Furniture blankets and bubble wraps are also good. Just be sure that the covering is very tightly secure to the item that you are carrying with a tape so that it does not slip while you are moving the item.

Use right techniques for moving large furniture

The professional movers are well trained in carrying the heavy and the large furniture and you are not a professional. You may not have that much of an experience to carry heavy objects. So, you need to be very careful while moving large furniture to avoid serious injuries.

Listed below are a few of the safety tricks that you should keep in mind when moving heavy furniture for your own safety.

  • While you are lifting any object, make sure you lift using your legs and not your back. If you do not do this, you may end up hurting your back really bad.
  • The right bending posture is very important when lifting heavy weight objects like larger furniture and therefore you should bend using your knees and not your waist.
  • Always remember to straighten your hips and knees, and then extend the legs and breathe out as you are lifting the furniture.
  • Do not twist your body or bed forward when lifting the furniture for moving.
  • You should hold the furniture as close to your body as you can, and at right height e.g. at the level of your belly button.
  • You should not rush while moving heavy weight furniture, so be slow and steady while lifting and moving large furniture.
  • Never ever lift the heavy furniture or any other heavy object above your shoulders or with your arms extended outwards.

Wear gloves and shoes

I would definitely recommend you to wear heavy duty protecting gloves while moving heavy furniture on the moving day. This is a good precaution which will help you prevent scratching or damaging your fingers while moving the furniture or any other packed moving boxes.

Wearing comfortable shoes is equally important for your safety and comfort when moving large furniture. Close toed shoes are really good for such tasks. You can even wear the comfortable sports shoes. They will keep your feet protected while you are lifting and moving the large and heavy furniture.

Summary

Moving is always complicated, and especially the do it yourself move. However, as far as the lighter and the smaller household items are concerned, one can still manage to pack and move those easily and safely. But moving large furniture by yourself is not going to be easy, and that’s where the professional packer mover services become necessary.

If you are not able to use the right techniques, you will only be increasing the risk of damaging the furniture but also may end up getting seriously hurt. This is why hiring movers is always preferred, as they are trained as well as have the right tools to move the heavy and large objects.

However, if you know the right techniques and have all the right tools, you can move heavy and large furniture safely and without much hassle. Some of the common tools that you require to move large furniture are the moving straps, furniture dollies, sliders and stair rollers.

To make things easier to lift the heavy objects you may also buy tools like forklift, skates, and rollers skids, lift buddy, toe jacks etc. But since buying everything is not possible, at least arrange for the most obvious ones as it makes moving larger furniture safe and easier.

I have already shared tips for lifting and holding the furniture above and if you follow these techniques closely and use the tools correctly, you will be able to large furniture much more safely and effortlessly.

What else do you think one should keep in mind when moving large furniture by themselves? Share your furniture moving tips and hacks by commenting below.

Until next post, take care and happy moving!

Published by

Jay N Prasad

Jay is the co-founder of Servicesutra. He started his career as a software developer and has over two decades of experience in coding and project management. Currently he looks after the business side of packers and movers vertical at servicesutra. When not busy with work, you can find him reading, writing or making how to videos.