8 Dos and Don’ts for Preparing Your Furniture for a Domestic Move

A home isn’t a home when it doesn’t have any furniture.

Different types of furniture are essential for making rooms functional and comfortable. They also enhance the aesthetics of various spaces and your home overall.

Since furniture pieces serve various functional and decorative purposes, you usually won’t go wrong investing in and filling your home with them.

Having plenty of furniture in your home, though, can become a huge problem when you decide to relocate. You’ll have to put in a lot of hard work to prepare your furnishings to ensure they don’t get damaged during the move and are ready for use in your new residence.

Best Practices for Preparing Furniture for a Local Move

If you are getting ready for domestic relocation, you can prepare and protect your furniture optimally by following these key dos and don’ts:

Dos

1. Inspect and create an inventory of all furniture pieces.

Taking the time to check all your furnishings before proceeding with the other preparation steps can help reduce all the work you have to put into this part of the relocation process.

Inspect all furniture items for any signs of damage. If they have flaws that make them unusable or too unsightly and are expensive to fix, it is best to dispose of or give them away to anyone who might still be interested in restoring them.

While checking large furniture pieces, measure them as well. Ensure they can fit through doorways, hallways, and corners of your new home.

Also, check if the large furniture items can fit into the lift if you are moving to a flat.

Lastly, create a list of all the items you’ll bring with you on your move. This inventory will help you keep track of all your furnishings during and after your relocation.

It will also serve as your guide when buying the packing supplies you’ll need for preparing and protecting the furniture.

2. Prepare all packing supplies.

Before you start packing any furniture, ensure you have everything you need to do this to avoid wasting time buying them while you’re in the middle of the process.

Aside from cardboard or moving boxes and packing tape, invest in the following to protect all your furniture pieces during the removal process:

  • Moving blankets or furniture padding
  • Bubble wrap
  • Sofa and mattress cover
  • Stretch or plastic wrap
  • Packing paper
  • Sealable plastic bags
  • Corrugated cardboard sheets

3. Disassemble bulky furniture pieces that can be dismantled.

When preparing furniture, disassemble any large items that can be dismantled. These can include bed frames, dining tables, couches, dressers, and entertainment cabinets.

Doing so can make moving them faster and easier. It will also help reduce the likelihood of them getting damaged when they are being carried or transported.

Most bed frames can be disassembled, so take those apart. Remove the legs and tops from tables and knobs and other detachable pieces from dressers and desks as well.

Also, remove the cushions and legs of sofas and other chairs.

If you still have the furniture owner’s manual, use it so that you can dismantle each item correctly.

Lastly, if the item has numerous small pieces, including screws and bolts, use a marker and masking tape to note where each piece should go.

4. Wrap, protect, and secure all furniture pieces and parts correctly.

Regardless of the furniture material, make sure you protect each piece by following these tips:

  • Use moving blankets or furniture padding to protect wooden furnishings.
  • Put corrugated cardboard sheets between furniture pieces for extra protection and prevent scratches while they are in transit.
  • Wrap or cover glass doors with packing paper.
  • Use furniture blankets or cardboard sheets to cover dressers.
  • Cover glass tabletops with furniture blankets and place them in durable moving boxes.
  • Wrap mattresses and sofas in stretch plastic to protect them from stains, spills, and rips.

Also, protect furniture corners and secure detachable parts. The corners of your furniture are likely to get damaged whenever they get moved around.

You can prevent this from happening by covering furniture corners with pieces of thick corrugated cardboard. Next, use stretch or plastic wrap to keep them in place.

Also, secure movable parts that you can’t detach, such as doors, panels, and drawers. Use stretch wrap to ensure they stay firmly closed while they are in transit.

Additionally, put screws, bolts, and other hardware in sealed plastic bags and tape them to the furniture to avoid losing or misplacing them.

Don’ts

1. Pack furniture without cleaning them

Before disassembling and packing furniture pieces, clean and dust them thoroughly.

If you wrap or cover a furniture piece while it is dirty, the dust and debris will simply scratch it. Dirt may also leave marks or stains on them.

Additionally, you don’t want to track dirt inside your new home that you have to clean immediately after your move.

2. Use bubble wrap or packing tape directly over delicate fabrics.

No matter how pressed you are for time, avoid covering furniture with delicate surfaces with bubble wrap and packing tape directly.

Doing so ensures your furniture’s fine finish won’t be damaged during the move.

Before wrapping furniture with delicate high-end fabric using bubble wrap and securing it with packing tape, cover it with blankets or soft, plain paper.

3. Leave large areas of the furniture unprotected or uncovered.

When moving furniture, don’t leave anything to chance. Ensure each item is covered thoroughly before moving it.

Make sure you cover all exposed surfaces of your furniture pieces entirely so they remain protected at all times.

Moreover, always secure the moving blankets, cardboard, paper, and bubble wrap with packing tape to keep the covering securely in place and prevent it from unravelling during transport.

4. Rush the furniture preparation and packing process.

Because of all the work that goes into preparing and packing furniture pieces, you have to know when to get help.

If you are busy with other preparations and moving tasks, get help from professionals who provide packing services for furniture. These experts know exactly what to do to keep all types of furniture safe during a move.

You will also benefit from their assistance during moving day since they know how to handle even the most delicate furniture pieces throughout the entire relocation process and ensure these don’t get damaged.

Finding a favourite furniture piece damaged after moving house can be frustrating. But when you follow these dos and don’ts, you can move your furnishings safely and continue using them after relocating.