Moving Furniture By Yourself

Having to move furniture by yourself is never easy or fun, but sometimes it’s something that you simply have to do no matter how grueling the task might be. You might not be able to afford Maryland movers or you might have a short amount of time in which to get everything moved. Instead of complaining about your situation and calling everyone on your phone’s contact list, you can save time by simply moving your furniture by yourself.

Developing a Plan of Attack

The first thing you’ll want to do is take a step back and consider the items of furniture that you’ll be pushing, pulling, lifting and turning. You’ll want to do this rather than jumping right in in order to keep from wasting your energy. Professional Maryland movers often use grid paper to make scale drawings, map furniture items out and take measurements of doorways and hallways as well.

Make your load easier by removing drawers and carrying them separately. Lightweight items and clothing can be left in drawers to save room in boxes and to save you a few steps. Remove cushions from chairs, taking care to check for coins. Quarters can come in handy if you’re moving to an apartment complex with coin-operated washers and dryers. Take off mirrors, feet, knobs, glass tops and other items that be disassembled. All of this will make furniture more compact and easier to shimmy through tight spaces. If you can, remove doors from their hinges to give yourself a few extra inches to work with.

Sofas and Sliders

If you have a sofa-bed or sleeper-sofa to move, it’ll help if you take off the mattress to lighten your load. After that’s done, you can wrap a strap around the sofa that will keep the frame in one piece. If you don’t use a strap, you risk the bed frame opening if you have to tip the sofa over. Commercial sliders can be placed beneath the feet of furniture. This is an especially useful tip for when you want to keep from damaging vinyl and hardwood floors. Definitely something to keep in mind if you want to get all of your safety deposit back. If you don’t have sliders or time to go get them, you can make some of your own by using a throw rug, rags or a blanket. All you have to do is lift up the furniture legs and place them on the slider and drag the piece of furniture wherever you want. It’s almost as good as hiring a team of Maryland movers.

Put Your Back into It

Especially heavy furniture can be moved by removing your shoes, getting onto your back beside the furniture, bending your knees toward your chest and shoving against the furniture. This tip might sound odd, but you have more strength in your legs and you’ll also have more leverage this way. You should only use this tip if your carpet is secure or if the piece of furniture is on coasters, in any other situation you’ll risk ripping up the carpet or scratching up the floor.

It takes more time and ingenuity to move furniture by yourself, but it can be done if you put your mind and body to it.