Furniture inside the living room overlay
Posted in How-to, Moving Preparation on April 5, 2022
Anastasia Hill

Apart from being the next fashion icon, Anastasia is also a freelance writer and expert on moving (and packing clothes).

Ultimate Guide on How to Pack Furniture When Moving

When you’re relocating to a new home, one of the first things you need to figure out is how to pack furniture for moving safely and properly. However, people usually overlook the importance of organization and good strategy when it comes to boxing up belongings. If you’re not sure what to do, we’re happy to provide you with our ultimate guide for packing furniture.

You’re Going to Need to Prepare an Inventory List

It’s necessary to start out your relocation process by writing down a moving-out list. That way, you’ll be able to figure out how much boxing-up you actually have to finish. You should also calculate how much time you’ll need for each category of your belongings.

For example, boxing up kitchen items is maybe going to take longer than packing your clothes. This way, you’ll be able to organize your move much better. Before you box anything up, figure out how big your new apartment is, what could fit into it, or how many furnishings you can place there. Think about what is necessary to bring over to your new home and what you can purchase later easily.

Decluttering Is Going to Save You Time and Money

When relocating, it is absolutely unnecessary to box up each and every item from your house. You probably have certain furnishing that is old and damaged and probably not worth relocating to a new home. You can either sell those unwanted things or donate them to those who need them through organizations such as GoodWill.

In case you’re planning on hiring cross-country movers, keep in mind that you’ll be charged by the weight of your inventory goods. The less unnecessary furnishing you transport, the more money you’ll save. That is why you should figure out what to get rid of when relocating and how you could save some money on the relocation cost.

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Gather All the Necessary Supplies for Packing

You can not relocate furnishing without some necessary supplies. Be careful when preparing a relocating to-do list, and write down all the things you’ll use during this process. It’s important to prepare everything properly, so nothing gets damaged. So, how to protect furniture when moving? Here’s a list of all the packaging materials you’re going to need:

  • Relocation blankets will help protect furnishing during transportation.
  • Plastic wrap for wrapping furniture for moving. You can also use bubble wrapping for delicate parts.
  • Styrofoam and foam padding are used to protect delicate surfaces and keep them intact.
  • Mattress and sofa covers will help you avoid damage from scratching and keep from dirt getting into the furnishing.
  • Zip bags that you’ll use for the small parts of the furnishing, such as screws, bolts, and other similar things.
  • Markers, sharpies, and stickers for labeling all the detached parts.

These are only some of the materials you should be using if you want to protect each item and have a safe and efficient move. Keep in mind that you can’t really overdo it with protecting items, and all accidents can be avoided if you use the wrappings properly.

You Will Also Need Proper Equipment for the Heavier Items

It’s one thing for you to box up dishes for a move and completely another to relocate heavy and large furnishings without professional movers of a long-distance moving company. How do you pack heavy furniture? You can’t expect to move safely without the proper equipment. If you want to avoid getting injured during this process, be sure you’ve gathered the next few important things:

  • Dolly is a great tool that’s going to enable you to move heavy objects.
  • Sliders are used for pushing bulky furnishings around your house. It’s going to make this task much easier.
  • Lifting straps are a useful gadget that allows you to transfer the weight of a large object to the stronger parts of your body.
  • Packing tape for securing and holding wraps. Don’t skimp when applying a layer of tape. In fact, it would be best if you use a lot of it.

Don’t forget to prepare a toolbox with some regular tools you might require for disassembling certain items,  as well as some cleaning products. All of these supplies are relocating essentials that are going to help you a lot with this challenging process.

A chair covered in plastic next to boxes
Prepare all the necessary materials for protecting your belongings

How to Prepare Furniture for Moving

One of the essential steps to do when you’re relocating furnishing is to prepare it properly for the packing process. Not preparing your objects well before boxing up is one of the relocating mistakes you shouldn’t make. Once you’ve gathered all the necessary materials and equipment, you can start preparing each piece of your furnishing for boxing up.

Disassemble All of the Bigger Objects

We suggest you start preparing your belongings by disassembling the bigger things first. Dismantle all of the things at least one day before your actual move. If you don’t know how to do it, find a product manual or search it up online. Remember to place all of the smaller screws and similar things into a separate ziplock bag and label it correctly with sharpies or different color tape.

Don’t Forget to Clean the Furnishing Before Wrapping It

It will be much easier for you to clan everything properly once the item is disassembled, rather than if it was one bulky piece. Ensure that there are no pests, dirt, or dust anywhere on the furnishing. This way, it will also be much easier for you to clean the new apartment before you move in since most of your things will already be clean.

If you don’t know how to properly clean your beds, sofas, and similar furnishing on your own, here’s what you could do. Searching for some ”cleaning” YouTube videos will provide you with some excellent tips and tricks on how to do it. On that note, the video below features a step-by-step guide on how to clean a couch.

YouTube video

How to Pack Furniture for Relocating – Wrap and Secure Everything

We’ve finally got to the most important question, which is how do you pack furniture for cargo? Once you’ve finished all of the tasks mentioned above, you can finally start preparing boxes and containers and start wrapping up each one of your belongings. Because different furnishing requires different processes of securing and preparing for transport, we’ve answered some of the most common questions.

How Do You Secure Fragile Items From Getting Damaged?

When you’re packing fragile things, it takes a lot of patience and time to handle everything with care. It’s always stressful preparing fragile objects for transportation, but there are certain packing tips that could help you a lot. First, you have to wrap up each object with plastic wrapping properly from all sides, especially making sure that the edges are protected.

Once you place it in a box, add foam padding. You should put as many layers of padding as needed until there is no movement inside the box. The item needs to be appropriately secured in the container, so there is no tumbling during transport. You can also use cardboard to protect glass parts on different objects.

How Do You Pack Wood Furniture for Moving?

When boxing up desks, closets, chairs, tables, or any other similar wooden objects, you have to be extremely careful. This type of furnishing is heavy and bulky, yet super delicate, and could quickly get damaged. When you pack wooden furnishing, you have to protect the exposed edges since they can easily get chipped.

Before you wrap an item in blankets, reinforce its top, bottom, and edges with some cardboard. Avoid using any kind of plastic materials directly onto the wooden surfaces, as they could damage them. Consider removing the smaller parts of the furnishing, such as doorknobs, legs, and similar components. This is going to make the item easier to handle and carry.

Ensure You Properly Load Everything Onto the Truck

Once every piece of your furnishing is secured, you should prepare well for the next important step – loading everything onto a truck. Unless you’re hiring professionals that are going to load and unload the vehicle on their own, you have to know how to properly load the relocating truck to avoid any damage to your belongings or potentially have an accident.

What is the easiest way to transport furniture? You should start by loading heavier wood pieces first and then put a layer of thick cardboard or other protecting material between them. Upholstered pieces are supposed to be loaded vertically or on the side, meaning you’ll have to secure them well inside the truck using straps, ropes, or holsters. This will prevent any movement during the transport.

Fragile pieces should be placed upright between the larger pieces, but you should remember to add another layer of protective material. Even a slight increase in pressure could cause these objects to break.

Cross country movers loading a moving truck
It's always better to hire professional movers to help you with loading and unloading stuff from the truck

Consider Getting Storage Services

When you’re relocating to a new place, you’ll need some time to figure out what to unpack first. You are probably going to want to avoid unpacking everything all at once, so figure out what you won’t be needing for the first few days.

You can easily get storage services for the furnishing you don’t want to unpack immediately once you come into your new home. Simply contact a reputable cross country moving company, and they will answer any questions you might have on this topic. If you decide to get storage units, you should know how to prepare your belongings for them properly.

How to Properly Wrap Up Your Furnishing for Storage

Wrapping up your belongings for storage is quite similar to the regular process of protecting and securing stuff for transportation. The objects should be cleaned and disassembled, and you have to be sure the climate in the storage is appropriate. Storage units could be very beneficial to you when relocating.

Storage units for storing belongings
Storage is very beneficial when relocating

Not Ready To Handle the Whole Process on Your Own? Search for “Long-Distance Movers Near Me”

It is no surprise that some people consider the relocation process a dread and are not willing to handle it on their own. Maybe you’re last-minute relocating and have to find someone to assist you, or you’re just not sure how to pack some bulky objects from your home. Either way, long-distance moving services are an option you should definitely consider.

Search for some movers near you, research if the companies are reputable, read reviews, check their licenses, and call them to ask any questions you may have. Getting packing services from a reputable company is going to save you a lot of time and energy. You also won’t have to spend time gathering materials and equipment or learning how to secure each item properly.

Once you book their primary services, you can ask them to provide you with relocating insurance. It’s important to be insured during your relocation since you never know what could happen or go wrong. There are specific scenarios that you can’t avoid, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.

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All your stuff is secure with Long Distance Movers, but in case something does happen to it, there’s a moving insurance policy in place. We offer both basic Valuation Coverage and Full Value Protection.

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Decide What Type of Relocation Fits Your Needs Best

Now that you’ve read this short guide on preparing furnishings for your relocation, you should have a clearer idea of what fits your preferences best. You might be more comfortable wrapping and boxing everything from your home by yourself, or you might decide to leave the work to professional movers. Whatever you choose, always keep your needs, preferences, and budget in mind. And remember, relocations don’t have to be stressful.

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