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5 quick tips for moving large furniture, according to local experts
Gentle Giant Moving Company shares their advice for moving without professional help.
Sept. 1 is fast approaching. The day where it seems as if everyone and their mother is moving into a new apartment in Boston is only three days away.
Moving Advice:
With just a short amount of time left before Boston’s mass move, those who have yet to hire a professional moving company may be out of luck, or they might be paying more, since professional movers can sometimes be expensive. According to Forbes Home, it can cost between $200 and $7,500 to hire movers for a local move, depending on your residence size.
If you don’t live on the first floor of your building, then you might be trying to figure out how you’re going to get your mattress or couch down multiple flights of stairs.
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Danielle Rankin, marketing director, and Niles Kuronen, marketing specialist, both from Somerville-based Gentle Giant Moving Company, shared five quick tips on how to transport large furniture without professional help.
Get as many people to help as you can
We all know moving alone can be a stressful experience, to say the least. Kuronen recommended rounding up as many friends as possible to help with the move. “Many hands make light work,” he said.
Attach straps to furniture to make it easier to lift
Although your first idea may to grab one end of the furniture and have a friend grab the other, Kuronen suggests attaching ratchet straps to the item so that it’s easier to lift up. “You have somewhere to carry from,” he said.
Wrap the furniture with padding to avoid damaging it
One of the worst feelings when moving is realizing you bumped into something while carrying furniture, and now that item has scratches or marks on it. In order to prevent this, Rankin suggests wrapping the furniture with some type of padding. “Not only does it protect the item, but it can also be lesser impact for things like walls and doors and floors,” she said.
Don’t be afraid of using dollies
A helpful tool for getting your belongings in and out of your apartment is a dolly, according to Rankin and Kuronen, especially if you have an elevator. However, they said it’s often easier to use a four-wheel dolly as opposed to a two-wheel one, as the latter will likely end up hindering your move.
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“A lot of times people think using a two-wheeler dolly that you tip back, that will be more useful,” Kuronen said. “People try to use them on stairs and stuff, but it usually makes the job harder.”
Plan ahead for your difficult furniture
When you think of large furniture, the first things that come to mind may be a mattress or a table. However, Rankin and Kuronen highlighted some other items to keep in mind that you might not have thought of yet, such as pianos and sleeper sofas.
Additionally, if you have a Tempur-Pedic mattress, then extra care is required, according to Rankin. “If they’re left on their side for too long or not shipped right, they actually change and are destroyed,” Rankin said.
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