It’s that time of year again, moving out of college dorms and apartments. Or, beginning the planning for moving into college dorms and apartments this coming fall.
The thought of it can be so stressful that you don’t think about the little things that may be of use to make the move a little easier. Here are a few ideas…
Take apart as much as you can!
Recliners can be very difficult to maneuver through doorways and down stairs. For most the backs can be removed. Every recliner is different so you simply need to know where to look and how “attached” the back really is. On the inside frame there should be brackets that hold the back in place, you simply lift up on the back and separate the two pieces. You may need a screwdriver or needlenose pliers to remove pins locking it in place. Also, some may come off completely, while others may stay connected with fabric so you simply fold it over onto the seat. Remember to tie the footrest in place so it doens’t open on you at an inopportune time.
Take the legs off of tables, desks and chairs, if possible, to make them easier to fit through doors and fit into your moving van. Even removing the feet off of a couch can save you a few inches getting through the door.
Take the drawers out of dressers to help lighten the load.
Work smarter not harder!
Using a dolly, or hand truck, can not only make the move easier but faster as well. You can stack up the boxes and reduce your trips.
For long hallways you can use furniture slides to push the heavy furniture along rather than carrying it the whole way. You can also get a wheeled platform style dolly to help with heavy items.
There are different styles of straps that make moving heavy objects, such as furniture and mattresses less burdensome. The benefit is they can keep your hands free to help hold on and manuever the items, and they take the weight off of just your back and arms. However, they can be tricky to use on stairs and the weight shifts to the person going down first.
For mattresses you can also use a heavy rope to help carry them. Although there are handles on most mattresses they aren’t actually for carrying them, and they sometimes aren’t very durable. Running a rope along the bottom edge of the mattress (threading through the handles for a little more stability) will help give you a better handhold and help you maneuver.
Miscellaneous help
Plastic furniture wrap is a great help in keeping things together and protect against nicks and scrapes. The wrap can help keep doors and drawers, and even a recliner’s footrest, securely closed so they don’t open up on you. It can also be used to help cover your TV or computer monitor screens from getting scratched.
Once you make it down to the truck a ramp can make the loading a bit easier.
Extra Tips
Are you moving someone back home? And are they gonna stay a while?
To help cut down on what you may be moving think about donating things that aren’t going to be needed. So many college students are living with mom and dad for a while after graduation that it seems pointless to move everything out of their apartments if it’s just going to be taking up storage space. You can donate unneeded furniture or kitchen items to a local charity. Some will even pick items up so you don’t have to worry about getting heavy furniture to a drop-off site.
And, in a pinch 1-800-JUNK, or other junk removal companies will come take everything you don’t want. Most will donate what’s good and dispose of what’s left. While these services can be costly much of it could be offset if you lighten the load enough that you won’t need to rent a moving van.
No matter how big, or small, your moving job may be we hope it goes as smoothly as possible.
