How to Prepare Your Furniture and Other Items for a Move
Preparing for a move is not something you want to put off until the last minute, even if you've hired furniture removalists to help you. It's good to get your items in order and organized before the day of the move so that the removalists can do their job more quickly and effectively and so that unpacking is easier on you. Note a few tips for preparing your furniture and other items for a move before the time comes.
Clean everything
You may not think much of a layer of dust on your furniture or the inside of your kitchen appliances that you're taking with you, but this dust and things like grease or water that has collected inside a refrigerator can easily transfer to other items during a move. Remember that furniture coverings and blankets may not actually insulate those items so that dust and grime stay in place; to protect your items, give everything a thorough cleaning.
Empty furniture completely
Your dressers, appliances, and other such furniture is not meant to be used as storage during a move. The added weight of items in a drawer can cause the bottom of drawers to give out when the furniture is being wheeled out on a hand truck or stored in the back of a moving van. Items can also easily move around inside a dresser or your refrigerator or other such piece, and they can get damaged, even if the drawer and doors are taped or otherwise kept shut. To protect everything you have, empty all your pieces completely, even if it means more boxes to pack and move.
Handle your own delicate items
Your furniture removalist may take apart the legs of delicate tables and chairs or help you wrap dishes and glassware, but you may want to handle delicate items on your own. This will ensure that items you know are especially valuable aren't mishandled. This also gives you a chance to set those items aside so your removalists will know to secure them in the cab of the truck if necessary, or ensure that they're not stacked under anything.
Reinforce your boxes and avoid overfilling bags
Even if you invest in high-quality moving boxes or use heavy garbage bags for packing clothes and linens, be sure your reinforce them. Remember that picking them up, stacking them in a truck, and otherwise moving them puts stress on the cardboard of boxes and plastic of bags. One small tear or rip can cause the entire box or bag to give way and your items to spill out. If you're not letting your removalists do all the packing, invest in heavy tape and don't overfill or overstuff anything.
