Moving across the country gets tricky when you have to deal with big furniture. It involves major logistic planning that requires hundreds (if not thousands) of minute decisions day-in and day-out until your final move-out. You need not stress though as we have the perfect guide for you. We’d make everything easy for you as we gathered tips from moving experts that have been moving furniture (big and small) across the country. So relax, read on, and take down notes.
Table of Contents
You Need to Have a Game Plan
You need to have a moving strategy. If you have this clear, everything will go smoothly. How to do this? It’s very simple, you simply need to determine the following:
- How much furniture do you need to move?
- How much is your budget?
- How much time and effort can you dedicate to the whole moving process?
Knowing the answer to the following questions will help you decide as to what kind of moving service you should avail. When moving across the country, you can choose from the following four kinds of moving services:
- Regular full-service movers – this option will easily allow you for moving big furniture. May it be a grand piano or a big sofa. This option is pretty expensive so you need to be sure that you have the moving budget for it. PRO TIP: Ensure that you’re insured should any kind of damage take place.
- Freight shipping – this option will allow you to choose air freight apart from ground freight. Choose this option if time is of the essence.
- Portable storage containers – this option is best if you want to load your items yourself. This will also give you more time and freedom as you could have your items transported in advance and safely stored in the area near your future house. PRO TIP: An 8-foot pod will be enough if you’d only moving a few pieces of furniture.
- Portable containers with professional loading and packing services – if you don’t have the time to load your items on the pod, you can hire professional loaders and packers. They will do everything for you – from packing, loading, moving, and unpacking. Port Hedland Removals specialists can easily help you if you need a moving company that will do and can do everything for you.
Packing 101
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After deciding on a game plan and you’ve chosen the noble (and more affordable) way of packing things on your own, you need to do the following:
- Finalize a moving timeline – how many weeks or months do you have? When do you need to have everything packed and loaded?
- Come up with a packing schedule – this is important as this will keep you on track. You simply need to decide on specific times and dates. A final schedule will help you in effectively avoiding any kind of delay.
- Determine the amount of free time that you can dedicate to packing – don’t overwhelm yourself. You don’t need to finish packing in a day. You can pack for two weeks for an hour a day if that’s the only free time you have.
- Determine if you could have other people help you – you can and you should ask family members for help. If you have kids, you can ask them to take care of their items. You’re packing will be done in no time if you’d have extra hands to help. If you’re on your own, you could ask friends to help you out.
Packing Tips
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Focus on the Negative
Do this before the actual packing. Look at all your items (tables, bookcases, chairs, and etc.) and see their negative spaces. Think of it like you’re playing Tetris. It’s best to determine which ones would go well when placed together.
Observe their shape and size. See if you could stick your chairs on your bookcases or the other way around. The more compact and tightly packed everything is, the better. This tactic will ensure that all your items are shipped safely with zero damage as all negative spaces will be filled.
Use Your Mattress Wisely
You can use your mattress as a big wall to secure the safety of your items. Load them last so that they’re nearest to the door and conveniently protecting all your other items. Your mattress will keep your items from falling.
Remove Legs
You should remove the legs of your tables if possible. This will give you so much more space to use for other items. It’s best if you could attach your tables’ matching chairs unto them by using bungees.
Mirror Care
With masking tape, mark your mirrors with a big “X”. This will stabilize its surface and avoid excessive vibrations during transport. Don’t use duct tape as it does not provide enough stability. Look for special moving boxes that can tend to fragile objects like mirrors.
Couch Optimization
Use your couch cushions to secure other items. Use its negative space to pack other items like clothes, linens, or stuffed animals. All will be fully secured once you wrap your couch with plastic wrap.
On Chests, Closets, and Drawers
Ensure that you remove all drawers first before packing. Secure all edges and finished areas with blankets. Rough corners should be fully protected as they can both be easily damaged and easily cause damage to other items. PRO TIP: Fill your drawers with light items as well. Use their space wisely.
Move-In Strategy
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Yes, you also need a move-in strategy. Ensure that all your items will duly fit in your new space. Measure your big items and determine if your space will be enough. If in doubt, it’s best to look for portable containers that can store your items up until you’ve fully moved in and decided on which ones will stay and which ones will be sold or given away.
