DO’S and DON’TS when packing furniture for moving

Without a doubt, the most crucial task when packing for a move is to protect your belongings so that they arrive in the new home in the exact same condition in which they have left the old one. For example, packing your furniture well means protecting your large valuable pieces against accidental damage during transport.

In general, furniture pieces turn out to be tricky to protect for a move due to their enormous size and substantial weight. To make things even more complicated than they need to be during your house move, some of the furniture items you own will be rather fragile and delicate, with large exposed surfaces that are very prone to scratches, dents, chips, and other types of damage.

Hiring top-rated professional furniture movers still remains your best option when it comes to packing your furniture safely and efficiently. However, for a number of reasons, you may wish to pack most or all your furniture pieces without any assistance from the pros.

And if that’s the case, then these Do’s and Don’ts of packing furniture for moving will guide you through the tough furniture packing task.

DO’S when packing furniture for moving

The following tips will show you the best way to protect your furniture when moving – all the things you should do to make sure your expensive and valuable items survive the relocation without any damage whatsoever.

• DO CREATE a detailed list of all furniture pieces in your home. The inventory checklist will help you decide which furniture items to take with you and which ones to just leave behind to be sold, gifted to friends, or donated to charity. /Moving Inventory/
• DO MEASURE the large furniture pieces in your home in order to determine whether they will be able to pass safely through the doors, corners, and hallways of the home. /Furniture Fitting Problems/
• DO INSPECT all your furniture items for any signs of damage prior to packing them up, then mark down any important information into the furniture inventory list. This initial inspection will help you make up your mind which pieces to move with you and which pieces not to move with you.
• DO CLEAN your furniture pieces before packing them for moving. And while don’t need to overdo the cleaning task, you want to make sure the items are free of dust, dirt or any coarse particles that may damage the delicate surface of some of the more delicate pieces. Use a duster or a soft cloth for the task.
• DO PREPARE the required materials for packing furniture for moving: furniture blankets (ordinary blankets are good to go too), shrink wrap (stretch wrap), bubble wrap, soft packing paper, protective sheets of thick cardboard, and packing tape. /Packing Supplies/
• DO TAKE OUT all items from inside your furniture to make the packing job safer and easier – empty your bookcase of any books, remove and pack separately all kitchen items from your kitchen cabinets, and empty all drawers of their content to make the furniture pieces lighter.
• DO REMOVE all glass elements – doors, shelves, tabletops, showcases, etc. – from your furniture, then protect those highly-breakable items separately by wrapping them in thick furniture blankets.
• DO DISASSEMBLE the furniture items that happen to be too big to fit safely through some of the tighter and smaller openings in your home. DO CONSULT the construction manuals of the larger and more complex furniture pieces that you are about to take apart for safe packing and transport. If you’re not sure how to complete the partial or full disassembly of your furniture, then consider asking a friend who knows what to do or getting in touch with furniture movers to give you a hand. /Furniture Disassembly/
• DO KEEP all small fastening elements you’ve removed from your furniture during the disassembly task. Place the bolts, nuts, dowels, screws, and washers into sealable plastic bags for safekeeping.
• DO PROTECT furniture corners by placing pieces of thick corrugated cardboard over the corners at risk, then use shrink wrap to keep them fixed to the furniture pieces. DO KEEP in mind that the corners of your furniture are rather susceptible to damage while the pieces get moved around and in the general direction of the moving truck.
• DO USE bubble wrap to protect the more fragile components of your furniture – easily breakable things such as protruding parts or ornaments. Bubble wrap offers the extra protection you need, especially when it comes to packing antique furniture for a move. /Bubble Wrap vs. Packing Paper/
• DO KEEP the legs of your furniture pieces protected at all times. It’s best to remove them and pack them safely in a cardboard box. If that’s not an option, then wrap those legs in bubble wrap to soften any undesired impacts (understand direct hits) during the move. Be extra careful when moving around furniture with legs. /Avoid Property Damage/
• DO SECURE any parts that may open during transport – movable yet non-removable elements such as doors, panels, drawers, etc. DO USE stretch wrap or twine to make sure they stay safely closed throughout the move.
• DO COVER completely any exposed surfaces of your furniture pieces so that they remain protected at all times. Use thick furniture blankets for excellent protection, then tape those protective covers to keep them from unwrapping during transport.

See also: How to pack furniture for moving

DON’TS when packing furniture for moving

There is a right way and a wrong way to pack your furniture pieces. The bad news is that a single packing mistake when protecting your furniture for a move can lead to some sort of damage to your expensive items.

Here are the things you shouldn’t do when packing furniture for a move.

• DON’T PACK and move furniture items that are too old, too damaged, or too obsolete to continue to serve you well in the new home. Packing and moving unwanted furniture will only burden your budget unnecessarily. /IKEA Furniture/
• DON’T START the furniture packing job without securing the necessary packing supplies first. Remember that packing paper, bubble wrap, stretch wrap, and furniture blankets are must-haves for completing the packing task successfully.
• DON’T PACK furniture items that are very dusty and rather dirty at the time of packing. Why? Any abrasive particles remaining on the surface may damage the delicate surface during the move.
• DON’T USE bubble wrap or packing tape (!) directly over delicate furniture surfaces for fear of damaging the fine finish. Instead, pack such delicate furniture with soft and blank packing paper first (initial layer of protection), then use bubble wrap or moving blankets on top as a second protective layer. /Plastic Wrap/
• DON’T LEAVE extra-big furniture pieces fully assembled unless you’ve done the proper measurements and you are sure that they will fit through all openings along the intended route without any fitting problems.
• DON’T LEAVE large unprotected areas on your furniture pieces, hoping that they won’t get damaged along the way. It’s never a good idea to rely on luck when you move house as the home moving process is rather unpredictable and you should be ready for the worst.
• DON’T RUSH the furniture packing task without assessing whether you can manage it all without professional assistance. That’s especially true when packing antique furniture with great sentimental value. Professional furniture packers and movers know exactly what it takes to keep any type of furniture safe and sound until the destination is reached.

Read also: Do you REALLY need furniture movers?