If you’re moving with Ottawa movers or across Canada, you may be wondering how to pack furniture for moving. Well, it requires special care. Sofas, beds, and cabinets are likely the largest and bulkiest of your possessions. These heavy items can often require specialty moving straps.
Unfortunately, they also tend to be expensive and often fragile items, particularly antique furniture. “How to protect my furniture during a move?” is one of our clients’ most frequently asked moving questions. To make sure everything arrives at your new address safe and sound, follow our Renfrew moving tips and tricks for packing furniture before it goes into the moving truck.
Declutter Old Furniture
When you think about decluttering, you probably picture yourself getting rid of smallish things— like unwanted clothing and broken tools. But it’s even more vital to declutter old furniture before a move. If it’s worn out, uncomfortable, or just no longer “you”, it’s time to get rid.
Free Ultimate Moving Checklist
Say goodbye to moving stress with our 2023 residential moving checklist for Canada—it’s the ultimate time-saver!
Download NowBecause of its bulk and weight, furniture can add substantially to the hassle and cost of your move, especially if it needs to be disassembled and then put back together.
If you’re going to move long distance or internationally for a few years, you may plan to store your furniture while you’re away. In this case, it’s equally important to declutter, so you won’t be paying to store items you don’t really need (or like).
TIP #1: Pack only furniture pieces you truly enjoy.
Plan Your Furniture Placement In Your New Home
Next, think about where to place each item, room by room. Hopefully, you’ll have a floor plan for your new home. Measure the larger pieces of furniture and plan their placement, using room layout software or just a pencil and graph paper. Make sure that everything will fit and form a comfortable, harmonious arrangement — uber important when you’re moving into a smaller house.
TIP #2: Don’t be afraid to rearrange your favourite furniture items into new configurations. That cozy armchair might be perfect in your master bedroom!
Get Packing Supplies For Furniture
What do you use to pack furniture? Obviously, standard-sized cardboard boxes won’t do the trick. Instead, stock up on moving blankets for wrapping furniture, mattress bags, microfoam, waterproof markers, and plenty of bubble wrap or stretch wrap. Short on time and energy? Cassidy’s – the trusted Pembroke moving company – carries all your items, and we’ll deliver them to your door in the Ottawa area.
Clean Your Furniture
Take the time to prepare furniture with a good cleaning, paying special attention to the back and underside of couches or other parts that rarely see the light of day. (Make sure all upholstery is thoroughly dry before you wrap it up, though.)
Removing dirt and grit prevents surfaces from being scratched when the movers haul and load your furniture. You’ll also minimize the amount of grime that you bring into your new residence.
TIP #3: It will be easier to relax after the stress of the moving process when you start your new life off on a positive note, with everything fresh and clean.
Disassemble Your Furniture
Moving heavy furniture can be easier by disassembling any large, heavy furniture pieces that will:
A) be too difficult to carry as is, or;
B) will not fit through the door.
Delicate furniture might also be safer to move disassembled with some extra padding. Be sure that you hold onto the manufacturer’s instructions for REconstructing the furniture before you DEconstruct it. If you can, photograph every step of the disassembly process to help you keep track of which furniture parts belong where. And stash screws and other small hardware safely in clearly labeled sealable plastic bags.
TIP #4: Store all those little bags of bits and pieces together with the assembly instruction sheets in a single moving box. Then keep a close eye on the box!
TIP #5: If you’re not the handy type — or you don’t have time and tools available — we’ll be happy to disassemble furniture for you as part of our full service moving package.
Wrap And Protect Your Furniture
Wrap furniture to keep it safe, unscratched and unbroken. Of course, not all furniture is alike. Each piece has to be protected according to its size, components and the materials it’s made of.
Couches
A furniture bag is ideal for protecting a couch. Or you can improvise by wrapping with a moving blanket or two, held in place with packing tape. Never use plastic wrap on a leather couch; leather needs to “breathe.”
Furniture With Glass
Remove glass components (glass tops from small tables, dresser mirrors and the like) if possible and pack in a mirror box. Otherwise, wrap in packing paper, fastened with masking tape. Don’t stick the tape directly onto the glass or you’ll have a heck of a time removing it all. Top with heavy cardboard sheets the same size and shape as the glass. Then apply several layers of bubble wrap.
Wood Furniture
Easy does it with wood furniture. Any kind of plastic (bubble wrap, shrink wrap, etc.) can damage the finish on your wooden pieces. Instead, protect your fine wood furniture like tables, chairs, hutches, or bed frames with moving blankets and furniture pads, ensuring that the entire surface is covered with no exposed surfaces on your wood furniture.
Drawers
Remove drawers from dressers, tables, and desks and check for any “hidden treasure.” You can then fill the drawers with small pieces. This will make your large wooden furniture lighter and easier to lift. For extra protection, wrap closely with packing paper, so nothing falls out.
Protect Your Flooring
Flooring needs its share of TLC on moving day, too. Protect your floors (walls too!) — wrap table legs, furniture “feet,” and other sticky-out bits with bubble wrap, chair socks, or floor sliders. Set down a protective layer of temporary floor covering such as Ram Board, corrugated cardboard, or old blankets you were planning to discard anyway. Ask your movers or amateur moving helpers to boot up with protective booties and use a dolly with rubber wheels to transport furniture and larger moving boxes.
TIP #6: Protect exposed wood floors in your old home as well as the new. It’s a courtesy to the folks who move in after you.
We’ll Handle Your Furniture With Care
To protect your furniture and keep it in the best shape, hire reliable, professional movers, like the team at Cassidy’s. We have over a century of experience moving Ontarians and their belongings efficiently and safely.
