Anyone who has moved house themselves knows that furniture is the most difficult item to move. Furniture is large and heavy. It isn’t designed to be moved. It’s difficult to manoeuvre through doorways, around corners and up or down stairs. And this is only considering moving it from one house to another. What if you live in an apartment where space and access are more restricted than in a house? Here are three tips about how to move furniture into an apartment.
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Hire a moving company
The first solution is to get a professional moving company to carry your furniture for you. Professional movers will wrap items to protect them for handling, storage and transport. Your furniture will arrive in the same condition it left your old apartment. As they will also do the lifting, you won’t have to worry about moving anything. Your only job will be to decide when to move and where to put everything.
Easy? Yes, without a doubt. But hiring professionals does come at a cost. So how do you do it if you’re on a budget?
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Always work to a plan
The key to any successful move is planning. You will need to plan how you will transport your furniture using a vehicle that is suitable for any parking restrictions in the building. For example, you may only have sufficient parking space for a standard car, so you’ll need to use a van, station wagon or ute to fit the space. That will mean you’ll be doing more loads than if you were using a truck.
Next, you’ll need to plan how you’ll carry your items to your new apartment. Most apartment buildings have elevators, but you’ll need to check that the weight of your furniture doesn’t exceed the elevator’s maximum load. This is crucial for safety.
If you don’t have an elevator or your items are too heavy to safely use the elevator, you’ll have to use the stairs. Moving furniture up stairs is challenging and potentially dangerous. If you can’t disassemble it into manageable pieces, you’ll need sufficient help to carry the load.
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Pack and prepare everything
Once you have a plan, pack everything well, considering your plan for carrying each item from the vehicle to the apartment. Disassemble as much as you can. The easier you make it to move every item, the easier your move will be. Moving is hard work and very tiring. You’ll appreciate the effort you made to lighten the load come moving day.
Every item, including boxes, should be easy to lift, carry and manoeuvre through your path to your apartment. Wrap furniture to prevent damage if it gets knocked. And make sure you have enough people available if you need help carrying large items.
Give yourself plenty of time to move. Spread your move over several days if necessary and if you have the time. Take regular breaks, drink plenty of water, and feed your body. You’ll burn a lot of energy.
If any item may be too challenging to move, sell it and replace it with a more suitable item. There is a huge range of flat-packed furniture available these days that is easy to disassemble, carry and reassemble.
The final option is to use hourly rate movers. You can get your movers to carry all the large, heavy and awkward items while you manage the smaller, easier items. You only pay for the time used, and if you find you need extra help, you have movers on hand to lighten the load.