We’ve all been through a move at some point in our lives. Unless we’re using a professional moving company though, it’s actually a bit funny in a shake-your-head kind of way how we never seem to learn from the mistakes of our last move. We don’t realise we’re messing up the same way until we’re on the other side of the doorway with our face pressed against the sofa, screaming at the person on the other end to tilt the stupid thing.
So, for the sake of breaking that cycle right here and now, check out these 15 tips to avoid damages while moving into your new luxury home:
Plan out the move-in order of heavy objects
Most of the headaches that come with moving can be alleviated by actually sitting down and planning the whole move out beforehand; in fact, pretty much 87% of these tips here are pre-move preparation steps. In this first step, it helps a lot if you have a basic map of the room layout in your new house. Figure out what heavy objects (i.e. anything that needs to be carried by two or more people) go in which room and label them with “1”, “2”, “3”, etc. (with “1” being the object that goes in the room furthest away from the entrance). That way, you’d minimise the amount of haphazard, double-back traffic you have to make during the move; the more efficient beelines you make, the less risk of unnecessary damage during the move.
Get your crew together
Make sure you confirm with the friends and family who are helping you that they’re available on the date and time of the move. Count the number of confirmed helpers and see if you have enough; at the very minimum, you should have enough people to carry the heaviest object you have on the move. A day before the move, remind everyone again on the meet-up time for the move.
No-shoes policy
One of the best ways to avoid damage during the move is to minimise the amount of dirt and sand that’s tracked throughout your house. They create friction and will quickly scratch up your floors with all the back-and-forth moving traffic. What you can do to prevent that is to ask people to take off their shoes before entering the house. If you do decide on a no-shoes policy during the move though, make sure to tell everyone in advance to bring shoes that are easy to slip on and off.
Measure doorways in advance
This ensures all your large and heavy objects will actually fit through each doorway so that you avoid the all-too-familiar scenario described at the top of this article. Or this one.
Take apart large furniture
It’s great if some of your large furniture can be disassembled and carried piece by piece to make the move easier.
Empty out the contents from drawers and appliances
Again, this will make it easier to move your furniture and appliances as they won’t be so weighed down with stuff inside.
Clean and dry appliances
It’s very difficult to get a grip on appliances when they’re greasy. Clean them all up and make sure you dry them, too; they’ll be much less slippery during the move. Plus, it’ll be nice when you finally settle in the new house with already sparkling clean appliances.
Tape drawers shut
This will give you the freedom to tilt the furniture however you need during the move and not have to worry about the drawers opening to take out people’s knees or to mark up the walls.
Pad large furniture and appliances
Tape blankets or thick layers of newspapers around the sharp corners and edges of large furniture and appliances.
Attach felt or cardboard pads
These small pads attached to the bottom of appliances and furniture feet will lessen the likelihood of scratching your floors.
Cover up the walls
Hang up thick cloths or cardboard to protect the walls along narrow hallways and rooms or at least the areas that’ll encounter the highest moving traffic.
Cover up the floor
Tape down carpet runners or plastic sheets to protect the flooring of high-moving-traffic areas like the hallway. Sweep out all the dust and dirt before taping down the floor protectors though.
Clean the floor
Sweep the whole house to clear away all the sand and dirt and then use a damp mop on the bare floors to keep the dust down before the move.
Use furniture glides
During the move, place furniture glides at the bottom whenever you need to slide heavy furniture or appliances across the floor. On hard floors, it’s best to use Masonite, towels or carpet pieces as furniture glides; on carpet, cardboard is more effective.
Don’t use the “pivot” method
The “pivot” method – dragging one side of a heavy object across the floor in the direction you want to go and then dragging the other side – may seem more effective, but it’ll actually damage your floor more. By dragging on the one side each time, you’re actually piling on a lot more force on one side and the uneven distribution of that force will cause that side to dig into the floor more as you drag it. Always try to slide the whole thing uniformly across the floor; don’t be shy to get the whole crew to pitch in to achieve that smooth glide.
These tips should help keep your luxury home safe from harm while you move in. After all, you’ve spent months watching it transform from dream to reality; it’d be heartbreaking to see it damaged right off the bat on moving day.
