5 Tips on How to Pack Furniture for Moving

Are you preparing to move to a new home? Regardless if your move is across town or across the country, it is important to pack your furniture well to prevent damage. At Dutch Craft, our Amish furniture delivery experts share some of the best tips for moving heavy furniture. Explore our quick guide on how to prepare furniture for long-distance moving.

Damages to Amish furniture during a move often occurs because the solid hardwood furniture is incredibly heavy. Lifting heavy dressers or desks runs a risk of bumps and dents as you move onto a moving truck or up the stairs. Recruit extra manpower, from friends and family to professional moving companies.

1. Empty all Drawers Before Moving Amish Furniture

Empty the contents of all drawers into boxes for the move. Regardless of how tempting it may be to leave contents inside the dresser, don't skip this step! Taking the time to empty all the drawers greatly reduces the weight of a heavy desk or a dresser. Making a bulky furniture item easier to handle greatly reduces the risk of damages.

File cabinets are another heavy drawer item. A solid wood file cabinet filled with files is a high-risk for dents and scratches. Remove all the files and transport seperately to reduce risk and protect the wooden office furniture.

2. Secure & Wrap Drawers with Plastic Stretch Wrap

Stretch wrap, often called shrink wrap, is a moving essential. Use the plastic wrapping to prevent drawers from sliding open during a long distance move. A moving truck that stops suddenly may prompt unsecured drawers to slide open and bump into other items. Two people carrying heavy items up stairs may shift the weight to one side and have the same problem.

While you may be able to repair drawer fronts and doors, it is difficult to replace them on existing wood furniture. The stain color will not match exactly since wood often darkens a bit over time. Wrapping furniture items completely with stretch wrap keeps cabinet doors and drawers safely closed. That brings us to our next tip:

3. Use Heavy Duty Moving Blankets or Foam

Always get more moving blankets than you think you will need. Moving blankets are available for sale or rent. Purchase blankets online or contact our team to order the same high-quality blankets used by the delivery team. If you decide to rent moving blankets, make sure they are clean.

Moving blankets often pick up grit in trucks and warehouses over time. If you cover a solid wood tabletop with a dirty moving blanket, you may find scratches in the finish when you unwrap it. The grit from the moving blankets creates an abrasive rub during a long distance relocation.

Purchase a large roll of foam as a great alternative to moving blankets. Foam offers versatile moving solutions better than traditional moving blankets. Tear the foam into the sizes you need, from small glass items to large bed frames and dressers. Some moving companies may offer high-quality bubble wrap as well.

Pro tip: Combine foam or moving blankets and shrink wrap for moving furniture long distance. Moving blankets often shift and items become partially unwrapped during a move. Take the time to wrap your furniture in clean moving blankets first. Then completely cover the blanket wrapped furniture with shrink wrap, ensuring the blanket will stay put.

4. Remove All the Furniture Hardware

Another tip for how to pack wood furniture for moving is to remove all the hardware. We often see broken knobs and drawer pulls as the result of careless movers. The small knobs sticking out a few inches are easy to bump as furniture moves through doorways. Take the time to remove all the hardware before you wrap the item in blankets.

When you remove the hardware, place all the screws and knobs in a Ziplock bag and carefully label it. Keep a small box with all the hardware or secure each baggie inside the coordinating drawers with packaging tape. This makes it easy to reassemble as you unpack and settle into your new home.

Please note, damages to hardware is an easy fix typically. Contact us for replacement hardware to your Amish furniture. With a wide range of finishes available, there is sure to be a style that complements your home.

When disassembling bed frames, use foam and stretch wrap to carefully wrap the side rails, slats and center posts together. Taking a quick video with your phone while taking the bed apart can save valuable time as you set it up again. Shrink wrap the bag containing any hardware needed to setup the bed quickly when you arrive.

5. Pack Your Moving Truck or Trailer Securely

Wooden furniture should be securely strapped down on a moving truck. Start with larger items such as a tall dresser or executive desk. When the largest items are secure, then smaller items such as nightstands and dining chairs may fill in spaces. Use straps to secure a headboard or tabletop to the sides of the truck for maximum protection.

As you load the moving trucks, consider carefully how to stack the furniture. When setting blanket wrapped nightstands on top of a dresser, stack them upside down, so the flat surfaces touch. The weight of a nightstand has four pressure points when standing right side up. As you drive along bumpy roads at a high speed, you want that weight distributed evenly to prevent dents from the feet.

Upholstered furniture such as sofas and loveseats are bulky items suseptible to damage in the fabric or leather. Prevent tears by removing cushions if possible and transporting seperately.

How to Prepare Furniture for Long-Distance Moving

As you prepare furniture for long drives, contact our team for more information. Heirloom Amish furniture is solid hardwood and certainly durable enough to withstand a move when properly prepared. Take the time to prepare and enjoy your handcrafted Amish furniture for a lifetime.