When you are moving a long distance there can be a lot of tasks that you need to complete before, during, and after your move. One of the biggest tasks is figuring out how to move your furniture. This can seem daunting, so let’s break it down and give you the top 9 tips for moving furniture across the country.
Table of Contents
Tips Before Moving Your Furniture
Before you move it is always best to plan. This includes creating a detailed plan for moving your furniture across the country. We recommend completing multiple steps in preparation for moving your furniture.
Measure Your Furniture
Measuring your furniture may seem like a pointless task, but it plays a part in every stage of your move.
Knowing the size of your furniture will help you figure out which pieces will fit in your new home. There may be pieces that you plan to take, but you may realize after you measure them that they simply will not fit into your new floor plan.
Measuring your furniture can also help you plan how much room you will need within your moving truck. You want to ensure your truck is large enough to haul all your furniture, but not so big that you are paying for wasted space.
Knowing the size of your furniture will also help you when you are moving into your home. It will inform you which pieces can fit through a standard-size door or inform you if you need to disassemble an item to fit it inside.
Create a Floor Plan
Creating a floor plan can help you realize which furniture you need to move into your new home. While your first instinct may be to just bring everything, you will find that not all your furniture will be necessary.
When creating a floor plan, it is best to know the exact measurements of both your furniture and the dimensions of the rooms in your new home. There are unique styles you can use when creating a floor plan, many of which you can find online. Websites such as Smart Draw can help walk you through how to make a digital floor plan.
Consider Your Moving Options
It helps to be aware of all your options before you finalize how you will move your furniture across the country. The four main options you have are using your vehicle, renting a moving truck, renting a portable moving storage container, or using a freight shipping company. These options are normally available to you when you are moving furniture from state to state.
Using Your Vehicle
Using your vehicle to move your furniture across the country may seem like the cheapest option but that is not always true. While this means that you do not have to pay to rent a truck or ship your furniture, it does mean that you will often have to make multiple trips. If you have a lot of different pieces of large furniture that you are moving it is unlikely that you can fit them all into your car at once. This can lead to you wasting gas and adding additional miles to your car by making multiple trips to move the furniture into your new home.
However, if you don’t have multiple pieces of large furniture to move this may be the best option for you. It will allow you to cut down on moving costs, especially if all your furniture fits in your car at the same time.
Rent a Moving Truck
Renting a moving truck can be a very flexible option when it comes to moving furniture. Moving trucks come in a large variety of sizes from vans that hold a queen-size mattress, to twenty-six-foot box-style trucks. This allows you to rent a vehicle that has the amount of space that you need to move your furniture from state to state.
The price of renting a moving truck can vary quite a bit depending on the truck size and how far you are moving. Moving truck companies, such as U-Haul, typically charge a set price to rent the truck and then charge a certain amount per mile. If you are moving a far distance, you can ask if the company has a long-distance moving plan. This is where you pay a designated amount for a set number of miles and then pay additionally for the number of miles that you go over by.
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Portable Moving Storage Unit
Portable moving storage units are an option that gives people time to pack their furniture but it does tend to take up quite a bit of space. These are storage containers that are dropped off at your home. You then can move all your furniture or other items you want to be moved into the container. From there you plan a time for the company to pick up the container and they will move it to your new home. You are then in charge of unpacking your items from the storage unit and informing the company of when they can pick up the empty container.
While this option allows you time to pack your items, you do have to pay for the time that you take. Portable moving storage unit companies, such as PODS, only rent out these containers by the month. This means that you must pay for that full month, even if you don’t need the container that long.
Freight Shipping Company
Freight shipping items can be an option when it comes to moving large furniture across the country. This style of shipping can include transporting items via land, sea, or air. One company that offers freight shipping for furniture is Freight Center. The positive to using this style of shipping is that you don’t have to worry about driving the vehicle yourself. Companies also often offer professional packing to ensure that your furniture gets to where it is going safely.
Rent the Right Size Moving Truck
When moving furniture from state to state, people tend to choose to rent a moving truck since it’s typically the least expensive and easiest option. One thing you want to consider is what size moving truck you will need. You can do this by looking at the measurements for your furniture and using them as a guide to see how much square footage you’ll need.
Renting the right size moving truck will ensure all your furniture fits and that you won’t be paying for any excess space.
Tips While Moving Your Furniture
On the day of your move, it can be incredibly stressful to know how to pack certain pieces of furniture. Here are the best, safest, hassle-free tips on moving furniture from state to state.
Disassemble What You Can
One of the best ways to make moving your furniture easier and safer is by disassembling what you can.
A lot of furniture pieces, such as tables and couches, have legs that hold them up. During a move, these legs can often become damaged if too much is set on top of the furniture, or they can make moving the item into the moving truck more difficult. Taking these legs can help prevent damage all while making moving the items easier.
This tip also applies to items such as drawers, shelves, and doorknobs. Removing these items can make the furniture itself easier to stack and allow you to pack the furniture tightly together.
Protect Your Furniture
Protecting your furniture is the most important part of moving it. It is pointless to go through the hassle of moving your furniture to your new home only to have it damaged or destroyed during the process.
Delicate Furniture
Furniture such as glass tables and mirrors need to be handled very delicately during the moving process.
Moving a mirror comes with a very handy trick. Simply use tape and make an “x” across the surface of the mirror. This causes the mirror to absorb less vibrations during the move, making it less likely to break. In addition, you can also try and find a box to store the mirror in, making sure you wrap it in additional material to keep it safe.
When moving tables that have glass tops it is best if you remove the top from the table if possible. You can then wrap the glass top in bubble wrap or towels and put it inside a box. The key to this is to pack the box with enough cushioning so that the item won’t move around and break.
Large Furniture
It is best to put your largest pieces of furniture in the moving truck first. They tend to be the sturdiest and often make a good base so you can later put smaller furniture on and around them.
The key to packing large furniture is to confirm it is tightly packed inside the truck. You want to make sure they are steadily positioned and will not move during the trip. Also, wrap the pieces in material such as bubble wrap or towels. This will ensure nothing gets damaged if it is jostled around at all during the move.
Small Furniture
Small furniture usually is easy to pack up and move. The key is to use the smaller pieces of furniture to fill in the space in your moving truck.
When it comes to small chairs it’s best to stack matching sets together and wrap them up so they stay in one space in the vehicle. You can use small end tables to fill in gaps such as the space under dining tables, beds, or around any other large pieces of furniture.
Tips After Moving Your Furniture
After your furniture gets to your new home you still go through the struggle of getting it inside. Here are some tips to help you get off on the right foot during your move-in.
Labor Only Movers
Moving your furniture inside your new home can be quite a hassle on your own. You can hire a labor-only moving company to do the heavy lifting for you. These companies will come to your new home and help you unload your moving truck and get the items inside your home. This can be especially helpful when you are moving heavy items such as furniture.
Consult Your Floor Plan
Before you start randomly placing your furniture in your house consult the floor plan that you created earlier! This will allow you to tell the movers where you want the furniture to be placed.
Reassembly
After your furniture is moved inside it is finally time to unwrap and reassemble everything. This step is best saved for last since keeping the items wrapped in smaller pieces makes moving them easier and safer.
When it comes to reassembling your furniture, it is also best to do it in the room where you plan to keep the furniture. This ensures you don’t have to move the furniture while it is assembled and bulkier.
Conclusion
Moving your furniture from state to state can be a challenging task to partake in. You want to make sure that your items get to your new home safely. All the different tips for moving furniture across the country we discussed can help make your move go as smoothly as possible.
Jessica is a students at the University of Northern Iowa. She is majoring in English Education with a creative writing minor. In her free time she loves to read books of every genre, write short stories, and spend time with friends. In the future she hopes to share her love for reading and writing with her future students.
