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Moving to a new home or business location is a season full of big decisions and small details. This transition requires meticulous care for all your belongings so that they can arrive at the next destination without any damage. If you have valuables that you want to keep safe, then you should follow the recommended measures to protect them in transit.

For home and business owners, furniture is a particularly big-ticket item that costs a lot to replace. To safeguard these investments, it's important to protect your belongings well. What are the best practices for protecting furniture during a move? Here are the tips from the pros keep all favorite furniture in peak condition, before and after your move.

Identify Your High Needs Furniture

To protect your furniture, you need to prioritize the items that need the most care. For example, furniture made out of natural wood, delicate upholstery, glass, and intricate engravings is the most prone to damage. Also, furniture with specialty parts such as grandfather clocks and entertainment centers with heating elements can be especially prone to damage.

By mapping out what needs to care the most, you can purchase protective items in advance so that your moving team has everything on-hand to protect your items properly. With just a few supplies and dedication, you can keep your furniture safe during a long ride in the moving truck or some time in storage.

Get Supplies

Furniture requires a few simple items to keep safe. The trick is to order enough material so that you're not short of anything in the middle of the job. In addition to cardboard boxes, moving blankets, and tape, you should also invest in some materials that are particularly useful for detecting furniture. These items are:

• Large Rolls of Plastic Stretch Wrap
• Bubble Wrap
• Corrugated Cardboard Sheets
• Couch Covers
• Mattress Covers
• Ziploc bags

These items are designed to wrap around or protect large items like sectional sofas, mattresses, vanities, curio sets, portable kitchen islands, chairs, and much more. You will need several yards of bubble wrap and plastic wrap for each piece of furniture, so take care to buy enough before moving day.

Get To Work Early

Whether you hire professional help or not, you can save time on moving day by preparing some furniture in advance. This prep will keep you on schedule and have a lot of key pieces ready to go when your moving truck arrives. This is especially important for the most valued items that you feel more comfortable handling yourself. Here are the steps you should take to protect your furniture.

Clean Everything

First, dust and clean your furniture with any recommended surface cleaners. If there is any dirty upholstery, clean them. Leaving debris on furniture can scratch them during the move. Stains can also become permanent on upholstery when not addressed, especially if you plan on putting that piece of furniture in storage.

Cleaning everything gives you a fresh start in your new location. There's nothing like settling down in your new home without needing to scrub down all your furniture or dust. You will be tired after your journey, so take some consideration and do anything you can to reduce your future workload.

Remove Small Parts

If your furniture has any knobs, handles, or casters, take them off and store them in a plastic bag. For the most convenience, either tape this bag to the furniture where the parts originated. It’s amazing how much space you gain by removing this hardware. By removing 1/4 inch here in a 1/2 inch there, you can leave enough space in your moving truck to squeeze in a few more items that you probably wouldn't if you left all the hardware intact. This measure also prevents damage to your pulls and knobs in transit.

Dismantle Furniture When Necessary

You can get more space in the moving truck and protect your furniture when you can dismantle some items partially or completely. For any piece that you take down completely, save the instruction manual for future reassembly. Even if you don't take the furniture apart completely, removing parts like table legs, headboards, and cushions can save you a lot of space while packing the truck.

Also, collapsing easy-to-assemble items like small entertainment centers or a four-legged desk can give you a lot more space and make it easy to carry the furniture out the door. The only thing you should remember is to keep all the hardware clearly labeled so that you can easily retrieve them.

Wrap Furniture Correctly

Bubble wrap and plastic sheeting are the most valuable protective tools you can have for furniture. To protect delicate pieces like glass and wood, wrap these pieces with bubble wrap, with the air pockets facing inwards. Then, seal this protective layer with plastic sheeting so nothing budges. Plastic sheeting acts exactly like the cling wrap in your kitchen, so it’s easy to use and simple to remove when you arrive at your new home.

Upholstered items should be covered first with either a mattress cover or a furniture blanket to protect their unique material. Then, you may wrap the piece in plastic sheeting or extra bubble wrap if you feel the need. For extra protection, place corrugated cardboard sheets or furniture blankets between large items in the truck. This extra step further prevents scratches and dents in transit. Wrap glass items separately with bubble wrap and place them safely in a box or in a place where they won’t be crushed by heavy things. Glass tabletops, the panels of grandfather clocks, and mirrors are key elements you should safeguard using these methods.

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