The physical task of moving your belongings from one place to another is rarely an easy activity. When you're dealing with a whole home full of furniture and an assortment of heavy, bulky and oddly-shaped items like sofas, desks and lounge chairs, the job becomes even more daunting for most people. Throw in a flight or two of stairs and you're facing a challenge that might make you more than a little bit nervous on moving day.
Navigating stairs when you're moving doesn't have to be mission impossible though. You just need to understand the correct way to safely and effectively move your belongings up a flight of stairs.
Use this guide to learn more about navigating stairs in your new home. It may not be a breeze, but these tips should make the process safe and as painless as possible.
Lighten the Load
Moving a box of books up the stairs may require some physical effort, but if you packed properly, it should be an easy task. That's not always the case when it comes to things like dressers, storage cabinets and that desk you plan on using as the centerpiece in your home office.
Before you start hauling, take a few minutes to try and lighten the load as much as possible. Remove drawers from dressers and desks, take cushions off of couches and separate items into parts if they come apart quickly and easily. It might seem obvious, but a lot of people skip this step, relying on sheer force instead.
When it comes to navigating stairs during a move, working smart instead of hard is a mantra you should remember.
Clear Your Path
Almost everybody has moved something within their home only to find a blockade in their path. When you're moving a table lamp this might be a minor inconvenience, but when you've got a portion of a nine-foot sectional in your grasp and you're trying to get it up the stairs, it can be a safety hazard.
Before you start moving up the stairs, take the time to clear a path that leaves more than enough room for you. As you move up the stairs, you may find that you have to turn in unexpected ways, back up or move forward to make an item fit or move in the desired direction.
Give yourself ample room in all directions to ensure a safe move. Doing this will also help you place a heavy item faster, helping you save valuable energy for the rest of your move.
Protect Your Valuables
Moving items upstairs can be a tricky task, and if you're not careful, you could damage your possessions. Using packing blankets to protect items, as well as bubble wrap or cardboard on corners, can ensure that you don't damage anything during a move. Wrapping and packing oversized items like flat-screen TVs can also help protect your investment.
Taking care to safeguard your valuables also means you're less likely to damage the walls in your new home.
Have the Right Tools
An upright moving dolly, a flat appliance dolly and forearm moving straps are essential when it comes to moving heavy items up the stairs in your home. Many moving companies like U-Haul rent these items and they can be purchased online or at most hardware stores as well.
Take a few minutes to read the instructions on these items before you move to ensure your safety.
Get Help
Many people moving into a new home try to do too much with too little help. It should go without saying, but if you're going to be moving on your own, try to enlist the help of a few friends or family members to help with the big stuff.
If you do ask for help, make sure you're ready to go when they arrive. You don't want to irk the people you care about and make them wait on you just so they can help lift heavy stuff and carry it up the stairs!
Hire Professionals
Moving a lounge chair, loveseat or other bulky item up the stairs is probably something you can do if you follow the steps above. Some items are best moved by professionals though, especially if you don't have a lot of help on your team for the day.
Items like oversized headboards, upright pianos and heavy-duty file cabinets should generally be left to the professionals who know how to move these things safely. If you take these jobs on by yourself, you may run the risk of injury, damaging your home or the item you're trying to move.
Hiring professionals to help with bulky items can also make the project a lot faster. For some people, paying for help is worth every penny to make moving day a little bit easier.
Moving can be a challenging experience, and when there's stairs involved, the job becomes even harder. With proper planning, the right tools and well-packed and protected items though, it is something you can accomplish though.
Take your time, be careful and remember, safety always comes first.