How to Protect Furniture for Your Move: Shorter Pieces

Deciding to move on your own rather than hiring a moving company can be a great way to save money. However, if you don’t properly wrap and protect your belongings, you may end up losing money as you replace your damaged furniture. If there are quite a few pieces you need thoroughly protected, you should consider leaving it to the professionals. But if you’re confident in your DIY skills, it is possible to come out on the other side with unscathed furniture. If you’d still prefer to opt for the do-it-yourself route, read on to learn how to protect smaller pieces of furniture for your move.

How to Protect Furniture For Your Move: Shorter PIeces

NOTE: This step by step and video tutorial on how to protect furniture is intended for shorter pieces, such as buffets or night stands. For instructions on protecting taller pieces, check out our other furniture wrapping tutorial.

Supplies:

• 2 Movers Blankets
• Movers Wrap
• Tape
• A Friend to Help

BEFORE YOU GET STARTED…

…check to make sure there are no loose parts that could fall out or bang around the interior when you move the piece. This includes things like drawers and shelves which are often not secured. To avoid internal shifting and potential damage while you move your furniture, completely remove these parts.

Step 1:

First, cover the entire piece of furniture with movers blankets. You’ll probably need to layer the piece with multiple blankets to completely cover it. Make sure the front is covered with the end of the blankets almost touching the floor.

Step 2:

Once your blankets are positioned, use the roll of tape to hold the blankets in place. Tape around the circumference of the piece twice, once around the top and once around the bottom. Keep in mind this does not secure the blankets for the move; this simply prevents the blankets from shifting while you secure them to the furniture in the next steps.

STep 3:

Now it’s time to pick up your wrap and start wrapping. Have your friend hold the loose end of the wrap to the piece as you wrap around the top. (To follow along with our video tutorial, start with the loose end against the left side on the front and wrap clockwise.) When you get back to the loose end, press the wrap firmly to the end to adhere it to itself before you continue wrapping. Wrap around the back again until you’re at the opposite side of the piece from the loose (now attached) end. This should be the right side of the piece (viewed as if you are standing in front of it).

Step 4:

Next, you’re going to do what we call “The Figure 8”. This will lock the top of the blankets in place. Continue wrapping. After you wrap around the front right corner, wrap up and over the top and to the back left corner. (You’re essentially creating a diagonal line lengthwise across the furniture with the wrap.) Bring the wrap down the back and wrap around the back left corner. Wrap around the front corner and then back up over the piece, diagonally, to the back right corner. Wrap down the back of the piece, around both corners on the right side, and back to the front. 

If this seems at all confusing, don’t worry! We’ve linked our video tutorial at the end of this post so you can see it in action. And after you’ve completed this part, the rest is smooth sailing from here.

Step 5:

After completing “The Figure 8”, it’s time to cover the top of the furniture with movers wrap. Firmly press the wrap against itself. Bring the wrap up from the right corner (where you ended “The Figure 8”) over the top and to the left end of the piece. Wrap a bit down the side and press the wrap firmly to the wrap already there. Then roll the wrap in the opposite direction, from the left side to the right side. Continue wrapping back and forth until the entire top is covered. Passing the wrap back and forth with your friend on the left and you on the right is the easiest way to do this.

Step 6:

Once the top is covered, wrap back down the left or right side and continue around the entire piece until the movers blankets are covered as much as possible. When you’re satisfied with the coverage, pull the wrap taut and wrap tightly around the next corner you come to. Press your shin against the piece, make a hole in the wrap, and tear up to detach from the roll.

And voila! Now your piece is ready for your move.

Looking for Movers?

Another great option to make your move more budget friendly: hire a moving company to do all the heavy lifting but prepare all the furniture for the move before they arrive. Moving companies like Moving U & Junk U charge an hourly rate which gives you the benefit of only paying for the time you actually use. Depending on how much furniture you have, you can save a few hours from being added to your final bill by wrapping it up without help from the movers.

Or, if after watching this video you’ve decided to opt for a full service move, we can help you out with that too. Whether you’re looking for assistance with moving, packing, junk removal, or a little of each, you can sit back and relax while we take care of the entire move for you. We are licensed and insured, and you can find and read many five star reviews on Yelp, Google, and Facebook. Our movers are professionally trained to safely move you from point A to point B. We’ll treat you and your belongings with the utmost care and help make your move stress free.

When you’re ready to get a quote, give us a call or text at 484-301-2442 or email us at info@movingujunku.com. We’ll get an estimate together for you and factor in the time you’d save if we don’t wrap any items for you (if that’s the route you decide to go). We’ll take care of all the heavy lifting while you save money on your move.