Packing & Moving Household Goods/Proper Carrying and Lifting

Lift heavy items primarily with your legs. Squat directly in front of the load, pull it in tight to you and lift it with your legs, not your back. Set it back down the same way. If you must turn while carrying the load, then turn your whole body with your legs, don't swivel yourself at the waist. This simple moving tip can help you to avoid severe back injury while moving.

End tip big furniture pieces like sofas and armoires in order for the movers on both ends to get a good grip on the piece. When carrying the piece always be prepared to quickly set it down in case one or the other of the helpers is losing his grip or the piece is just too heavy for him to carry.

Use Teflon furniture glides such as Moving Men cups placed under big appliances and the legs of big furniture pieces in order to slide them around without damaging the floors. If you don’t have any glides then place a pad under the piece with enough hanging out to grip and pull the piece on it so the floor won’t get scratched.

If you can obtain some kind of a long, strong strap like a mover’s humpstrap do so. Then when you are carrying a large furniture piece up or down the stairs you can use it strung under the bottom of the piece to lift it without having to bend over to do so. The person on the top end of the carry uses it to hold the furniture piece so that he can stay upright all through the carry.