How To Properly Organize the Transportation of Furniture

Growing your family, downsizing, or finding a friendlier community to live in is exciting—but it also means having to move. The average Canadian moves five to six times during their lifetime, facing the same challenges over and over again. One of the greatest difficulties movers encounter is shipping furniture.

The transportation of furniture items can be a huge pain point for anyone with a moving truck or trailer. Every furniture piece varies slightly from the next, making it impossible to find a one-size-fits-all solution to transporting them. However, this practical guide can help you with the ins and outs of effective furniture shipments.

Common Furniture Moving Issues

If you’ve struggled to ship furniture, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Furniture moving happens all the time, but many homeowners and even some professional movers come across myriad issues.

The challenges may vary depending on the piece of furniture, the transportation vehicle’s size, whether you’re moving out of a house or a second-floor apartment, etc. However, some problems are pretty much universal. Here are several furniture shipment issues many people face:

• Suffering foot, hand, and back injuries when lifting heavy items like dressers and sofas
• Scuffing and scratching natural wood pieces like coffee tables
• Breaking cheap or fragile furniture like glass tables
• Not having enough packaging material to protect furniture items
• Running out of space in the moving van
• Damaging other property with the furniture while in transit
• Losing screws, fittings, and other small pieces

Moving furniture can be a nightmare. Fortunately, you can make the process much smoother with the right supplies and a little know-how.

What You’ll Need for the Transportation of Furniture

To avoid any issues down the road, you’ll want to properly prepare the furniture for transportation. This means gathering the right packing materials for the items you plan to ship. For items under 68 kilograms, you’ll want the following items:

• A screwdriver or hex key to disassemble parts
• Cushioning, such as bubble wrap or moving blankets
• Boxes or crates
• Additional cardboard
• Outer corrugated boxes

Lightweight pieces of furniture can go in boxes or have protective coverings draped over them. Heavier items, though (such as those exceeding 68 kilograms), will need extra attention. You’ll want to use stretch tape, straps, and specifically designed furniture boxes to secure them while in transit.

How To Pack Furniture for Shipping

Packing up your belongings can be daunting if you don’t know where to start or what materials to use. The best way to ensure everything gets where it needs to go safe and sound is by taking care during each step of the way. Here are a few tips on how to pack furniture for shipping:

• Prepare for transportation: Preparing for shipping furniture involves more than securely packing it. You’ll want to double-check all your available transportation options, compare furniture shipping costs, consider storage space, etc. This can help you save money and minimize headaches during the move. 
• Disassemble parts: If a furniture piece has detachable parts, disassemble it before putting it on the truck. For example, dining tables may be large and take up too much space. However, you can often disassemble the legs and store them separately to save on storage area.
• Use the proper material: To avoid damaging furniture, pack it in cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, and crates. Make sure to use materials correctly, or else you risk scratching, scarring, cracking, or breaking items. For example, packaging tape can help keep your boxes closed, but you should never apply it directly to furniture.
• Organize everything: Once the furniture is ready for transportation, it’s time to organize it effectively. This means loading items to maximize available space and ensuring nothing will shift or fall over while you’re on the road. You should also label the boxes and containers so you can easily identify your belongings when you get to the destination.

Tips on How To Transport Furniture Efficiently

Shipping furniture does not need to be complicated or nerve-wracking. The right supplies, preparation, and moving techniques can help guarantee the best possible experience. As you get ready to move, also keep in mind the following tips on how to transport furniture:

• Load the largest furniture first. The heaviest, bulkiest pieces should always go into the moving van first. Loading them right away will provide a secure base on which you can stack lighter furniture.
• Empty and remove drawers and shelves. It’s always a good idea to empty drawers and shelves before moving desks, dressers, and cabinetry. This will reduce weight and avoid spilling the contents during transportation. You may also remove the drawers or shelves, packing them separately.
• Lay protective coverings on the floor. The floor of the moving truck can be rough and harmful to particular pieces of furniture. If you have special items that you want to protect above all, consider laying down rugs or blankets to keep them from getting damaged.
• Pack screws, nails, bolts, dowels, etc., into Ziploc bags. Have you ever unloaded a furniture piece only to realize you misplaced all the parts to assemble it? You can avoid this by storing everything like screws and dowels in Ziploc bags, labelling them, and packing them with the respective furniture item.

Shipping Furniture Across Canada With Encore Deliveries

Between 2020 and 2021, around 89,000 people moved out of Ontario alone and faced the stress of transporting furniture to different parts of the country. However, furniture shipment doesn’t need to be overly complicated and frustrating. By following these tips, you can make shipping furniture across Canada simple and hassle-free, even if multiple items or locations are involved.

Encore Deliveries is a Canadian-based moving company specializing in the safe and efficient transportation of furniture and other goods throughout the provinces. Our highly trained team has the knowledge, resources, and experience to provide top-quality solutions to all your delivery and logistical needs while treating your satisfaction as our number one priority. Call us at 1-905-670-7111 or go online to get started today!