Little Rock Moving Blog - Tips, Tricks, and Insider Info
July 22, 2019

Moving Casualties in Little Rock: How to Protect Your Most Difficult-to-Move Items

Packing & MovingBy Julie DeLong, A-1 Freeman Moving Group 

If packing and moving your residence to a different place in or around Little Rock, a number of things may not endure the move. This is what is known as a moving casualty, an unfortunate amount of damage or full breakage which may happen on move-out day, move-in day, or while the moving van bumps along from one house to the subsequent. Regardless of how meticulously you pack, the majority of households encounter a minumum of one small moving casualty during the transition, nevertheless you do not have to.

As a professional moving company in Little Rock, we pack plenty of sensitive items for our customers to ensure they reach the destination unscathed. Therefore, today, we are here to discuss how to prevent the most prevalent moving casualties when you are packing yourself and approaches to protect your most hard-to-move pieces.

Fragile Glassware, Fine China, & Collectibles

There is a valid reason that professional movers use a great number of unique packing supplies for moving your kitchen items. Glasses and ceramic dishes are hard enough to safely move without breaking them, much less fine china along with fragile antiques. Lots of households observe at least one crack or destroyed glass item in a move with numerous breakable goods in boxes.

You need to take special care packing, filling, separating, and padding your most delicate pieces. 

  • Make use of cardboard dishware dividers
  • Pack plates vertically, this approach decreases the chance of breaking
  • Fill every empty place using paper shreds, bubble wrap, or peanuts
  • Do not permit glass to contact other glass
  • Don't pack too tightly, or pressure/bumps might cause shattering
  • Pad extra space and also the outside of each box with fluffy packing material

Mirrors & Pictures

Sizeable panes of glass are especially tricky to pack because they have a great potential for becoming cracked or smashed in the move. This suggests mirrors and glass-covered pictures has to be packed with special care. The most important thing is to shield the glass surface and lessen the risk of an impact against the glass. 

  • Stack picture frames with each other in a box utilizing cardboard partitions between
  • Secure a blanket or cloth over the whole area of the glass
  • Utilize a sizable piece of cardboard over each glass area to decrease shocks
  • Stow vertical, similar to the plates
  • Never permit packed glass to lay flat

 Wood Home furniture

Wood home furniture is a common moving casualty, but not the whole furniture piece itself. Instead, wood has a tendency to suffer from scratches, scuffs, and problems with the finish when being taken apart or carted by way of narrow corners and doorways of the house. It's very typical for once-pristine wood pieces of furniture to reach the new home needing refinishing or fixes. Here's how to circumvent harm to your home furniture (as well as wall surfaces) along the route: 

  • Take off components including handles and feet to help make the furniture more rectangle-shaped and even.
    • Store all removed hardware collectively within a clearly labeled bag or box.
    • Smaller groups of removed hardware may be kept in a drawer of the pieces of furniture it came from
    • Store various groups of removed components in the same container for easy reconstruction
  • Tape All drawers and cabinets closed
    • Use paper tape or masking tape which doesn't damage paint, stain, or finish
  • Take big home furniture apart when you can.
    • Wrap every piece separately and load up into a single carton or bundle.
    • Plainly tag whatever you take apart, including where the pieces should be reconnected down the road. Colored tape helps.
  • Cover all things in furniture pads or blankets to reduce the potential risk of scuffs
  • Ask for help or hire professional movers to move sizeable or awkward household furniture 

Musical Instruments

If you have any musical instruments, you know that a move could mean serious peril for these types of perfectly tuned and sensitive belongings. From grand pianos to clarinets and everything in between, musical instruments are generally breakable and need to be treated with the maximum care.

For large musical instruments including pianos, harps, and acoustic bass, you might have to employ a specialized instrument moving team. Confer with your moving company in Little Rock regarding what they could undertake or companies they could hook you up with who specialize in moving big instruments correctly over long or short distances.

With regard to small sized individual instruments, these tips may help you keep your musical equipment safe and in excellent condition throughout the move: 

  • Loosen the strings of the stringed instruments such as guitars, violins, cellos, and small harps. The temperature and humidity changes throughout a move or while in storage can cause strings to break or possibly warp the wood of your musical instrument if the strings are extremely taut.
  • Pack mouthpieces separately and consider hauling your mouthpieces along with you as opposed to putting them in a box.
  • Put instruments inside their own fashioned in addition to cushioned cases if it is possible.
  • If valuable, cover instruments in bubble wrap, even within their cases, to deliver extra insulation and also protection.
  • If there isn't a case wrap the instrument in a number of layers of bubble wrap and then pack in its own box with nothing else inside.
  • Fill the container with paper, bubble wrap, or packing peanuts in order to avoid wiggling and bumping.
  • Never pack two instruments inside the same container in case they hurt one another on the move.
  • In the event that it's a possibility, think about moving instruments in your car or truck as opposed to on the moving truck. 

Artwork

Packing & MovingNo matter whether you have posters, painted canvas, or sculptures, packing art can be difficult. There's a good chance your artwork may survive the move without customized moving services, but only if you prepare it the correct way and are careful about the place it will be positioned in the moving truck. For extremely expensive pieces, speak to your moving company in Little Rock concerning if you should research moving them in your car or sending with an art transport service.

Even so, in case you have simply got a small number of sensitive pieces of fine art to pack and take with you, here is how to stop them from turning into moving casualties:

Canvas & Posters 

  • Decide if it is suitable to roll up your art and keep in poster tubes. Upright, sturdy poster tubes are frequently the most secure approach to take.
  • If storing flat, think about continuing to keep in picture frames which are currently loaded properly to lessen bumps.
  • If stowing flat, make use of a thin flat box about the size of your artwork
    • Set the canvas or poster between pieces of cardboard to ensure that they're both flat and secure
    • Think about plastic wrap, wax paper or perhaps a quick spray of paint-sealant for unsealed paintings or perhaps sketches 

Breakable or Unusually Shaped Statues 

  • Like dishes, fill every crevice, cavity, and handle with fluffy packing material
  • Like musical instruments, spot in a base of packing material and surround with more packaging material to guard through bumps or compression
  • Metal and wood can be placed in the same box
  • Normally, never put two glass or fragile statues in the same container

 Workout Machines

Finally, we arrive at the toughest but perhaps most complicated packing undertaking of all: your workout gear. Dumbbells, weight benches, exercise bikes, and specialty exercise equipment are frequently a massive obstacle to move. The weighted and structural items can be very weighty while the gear on its own can be challenging and/or bulky to move. The truth is, substantial work out machines are commonly the reason for moving casualties.

Sporting gear, alternatively, is often rather vulnerable. Rackets and skis, snowboards and also surfboards, along with other carefully wrought sporting equipment could take significant hurt from the wrong kind of jostling during a move. These are belongings you shouldn't simply toss in a carton and go.

Here's how to move your home gym and sporting gear correctly without any breaks, losses, or too-heavy boxes:

Weights 

  • Put a couple per container
  • Cushion snugly and pack into small now-heavy boxes
    • Hunt for or build cartons smaller than a book container
  • Load up disc weights in acceptable stacks
    • Cover in furniture pads and secure using shrink wrap
  • Never load up a group of weights weightier than you can carry
  • Lift with your legs 

Training Equipment 

  • Retain and prepare the assembly details
  • Take down what you can and stow in bundles of bars and bench sections
  • Tag each and every piece and also screw once you disassemble and store in labeled bags together with the workout equipment parts
  • Snap photos before you disassemble to help with reassembly 

Sporting Equipment (Rackets, Surfboard, etc.) 

  • Store rackets in their cases with an added layer of padding. Do not allow to fold.
  • Bubble-wrap skis and snowboards then stow in cases or upright cartons.
    • Consider extra cardboard or struts to maintain cartons impact-resistant and firm
    • A professional mover can provide cartons, should you need them
  • Pack groups of gear together in the same carton.

 ----

Transferring to a new home in Little Rock doesn't have to include the usual moving casualties including furniture scrapes or cracked china. Whether you're relocating sizeable everyday stuff or distinctive sensitive possessions, these tips will allow you to have a tragedy-free move with each and every one of your beloved things making it safely to your new residence. If you're looking for more sensible moving tips from a professional moving company who's seen it all or you're wary of moving special things in your house, contact us today!

 

Request a free quote

 
REAL PEOPLE. GREAT EXPERIENCES.
The Mickelson Family
review-couple
review-map
The Mickelson Family
Best. Move. Ever!
Very pleased with the overall respect and care the men gave to my possessions. Even mailing me very quickly the only thing lost in transit. Would recommend to anyone needing a long distance move.
Read more

Almost there...

Tell us a little more about yourself!
(Contact information is required to submit form.)