Moving into a new house is both exciting and overwhelming. There are so many steps involved, so much planning, that it can be easy to forget about preparing your new home for the move. After all, the last thing you want is to chip new paint, scratch or stain the floors, or gouge a railing on move-in day. So, while you’re carefully packing, stacking, and transporting all your belongings, take some time to strategically plan how you’ll move it all in without destroying your home.

Strategically Plan Your Move

Taking the time to plan your move strategically is key in maintaining order and patience. There are some precautions you can take to ensure you’re minimizing scratch, bump, and scrape damage. These tips will also make the moving process so, so much easier:

When packing up your belongings, be sure to pack up boxes by room. Clearly label these boxes and keep them together in your moving truck. Not only will this keep the packing process organized – letting you go from one room to the next – but it will also help when unpacking in your new home.

To minimize traffic through your new home (and potential bumps, scratches, and scrapes), plan to move from back to front. Bring in furniture for areas farthest from the front door, like for upstairs bedrooms. Your move will go faster, and you can reduce traffic in and out of your new home.

Protect Your Floors

When you move into your new home, you’ll likely be re-arranging furniture all day. People will be coming in and out bringing boxes and furniture to every room. With so much to do, you’re likely not being as gentle or careful as you’d like. The last thing you want in your new house is scratched floors or chipped paint from move-in day.

• Use drop clothes, carpet protectors, or even flattened cardboard boxes to protect both your floors and walls
• Place moving blankest or cardboard boxes underneath furniture so you can slide them around with ease
• Add felt pads to the bottom of chair legs, tablets, and other hard furniture to avoid scratches or scuffs to your floor

Protect Your Walls and Railings

Like your floors, walls and railings can get damaged during moves. This is especially true for tight corners or narrow staircases. Luckily, you can use the same materials to protect these areas that you used on your floors.

• Wrap banisters or railings in bubble wrap or flattened cardboard boxes
• Secure protections to your walls using painter’s tape to avoid peeling off the paint
• Use corner guards or cardboard boxes around easy-to-bump wall corners

Keep Your Furniture Safe

As much as you want to avoid damaging your new home, it’s also essential to protect your furniture. Wrapping your furniture makes it easier to transport and keeps surfaces from getting scraped up.

• Wrapping furniture in moving blankets keeps it safe and helps prevent scratches or scrapes against your floor and walls. Even better, you can stack bundled up furniture without worrying about scratches.
• Whenever possible, disassemble furniture. Keep track of the pieces and make sure they’re moved together.

As you can see, a quick trip to the hardware store can go a long way in easing tensions while moving furniture and belongings into your new home. Taking the time to protect your walls, floor, and furniture will ensure a smooth move and keep your home looking fresh and new.

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