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MAKE subscriber Mike Figueroa wrote in to share this simple tip for moving. If you’ve got a lot of boxes that need to go downstairs, just set up a ramp and save yourself the lifting. Not recommended for delicate items, of course.
It seems like a simple idea, but I’ve never thought to try it (and I have moved out of a good number of second-floor apartments). I have tried other things, such as carrying the boxes in stages to different way points, to give myself time to rest and so I can prop doors open for short amounts of time without worry about my cat escaping. Know of any other good techniques for moving?
14 thoughts on “Moving? Don’t carry those boxes, make a ramp!”
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Cut a wooden pallet in half and screw on 4 heavy duty wheels. This is way stronger than a typical cheapo dolly from the store and can support several heavy boxes, couches, desks, etc for wheeling around. Tie a piece of rope on each end to pull/steer it with.
An oldie but goodie: if you’re moving into/out of a first floor or garden-level apartment, remove the screen from a large window and move boxes directly through it. Saves a lot of walking and carrying. Just be careful not to damage the window or screen.
Funny, that pic looks just like your old stairs in AZ!
Yeah, I wish I would have seen this back then!
Moving is such a pain, if combining this simple project with a little common sense can save anybody some time then so much the better.
COSMO!! You’re the man – A Pallet Dolly? I’m grinning from ear to ear, I’m making one a.s.a.p.!
If moving up stairs, and you have something just to frigging heavy (andor fragile) to haul up the steps on a handtruck…
Get it to the base, handtruck twords stairs, have second man ready with 1×8 planks cut into about 8 or 10 inch squares, top man rocks loaded truck to the side, one wheel goes up, second man inserts board, top man rocks it back the other way, second man inserts 1 or 2 boards, keep it up, and suddenly, your the same level as the next step, roll onto it, rinse and repeat, no gut-busting on that fridge.
Second tip. to move that dratted dresser from hell that your wifes great aunt left her… On hard floors, put a carpet section folded with the top side down under one end, lift other rend, flip carpet out, now its top side down under the while thing, and can be pushed around fairly easily. If moving it on carpet, then use smashed (sideways) soda cans to make it slide easy. (Pointier legs may require soup cans.)
Work smarter, not harder is what I was taught.
You can now find reinforced plastic dollies that would work well with the plank of wood, alternatively consider a plank along either edge so you can walk through the middle…