Six steps to move a dresser
- Empty it. Take everything out, including what is on top, and check for loose items inside the frame.
- Remove the drawers. Pull each drawer, number them with tape and wrap or pack them separately, bagging any hardware.
- Take off the mirror and secure the top. Remove an attached mirror or hutch and keep it flat or upright in padding.
- Pad the frame. Cover it with a blanket, secure with stretch wrap over the pad and protect corners and feet.
- Lift with two people. Lift from the bottom rails, keep the dresser upright and let one person lead and call turns.
- Strap it in. Stand it against the truck wall with a strap, with the drawers set in boxes beside it.
Dressers are heavy, tall and tip easily. They are also the piece most likely to have a loose drawer slide or a cracked mirror waiting to cause trouble. Plan to carry one upright with two people, and keep it on its feet from room to truck.
Why take the drawers out
Drawers hold the weight in a dresser. Removing them can leave the frame manageable by two people, and it eliminates the risk of a drawer sliding open mid-carry. Drawers packed with clothing may seem efficient, but they are a common source of cracked rails and pinched fingers.
Tip-over safety at both ends
Tall chests tip, and a dresser can fall on a child. Federal safety agencies urge anchoring furniture to the wall; the Anchor It campaign explains how. When you set the dresser in the new home, anchor it right away, and keep it upright and secured on the truck as well.
Mirrors and attached hutches
Remove a mirror and wrap it with paper and a pad, then carry it upright. Hutches usually unscrew from the base. Use how to pack mirrors and pictures for the details.
Delicate finishes
Antique dressers and painted pieces need pads against the surface and no tape on the finish. See moving antiques. If you would rather not carry it, O'Brien's crews handle furniture of every size as part of a local move; see local moving.