At last you've found your ideal flat. It's time to fly the nest and start a new adventure alone – or maybe in company. This may be a true blessing, or it could be torture. We recommend that you take it philosophically and with a touch of humour, because after a move, you may have some good stories to tell your friends over the dinner table.
Haruka 55 and Matsue 55 collections from Fashion Book 16 of Visual Textures by Aquaclean.
Moving has its pros and cons. If you're basically optimistic, moving is sure to be the perfect chance to re-evaluate your life, getting rid of everything you no longer need, and starting life in a new home with your karma nicely washed out.
If, on the contrary, you're the more negative type, or someone who sees problems everywhere, you're in for trouble. Our advice to you is don't move at all, because you're going to have a pretty bad time.
Packing and transporting a thousand and one boxes (despite having done a major cleaning job – but that's never enough, is it?) is a real drag, OK, but what about your furniture? All those things like beds, shelves, chests of drawers, chairs, armchairs or your sofa. What can you do with all that stuff?
Well, whatever you can dismantle or disassemble, do it, because that makes it much easier to transport. When you reassemble things at your new place, make sure you get all the screws in right. And if you have to move something big in one piece, just call in your friends – what are friends for if not?
Now after this brief presentation, and so that you can enjoy your new home without any setbacks, we'd like to give you a series of tips on making a move a lot more bearable, and especially to ensure that the star of your home – your sofa – arrives safe and sound at its new destination. So let's see....
How to disassemble a sofa for a move?
No one knows your sofa better than you, but do you know if it's disassemblable? If it isn't, you have to employ the strategy "help + friends = sofa + pizza", which always seems to work, so buy a roll of shrink fit plastic for packing and start messaging your friends.
If you're among the more fortunate, your sofa can be disassembled, so now you can breathe easy, since moving will be easier, but the work before and after may be a bit tough.
First, remove as many cushions and seats as you can. That way, it'll weigh a lot less. And don't forget to pack these parts up tightly, because moves can get things dirty. If your sofa is the L-type, start by detaching the long section. If you think you might forget how the sections should be attached again, you might want to make a drawing and number or name them (better to be safe than sorry...). Then, use whatever tools you need to detach the remaining sections, taking care not to lose any bits and pieces along the way.
Once you're ready, you can continue with the reclining sections on the back, and the arms, if appropriate. In this case, it all depends on the manufacturer, since each sofa maker uses any number of manufacturing methods to get the backs or headrests to fold down. One trick is to look at the seams on the back of the sofa, as most manufacturers place all the levers and other elements that make the sofa recline in this area.
Haruka 55, Matsue 55, Mika 28 and Mika 55 collections from Fashion Book 16
of Visual Textures by Aquaclean.
Once you're ready, you can continue with the reclining sections on the back, and the arms, if appropriate. In this case, it all depends on the manufacturer, since each sofa maker uses any number of manufacturing methods to get the backs or headrests to fold down. One trick is to look at the seams on the back of the sofa, as most manufacturers place all the levers and other elements that make the sofa recline in this area.
Now you're ready to load all the sections onto the moving van and head towards your new house. Make sure you have all the parts and smaller pieces under control, because these are the ones that frequently get lost during transport. And also ensure that your seats and backs are properly covered so they don't get knocked or damaged in any way.
Now how to put it all back together again?
Nice to be at home, right? But you still have to unpack everything and re-assemble it. Best thing is to take it easy, and do it bit by bit. You don't have to go crazy and lay absolutely everything out like a jigsaw puzzle, because you can end up making a mess of it all.
Naomi 316 collection from Fashion Book 16 of Visual Textures by Aquaclean.
As with lots of other things in life, brains over brawn is the answer, so be patient and build things up one by one, putting all the pieces back together, and being careful not to leave any of them out of the equation.
Whatever the case, if you do find you have some limitations, and you don't even know where to start cutting the adhesive tape from around the packaging, you'd better find a friend to do the dirty work, or pay someone to do it for you. Based on experience, the pay option seldom fails.
