How to Move a Bed by Yourself

Knowing how to pack and safely move a bed is important to ensure that it arrives undamaged and with all its parts at your new home.

As long as you are physically able to dismantle, pack, and move the bed yourself, standard beds are not the worst item of furniture to move. But if you are in any doubt about your ability to move your bed yourself safely, then always call in the pros.

In this guide, we explain how to pack and move a bed to your new home safely.

You may also like to read: How to Make a Floor Plan. There is no point in paying to pack and move your bed if it will not fit in the available space in your new home, or will not even fit up the stairs. In this guide, we show you how to create a simple floor plan and how to measure furniture.

How To Pack A Bed For Moving

To move a bed on your own, you’re going to need packing materials and some tools.

Make sure you have the following packing supplies before you get down to work:

• One mattress bag
• Moving boxes
• Packing paper
• Bubble wrap®
• Packing tape
• Moving straps or rope
• Basic household tools to disassemble your bed into its main components.

Follow these packing steps, arranged in chronological order, to get your bed ready for moving.

• Remove the bedding from your bed and pack it in a separate moving box.
• Slip the bed mattress in a special mattress bag for the best protection during the move. If you don’t have such a bag, wrap old bed sheets or blankets around the mattress and tape them in place.
• Photograph or number each part so that you know how to reassemble it before taking anything apart.
• Disassemble your bed as far as it will go. Remember that the more elements you manage to take apart from the furniture, the easier it will be to take them out of the house and load them onto the removal van.
• Depending on your type of bed (folding sofa, single bed, queen-size bed, king-size bed, etc.), you may need to go through different stages to break it apart. The headboard comes apart fairly easily, as it is usually screwed to the main frame.
• Wrap the disassembled larger components with protective covers, such as bed sheets, blankets, old pieces of clothing, or bubble wrap®, to keep them safe during the trip to your new home. The smaller bed parts you can easily wrap for safe relocation.
• Place all the tiny parts (bolts, nuts, screws, etc.) into a sealable plastic bag and keep it in a safe place; for example, in the same moving box with the bedding.

Once the bed is taken apart, it’s time for the harder part: transporting the bed pieces out of the house and loading them into the van.

You may also like to read: How to Pack a Bedroom for Moving. In this guide, we show you how to prepare, pack, and move every item commonly found in a bedroom.

How To Move A Bed By Yourself

When we say “move your bed on your own”, we don’t literally mean you should do it entirely on your own.

In reality, you will need a couple of willing helpers to assist you in moving the larger parts of the bed.

How to move a bed frame by yourself

• First off, devise a plan of action. The trick is to visualise each step before you take it.
• Once you figure out the safest route, make sure you have enough helpers to comfortably lift the larger parts and move them out of the room.
• Consider removing the bedroom door temporarily if you need a few extra inches to squeeze the bed frame through safely.
• Be extra careful when going around tight corners or down the stairs. You can appoint a person (aka a spotter) to stand by and either assist or shout out if a dangerous situation appears.
• The bed frame, as well as the rest of the large bed parts, should be loaded first on the moving vehicle.
• Secure the bed parts with a piece of rope to avoid any shifting during transportation.
• Repeat the above steps for the mattress, box spring, and headboard. The smaller components can be loaded with your other furniture pieces.

You may also like to read: How to Move Heavy and Large Furniture. In this guide, we cover every aspect of preparing, packing, and moving various items of heavy furniture over various floor surfaces and up and down stairs.

How to move a mattress by yourself

The best way to move a mattress by yourself is to follow the above steps and load it into a moving van with the help of friends.

For short-distance moves, you may be considering securing the mattress to your car roof and transporting it that way.

It is not recommended to strap a mattress to your car roof unless you’re moving just a few houses down the road, in which case:

• Place an old blanket over your car’s roof to protect the paintwork.
• Secure the mattress to the roof using ratchet straps or rope.
• Test whether the mattress is well fastened to the car roof by pushing and pulling hard at its sides with both hands. The bed mattress should not budge.
• Avoid busy roads and drive slowly.

You may also like to read: How to Move a Mattress by Yourself. This is a more in-depth guide to preparing, packing, and moving a mattress by yourself.

How To Have Your Bed Moved By The Pros

Self-moving can be a good choice only if you’re moving locally, have enough time to organise the move, gather enough helpers to help you, and possess some level of moving experience.

Take away only one of these 4 factors from the DIY moving equation, and you’ll be facing nothing short of a Herculean task.

The solution to the problem? Get professional bed moving assistance from reliable removals.

Removal companies are experts at what they do and will have your bed ready for transportation, carried out of your home, and loaded onto the moving lorry in no time.

Of course, there will be a cost involved, and the easiest way to find out whether you can afford to hire the pros is to fill in a moving quote and get a personalised price offer.

You may also like to read: How to Pick a Good Removal Company: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide. If you want to hire a good removal company to help you move to your new home, then you will find this guide invaluable. It is a step-by-step guide to help you avoid the pitfalls of hiring a removal company and to help you choose the best movers for your particular needs.

Additional Tips For Moving A Bed

• Is it worth it? Moving a bed on your own is not a walk in the park, and sometimes the moving task can get tough and even dangerous. Ask yourself if moving your bed to your new residence is worth your time, money, and effort. Unless the bed itself has a high monetary or sentimental value, it may be a better idea to just sell it and buy another one later, especially if you’re moving to a city far away.

Safety, safety, safety! Make sure you provide a safe moving environment. If a certain task looks overwhelmingly difficult, call for backup.

Haste makes waste. The last thing you’d want is to rush. Devise a detailed plan and stick to it. Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you get stuck and can’t find a reasonable solution to your bed moving problem.

Mind what you wear. Avoid baggy clothes or long jewelry pieces that may get hooked onto something and cause an injury. Footwear is also very important – make sure you wear comfortable shoes that will provide sufficient traction and protection.

If you are planning on moving home yourself or have any questions regarding any aspect of your home move, then our home moving blog will have the answer, so be sure to take the time to browse through it.

Good luck with your home move.