Moving furniture is challenging on many levels:
- Most furniture pieces are heavy – and, therefore, difficult to lift and carry;
- Most furniture items are bulky – and, therefore, difficult to manoeuver around;
- Many furniture pieces are oddly-shaped – and, therefore, awkward to handle;
- Many furniture items are quite delicate – and, therefore, vulnerable to damage;
- Some pieces of furniture have drawers – and that makes things even more complicated.
When moving furniture with drawers, you need to decide what to do with the drawers in order to ensure their safety, the safety of their contents, and the safety of the furniture piece – and to prevent accidents that may result in property damage or personal injuries.
You have two options – leave the drawers in the furniture or take them out and transport them separately. If you remove the drawers, the furniture will be much lighter and easier to move and there will be no risk of the drawers falling out and causing damages and accidents. Keeping the drawers in the furniture, however, will be safer for the drawers and the furniture and will allow you to save space in the moving truck.
If you decide to leave the drawers in place, you may be tempted to leave them as they’re – full of items – to save even more space in the moving vehicle (as the contents of the drawers won’t be packed in separate boxes) and to save yourself time and effort when packing for moving. This, however, may not be a good idea – it’s very risky and will make your move much more difficult.
Do you need to empty drawers when moving, then? The answer is usually “yes”, though it may not always be necessary to do so.
Should you empty drawers when moving?
So, how to decide whether to empty your drawers or not? In order to solve the conundrum, you need to carefully evaluate the situation. If it’s safe to leave the drawers full, there’s no reason not to do it. If there is a risk, however, you should empty the drawers before moving the furniture.
Here are some pointers to help you make the right decision:
The sturdiness of the furniture
The first thing to do when asking yourself “Should I empty drawers when moving?” is to take a close look at the furniture item.
If the piece is strong, well-built, and in good shape, it will easily withstand the extra weight of the full drawers. Provided that the frame and the drawers are solid and all joints are stable, the furniture is unlikely to get damaged during the move, even if you leave the drawers full inside it – so, you can do it. Just be sure to secure the drawers in place with stretch wrap.
Keep in mind, though, that quality, sturdy furniture is usually quite heavy (it is made of solid wood) – and the full drawers will add extra weight to the weighty piece, making it extremely difficult to lift and carry.
If the furniture is flimsy, very delicate, or very worn out, leaving the drawers full is not a good idea – it will make the piece more vulnerable to damage.
You’re, therefore, strongly advised to empty the drawers of ready-to-assemble furniture (as particleboard furniture is very fragile and easily prone to damage), antique furniture (as it is not only very old and very delicate, but also very valuable – and you don’t want to risk damaging it), and all kinds of frail furniture (that may not survive the move in one piece with the extra stress from the full drawers).
The items in the drawers
Next, you need to consider the contents of the drawers – you don’t want your items to get damaged during the move, so you need to find out if it will be safe for them to stay in the drawers. You also need to figure out if it will be safe for the furniture and for the people carrying the piece to keep the items in the drawers.
It is usually safe to leave lightweight, non-fragile items (such as clothing, towels, pillows, linens, plush toys, etc.) in their drawers – just make sure they aren’t overstuffed.
So, to answer the most common question when it comes to packing and moving drawers:
“Can you leave clothes in drawers when moving?” – Yes, in most cases you can.
Clothes are soft and light – they won’t break during the move and won’t affect the weight of the furniture too much, so they can remain in the drawers. You don’t need to empty the dresser, unless it is too frail or too heavy to lift and carry with the drawers full.
Keep in mind though that fragile items that can easily get damaged during the move (anything made of glass or porcelain), valuable items that you don’t want to risk getting damaged (jewelry, documents, electronics, antique items, pieces of art, etc.), loose small items that shift a lot and can either break or damage the drawer (office supplies, craft supplies, odds and ends, etc.), and weighty items that make the furniture too heavy to handle safely (books, tools, etc.), must be taken out of the drawers and packed separately in moving boxes.
Related: Packing tips for moving
The complexity of the move
Once you’ve assessed the furniture and the items in the drawers, it’s time to consider the nature of your move.
Depending on the specifics of the location, you may be able to move your furniture upright or may need to tip and turn it in order to take it out of your old home and into your new one:
- If you can move the furniture in an upright position, there won’t be a big risk of damages and accidents;
- If you need to flip a furniture item with drawers sideways to fit it through a door or around a sharp turn, or if you need to take it up or down stairs, the chances of the drawers flying out of the furniture are quite high. Even if you secure the drawers well enough to prevent that from happening, there still remains a risk of damage – the items in the furniture compartments will put extra stress on the hinges and sidewalls which may cause damage to the furniture. Not to mention that the furniture piece will be heavier when the drawers are full and will, therefore, be much more difficult – and much riskier – to manoeuver around.
So, it’s safe to leave the drawers full when the furniture can be moved upright, but you need to empty them if the furniture will be flipped during the move or if it will be carried up or down stairs.
The type of the move matters too – you can keep your items in their drawers when moving locally, but it is not a good idea to do so when moving long distance (your belongings will be on the road for a long time and may be transferred to other trucks or put in temporary storage along the route, so the risk of damage will be considerably higher).
The strength and experience of the people carrying the furniture
Last but not least, you need to think about who will be carrying the furniture:
- If you’ve opted for a self-move and don’t have anyone to help you on moving day, you should not even think about leaving the drawers full. You will need to make the furniture as light as possible in order to be able to handle it safely on your own – so, you will need to empty the drawers;
- If you have a bunch of friends to help you, you can consider leaving your items in their drawers. You and your friends will have enough manpower to lift and carry the furniture, even with the extra weight of the full drawers. If you need to navigate the furniture along stairs or around tight spaces, though, it’s better to empty the drawers – things will be safer that way;
- If you’re using professional moving services, the experts will have the physical strength, specialized moving equipment, and rich experience to safely move your furniture even with the drawers full.
Good to know: Do you have to empty drawers for movers?
It depends on the moving company, but, generally, you’re not required to empty drawers for movers. You’re, however, encouraged to do so – your items will be safer when packed in moving boxes and your furniture will be lighter and, therefore, safer and easier to move. The risk of accidents will be smaller, so the risk of damage to the furniture, the risk of damage to the property, and the risk of personal injuries will be smaller. What’s more, the movers will be able to work faster, so your move will take less time (and in the event of a local move, when you’re charged by the hour, this means that you’ll have to pay less for your relocation).
So, when wondering “Do I need to empty drawers for movers?”, keep in mind that even if you’re not required to do so, emptying the drawers will make your move safer, easier, and smoother – and even cheaper.
Reasons to empty drawers when moving
All things considered, it’s best to empty the drawers when preparing furniture for moving – it will reduce the risk of damages and injuries and will increase the chance of a successful relocation.
As already mentioned above, if you leave the drawers full, you risk:
- Damage to the furniture – The weight of the full drawers will add extra stress to the structure of the furniture and will increase the risk of the wood cracking, the rolling mechanism of the drawers getting damaged, and the furniture breaking apart when it’s hauled around. Besides, the items in the drawers can shift during the move and scratch or dent the wood surface;
- Damage to your items – If the furniture needs to be tipped and turned during the move, the items in the drawers may shift and bump into one another or into the drawer wall -and get broken. Besides, the drawers may fall out, causing damage to the items inside them;
- Property damage – The extra weight of the full drawers will make the furniture more difficult to manoeuver, so the risk of dropping the furniture or hitting a wall (or a door, or a railing, etc.) – and causing severe property damage – will increase greatly. And if the drawers fly out during the move, they may hit the floor, hit a wall, hit the stairs or banisters, etc. – and scratch, dent, or break them;
- Personal injuries – With the drawers full, the furniture will be extremely heavy – and carrying a heavy piece puts a lot of strain on the body, which can lead to painful muscle sprains, pinches nerves, hernias, and other injuries. Besides, people are more likely to trip and fall – and get hurt – when hauling a heavy item. And if a drawer falls out, it may cause severe personal injuries.
If you leave the drawers full, you will save some time, but your move will be riskier, less efficient, and more difficult – it’s not worth it. Emptying the drawers is the more beneficial option.
