How to Move a Bed by Yourself: DIY Guide

Most of us tend to take for granted the furniture in our homes, and most of us don’t really appreciate a piece until it’s gone.

Stating that we’ll miss our bed, for example, can be a gross understatement.

Yes, beds are great, with only one little exception – beds are NOT great for moving.

When faced with a move, you’re probably trying to find a good answer to the puzzling question of how to move a bed by yourself.

Before you actually move your huge and heavy furniture piece out of the bedroom and into the moving vehicle, there are several things you have to do to prepare your bed for moving.

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 specific 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 to its main components.

Follow these packing steps, arranged in chronological order, to get your bed ready to be moved to the moving van.

• 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.
• With the help of your tools, do your best to 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. The box spring could turn out to be a moving challenge, together with the bed frame. It all comes down to the specific type and exact dimensions of your bed.
• 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 with packing paper or bubble wrap for safe relocation.
• Place all 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 – to transport the bed pieces out of the house and load 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, the success of the entire DIY operation depends on whether you have reliable and strong friends to give you a lifting hand or two to help you.

If you’ve managed to gather up a friendly moving team, then you’re up to the bed moving challenge.

How to move a bed frame by yourself

• The very first thing you should do is devise a plan of action. The trick is to visualise in your head each step before you take it.
• Once you figure out the safest route for the furniture piece, make sure you have enough helpers to comfortably lift the bare frame and move it out of the room.
• Consider removing temporarily the bedroom door 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 a person in dire need or shout out if a dangerous situation appears out of nowhere.
• Once out of the house, it’ll be much easier to reach the waiting van.
• The bed frame, as well as the rest of the large bed parts, should be loaded first on the moving vehicle.
• Secure the bed element 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

Of course, 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 loyal friends.

In case you’re moving only a short distance (for example, within the same city), you may choose to use your own vehicle instead of renting a moving van. Granted that your vehicle is a pickup truck, has a separate trailer, or simply has enormous loading space you can use, then you’ll be fine either way.

But what if you’re thinking of loading the bed mattress onto the roof of your car? You should be aware that that mattress moving method is way too dangerous and is therefore not recommended. Unless you’re moving just a few houses down the road, in which case:

• Take two long pieces of rope and wrap 2-3 rope lengths around the already protected mattress by also leaving enough rope to tie their ends.
• Place carefully the mattress on the roof of your car. Loop one end of one of the ropes through an open window from the driver’s side and the other end through a window from the passenger’s side. Tie the ends together tightly and do the same with the second rope. The idea here is to tie down the mattress to the roof as securely as possible.
• Leave the driver’s window un-roped for normal door opening and closing.
• 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 at least a satisfactory level of moving experience.

Take away only one of these 4 factors out of 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.

You may be wondering if hiring professional removals could actually fit into your moving budget and you’d be right to do so.

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 for your upcoming moving tasks.

You may also like to read: How to Pick a Good Removal Company: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide. If 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 rather tough and even downright 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 for all participants in the move, including yourself, your family (specially your children) and your pets. If a certain task looks overwhelmingly difficult, call for backup.

Haste makes waste. The last thing you’d want is to rush the entire bed moving operation. Devise a detailed plan of how to proceed in each given situation and stick to it. If you reach a dead end, stop for a while and consider your options. 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. Have in mind that safety might be compromised by something so trivial as a single piece of clothing. Avoid baggy clothes or long jewelry pieces that may get hooked onto something and get you into serious trouble. Footwear is also very important – make sure you wear comfortable shoes that will provide sufficient traction and protection during all stages of moving your bed by yourself.

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.