How do I arrange a very, very short move?

August 15, 2024 9:45 AM

I really feel like I should know the answer to this question but I don't: do people hire movers to help them move furniture from one place to the other inside an apartment? If not, who do they hire?

I have a king-sized bed that I need moved so I can take a rug from under it and move another rug under it. My husband and I are able to do some furniture moving by ourselves, but defintely not this; we have enough trouble rotating the king-sized mattress. I assume there's a way people manage this, but I actually don't know what it is. Have you ever done somehing similar to this, and who did you call to do it for you? (I already asked the furniture company about it and they were very clear that their delivery people would not move furniture for me -- they will only deliver and put things together.)

posted by That darn sock! to Home & Garden (18 answers total)

I’d book someone on TaskRabbit for an hour or so job
posted by seemoorglass at 9:49 AM on August 15 [7 favorites]

This feels like "find some university and pay them with a dinner and a case of beer" territory to me. Know anyone who's got a line on a college age local with some friends?
posted by mhoye at 9:50 AM on August 15 [3 favorites]

It sort of depends on where you live. If you are comfortable with them not being a company, in many cities/towns like Los Angeles, there is a store like Home Depot where people gather in the mornings who can be hired for day labor. I've done this to move things around in my yard and when I was clearing out my parent's house after they died. Works best in cities with a large population of people willing to work for cash, be they immigrants or others trying to get by. These people are varying degrees of reliable, but almost all of them will give you good work for $15-$20/hour, especially if you tell them there's a minimum, like $50. When we cleared out my Mom's house, I let them set aside anything they were interested in that we were getting rid of. They came by later to pick that stuff up.

In other places it might be more difficult to locate day laborers, but I'll bet there's a Craigslist or similar where people advertise. Deciding whether someone is reliable/trustworthy might take a bit more effort, or leave it to chance like those who hire from the parking lots at Home Depot.
posted by drossdragon at 9:57 AM on August 15

Movers would definitely do this but they be aware it's common for them to require that you book a minimum window, like 4 hours. If you can find a moving company that specializes in small moves that's probably a good bet. If you happen to be in the Boston area I've used a company called Small Haul a few times and they've been great, and you can book them for shorter windows (like 1-2 hours). I'm 99% sure they would take a job like this. It would probably cost a couple hundred bucks though.
posted by mskyle at 9:59 AM on August 15

Where do people sell stuff in your town? Craigslist? Facebook Marketplace? Nextdoor? Kijiji?

Usually where there are sales ads, there are also usually task-based services ads.

Also specific apps like TaskRabbit and such.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:02 AM on August 15

The college-kid solution has been formalized through companies like Bellhops or (ugh) College Hunks. We used Bellhops a couple of times and were pleased. The hourly charge is quite a bit more than a case of beer, but the workers were vetted and insured.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 10:03 AM on August 15 [1 favorite]

If I were in your place, I would start by offering to pay my nephew and any friends he needed to help him to do the job. If he couldn't do it, I'd put out a request on Front Porch Forum, which is a Vermont place to post ads and conversation specific to your town. There may be a Facebook group or something that serves a similar purpose in your area.
posted by Redstart at 10:08 AM on August 15

This is about a 1 1/2 hour job. Handyperson or local mover on Nextdoor can do this. You could even post a notice if there's a bulletin board in your building. I dind mattresses and rugs way easier to move if I tie clothesline or similar around them to act as a handle.
posted by theora55 at 10:11 AM on August 15

The furniture company you mention- will they be delivering something in conjunction with your need to move the bed? When we ordered a new couch, we offered the subcontracted Guys who delivered it if they would accept like $200 cash (split across three guys) to move around the other couches the new couch was replacing. They were definitely not technically allowed to, but they did it and it was cheaper, easier and more convenient than getting a moving company to come out for a small job.
posted by MadamM at 10:13 AM on August 15

I’m in Los Angeles and this is 100% a taskrabbit job. You may need to pay an 2-hr minimum. Also, there’s no shame in needing/wanting help for this task. Seems totally reasonable to me.
posted by samthemander at 10:22 AM on August 15

A lot would depend on how much the bed needs to be moved- four feet to get the rug under the middle of the bed one foot at a time? Or does the whole bed need to go somewhere, floor is replaced and then bed is moved all the way back? It makes a difference if it can be done one corner at a time.

Anybody not prone to back problems can help with lifting a corner at a time. One person on rug detail and two people lifting the corner. You are two people already.

If the whole thing needs to be moved you need several people working in tandem and reliably so they don’t destroy the floor sliding a heavy object.
posted by koahiatamadl at 10:22 AM on August 15

A friend of mine hired College Hunks to move a large futon and some other furniture up a flight of stairs in her new home. It went very smoothly.
posted by PussKillian at 11:52 AM on August 15

I did this earlier this summer. I paid a small moving company their minimum and got two hours for it. It was worth it, even though in the end we didn’t use the full allotted amount.

I have also had able-bodied friends and their able-bodied teenagers help me with these kinds of tasks. This is usually free. Even the teenagers refuse my money.
posted by Well I never at 12:27 PM on August 15 [1 favorite]

I booked two people on Task Rabbit to move a couch from the second floor of our house to the third floor. At a different time, I booked one person on Task Rabbit to move an exercise bike from the ground floor up to the third floor. The couch was so heavy we simply could not have done it ourselves and definitely needed two people, but the bike was lighter and the person from Task Rabbit took one end and my husband took the other. As everyone else says, some of them have a two hour minimum, so keep that in mind when you’re estimating your cost. But for us, it’s well worth it! And if you have a good experience, leave a review on their profile — it will help them get more work.
posted by kate blank at 12:41 PM on August 15

In this situation it's normal to ask friends for help and then get everyone pizza when it's done.
posted by fritley at 9:42 PM on August 15

Yes, this is something you can ask friends to help with and then you feed them in thanks. But another potential option - in my city there is a residential program for people in addiction recovery, and in addition to running a second-hand shop the residents can be hired to do various yard work/home tasks.
posted by coffeecat at 6:04 AM on August 16

I just used an app called Lugg to get a couple guys to haul a new mattress upstairs, and the old one out to the alley. Went great, would use again.
posted by Bron at 9:21 AM on August 17

Response by poster: For anyone still following along: we hired two guys from Taskrabbit. They came on Tuesday to move the old rug and and then came back today and put the new rug in. Worked out great. Thanks to everyone who responded!
posted by That darn sock! at 1:15 PM on August 29