Imagine a huge gaping hole in the wall of the dining room of your brand new home, or perhaps worse, a massive dent in the hard wood floors of the house you just sold. It’s so easy to scuff up the tile floors or ding the walls when you carelessly pack up your belongings during a big move. Whether you’re packing up your possessions for a storage unit during your move or you’re loading up a moving truck, we’ve found a few simple (and free!) ways to protect your carpets, floors, and walls from damage during the move.

Cardboard Coverage

Let’s face it; you have more cardboard boxes than you know what to do with during your move, so why not put them to good use? Flatten a cardboard box, cut it up, and then use it to cover corners, doorways, and especially areas around the staircase.  Everyone has bumped the walls trying to maneuver the couch down the stairs, so cover those hot spots with taped on cardboard.

Cardboard also acts as a great protector for hard wood surfaces. Tape down flattened cardboard on your susceptible surfaces, such as your hardwood, tile, or marble floors. Not only can the cardboard help protect the surface, if your Dad accidentally drops his end of the kitchen table onto the floor, but it can also help lessen the impact of all of the foot traffic. With your hard surfaces covered, don’t worry about scuffs, mud, or dirt.

Towels and Plastic Tarps

Just like the cardboard, your old towels and plastic tarps can do wonders for protecting your walls and carpets. Tape these up on the walls to prevent scratches or throw them over the carpets to catch any debris or dirt. These materials are also life savers for when the weather decides not to cooperate on moving day. Whether wind is blowing leaves and twigs through the open front door or rain is stirring up mud to track into the house, your towels and tarps can help keep your floors clean(er).

Moving and relocating your belongings into storage can feel like a nightmare, but don’t make it any worse by chancing a dent in the wall or crack in the floors. When you properly protect certain surfaces, you can easily prevent these avoidable disasters.