Moving Drawers: In or Out? Empty or Full?

Moving furniture is, arguably, the most difficult part of the moving process – at least physically.  Where the challenge reaches its peak, however, is when it comes to moving furniture with drawers.

Not only do you need to lift and carry a heavy piece – and maneuver it safely through narrow doorways, around sharp corners, and up or down stairs – but you also need to prevent the drawers from falling out and causing damages or injuries. And you also need to ensure the safety of the contents of the drawers, of course.

Achieving all that is not easy – at all.

So, what can you do? How to move furniture with drawers in a trouble-free way? How to pack and move drawers safely and efficiently?

You have a few different options to choose from – and a couple of conundrums to solve:

• You can leave the drawers in the furniture – or take them out and transport them separately;
• You can empty the drawers and pack their contents in moving boxes – or you can leave the drawers full and use them as moving containers.

Each option has its advantages and disadvantages – which one will work best for you will depend on the specific circumstances in your case.

Here is what you need to know when moving drawers so you can ensure your smooth and successful relocation experience.

What to do with drawers when moving

First things first – when moving furniture with drawers (dressers, desks, filing cabinets, beds, etc.), you need to decide what to do with the drawers.

You can take them out, leave them in but empty them of their contents, or move them as they are (full of items and inside the furniture) – it’s up to you. Just be sure to carefully consider the options and weigh their pros and cons before making your final decision:

Option 1. Leave the drawers in and full

That’s your easiest option – you won’t need to do anything, just secure the drawers so they don’t open during the move.

Leaving the drawers full and inside the furniture has many substantial benefits:

• It will save you a lot of time and effort as you won’t need to take the items out of the drawers and pack them for moving;
• It will save you some money on packing materials as you won’t need moving boxes for the items stored in the drawers;
• It will help you save space in the moving truck as you will have fewer moving boxes.

This method, however, is very risky and will make your move much more difficult:

• 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 and/or the furniture breaking apart during the move. The rolling mechanism of the drawers may also easily get damaged because of the extra weight;
• With the drawers full, the furniture will be extremely heavy and very difficult to manoeuver. Therefore, the risk of dropping the piece or hitting a wall – and damaging the furniture and/or causing severe property damage – will increase greatly. Besides, people are more likely to trip and fall – and get hurt, damage the furniture, and/or cause property damage – when hauling a heavy item. Not to mention that carrying a heavy piece puts a lot of strain on the body and can lead to painful muscle sprains, hernias, and other injuries;
• The items in the drawers may shift around during the move (especially if the furniture needs to be tipped or turned when being taken out of your old home or into your new one) and bump into one another or into the drawer sides. As a result, fragile items may get broken, long flexible items may get tangled, sharp items may scratch or dent the wood, etc. And if the drawers fall out, the items in them may get badly damaged.

When moving furniture with full drawers, the movers will have to work very carefully (because of the risk of accidents) and will tire quickly (because of the extra weight) – so, the process will go more slowly and your move will take more time (and in the event of a local move, when you’re charged by the hour, this means that your moving costs will be higher).

Option 2. Leave the drawers in the furniture but empty them before the move

Unlike the previous option, this method takes a lot of time and effort – you will need to take your items out of the drawers, sort them out, wrap them in protective materials, and pack them in moving boxes. Then, you’ll need to secure the drawers so they don’t fall out during the move.  

On top of that, you’ll need more packing supplies and your goods will take more space in the moving truck (as the items from the drawers will be packed separately).

Despite these drawbacks, however, emptying the drawers is the recommended course of action – it will reduce the risk of damages and injuries and will make your move safer, simpler, and faster:

• The furniture will be much lighter and, therefore, much easier to lift and carry – and much safer to move. The risk of dropping the piece (or hitting a wall, or a doorframe, or a railing, etc.) and causing damage to the furniture and/or to the floors, stairs, banisters, or walls of your home will be much smaller. The risk of personal injuries will also be significantly smaller;
• Your items will be properly packed (in strong, tightly sealed moving boxes, with plenty of padding inside), so they will stay safe and sound during the move;
• The movers will be able to work faster, so your move will take less time.

All things considered, emptying the drawers will result in a smoother relocation – and may even save you money (you won’t need to fix property damage, repair or replace damaged items, etc. – and if you’re moving locally, you’ll pay less, as your relocation will take fewer hours).

Option 3. Take the drawers out but leave them full

That’s a very convenient – and very popular – option. It allows you to use the drawers as moving containers (so you can buy fewer moving boxes), saves you time and effort (as you can simply leave your items in their drawers instead of packing them for moving), makes the furniture safer and easier to move (as it becomes much lighter when you remove the drawers), and eliminates the risk of the drawers falling out and causing injuries and damages.

As advantageous as this strategy may be though, it’s not without drawbacks either:

• The furniture piece will be less stable without its drawers – it will remain “hollow” and that may compromise its safety during the move;
• The drawers won’t be inside the furniture, so they will take extra space in the moving truck;
• Unlike moving boxes which are easy – and safe – to stack, drawers won’t be very stable when stacked on top of one another. They can get displaced during the transportation and slide to the side or topple over – and get damaged or cause damage to the items inside them.

Option 4. Take the drawers out and empty them

That’s your safest option – and your most time-consuming and space-consuming one.

It comes with a number of benefits – your furniture will become lighter and easier to move, there will be no risk of the drawers falling out, your items will be safely packed in moving boxes, and the drawers themselves will be safely wrapped in moving blankets. It doesn’t get safer than this.

Yet, it will be a lot of work – you will need to take your items out of the drawers and pack them for moving, then pack the drawers for moving. You will need a lot of packing materials and a lot of time to get everything done properly. And you will need a larger truck – as you will have more moving boxes to relocate and the separately packed drawers will take extra space in the moving vehicle.

Besides, the movers will have to make more trips between your home and the truck (to load the furniture piece, to load the drawers, and then to load the moving boxes with the items from the drawers), so your move will take longer.

Option 5. Take the drawers out, then put them back in place after loading

If you don’t like any of the above options, you can go with a different strategy – remove the drawers before moving the furniture (to make the piece lighter and easier to manoeuver and reduce the risk of accidents), then reposition the drawers back in the furniture after it’s loaded onto the moving truck (to save space in the moving vehicle and keep the furniture piece more stable).

This is a very good idea when moving extremely heavy furniture – just be sure to secure the drawers after reinserting them in the furniture to prevent them from flying open if the truck makes a sharp turn, or stops or accelerates suddenly.

As for the items in the drawers, you can either leave them inside or take them out and pack them separately.

Once again, leaving the drawers full will save you time and effort, will save you money on packing materials, and will help you save space in the moving truck, but there will be some risk (the items in the drawers may shift during transit and get damaged or cause damage to the furniture).

Emptying the drawers, on the other hand, will require more work, more time, and more space in the moving truck, but it will make things safer. 

So, we come back to the dilemma – is it better to empty the drawers or leave them full.

Should you empty drawers when moving?

When moving drawers, you should first decide what to do with the contents of the drawers – pack the items separately or leave them in the furniture compartments. In other words, you need to decide whether to empty the drawers or not.

In order to make the right decision, you need to take several important factors into account:

The sturdiness of the furniture

The quality and condition of the furniture piece should be your first consideration:

• If the piece is well-built, made from quality wood, and not compromised in any way, it will be able to withstand the extra weight of the full drawers. Provided that the frame is sturdy enough and all joints are stable, it will be safe to leave the drawers full inside the furniture;
• If the furniture is flimsy, delicate, or worn out, leaving the drawers full will be a big risk – it will make the piece more vulnerable to damage and may result in damage to the items in the drawers, property damage, and personal injuries.

So, when moving quality furniture in good condition, you can consider leaving the drawers full.

You’re, however, strongly advised to empty the drawers when moving:

• ready-to-assemble furniture (such as IKEA furniture) – as particleboard furniture is flimsy and prone to damage;
• antique furniture – as it is very old and very delicate and, therefore, vulnerable to damage (and you wouldn’t want to risk damaging a valuable antique piece, would you?);
• big, heavy furniture – as it will be very difficult or even impossible to lift and carry with the drawers full;
• any frail furniture that may not survive the move in one piece when the full drawers exert extra pressure on it.

Good to know: Furniture made from solid wood is very strong, but also very heavy – it is unlikely to get damaged if you leave stuff in the drawers, but the extra weight of the full drawers will make it even heavier, so it will be extremely difficult to move. Therefore, you definitely need to empty the drawers before moving a large piece made of solid wood. It may actually be best to remove the drawers.

The position of the furniture during the move

It’s not only the sturdiness of the furniture that matters – the position of the piece is also very important.

1) If the furniture needs to be flipped sideways or tipped at a sharp angle when being taken out of your old home or into your new one, the chances of the drawers flying out – and causing havoc – are quite high. Even if the drawers are well secured and don’t fall out, the items in them will shift, bump into each other, and put pressure on the hinges and sidewalls – as a result, the items may get damaged or cause damage to the furniture.

Therefore, if the furniture needs to be taken up or down stairs or maneuvered through narrow doorways or around sharp turns (which requires turning or tipping the piece), you’re strongly advised to empty the drawers – or even remove them –  before the move.

2) If the furniture can be moved upright, you can leave the drawers full as the risk of damages and accidents will be smaller.

What’s inside the drawers

Next, you need to consider the items in the drawers – think about whether it will be safe for your belongings to stay in the drawers and whether it will be safe for the furniture and for the people carrying the piece to keep the items in the drawers.

1) It is safe to leave lightweight, non-fragile items (such as clothes, towels, pillows, plush toys, etc.) in their drawers:

• Lightweight items won’t exert extra stress to the structure of the furniture (so they won’t make it more vulnerable to damage) and won’t add much to the weight of the piece (so they won’t make it more difficult to move);
• Soft items won’t break – and won’t damage the drawers – if they shift around during the move;
• Lightweight, soft items won’t get damaged if the drawers fall out and won’t hurt the people carrying the furniture.

2) It is NOT safe to leave fragile items, heavy items, sharp items, liquids, and/or valuable items in the drawers:

• Fragile items (glass items, porcelain items, electronics, etc.) are very vulnerable to damage and need special packing care in order to survive the move intact and unscathed;
• Heavy items (books, tools, etc.) add to the weight of the furniture and increase the risk of accidents and injuries;
• Loose small items (office supplies, craft supplies, odds and ends, etc.) can shift during the move and either get damaged or damage the drawer;
• Liquids and gels (makeup, hair styling products, etc.) can leak and cause damage to the furniture;
• Sharp items can scratch or dent the wood;
• Valuable items (jewelry pieces, electronic gadgets, antique items, pieces of art, money, etc.) and important documents should never be left in drawers – you don’t want to risk losing them or getting them damaged during the move.

Such items need to be taken out of the drawers and packed in moving boxes (in a way that is most appropriate for the type of the items), so they stay safe and sound during the move and the risk of damage to the furniture, property damage, and personal injuries is reduced to a minimum.

Who will be carrying the furniture

When asking yourself “Should I empty drawers when moving?”, in addition to all the above factors, you need to also consider the strength and the experience of the people carrying the furniture:

• If you’re moving by yourself and don’t have anyone to help you with the heavy lifting, you should definitely empty the drawers to make the furniture as light as possible – so you can handle it safely on your own;
• If you have some strong friends willing to help you move, you can consider leaving stuff in the drawers. You and your friends will have enough manpower to lift and carry the furniture, even with the extra weight of the full drawers. Yet, you won’t have a lot of moving experience (if any at all), so it may not be wise to make things more complicated – and riskier – by leaving the drawers full;
• If you’ve hired professional movers, the experts will have the physical strength, specialized moving equipment, and rich experience to safely move your furniture even with the drawers full – yet, your move will be safer and easier if you empty the drawers.

If after having evaluated the sturdiness of the furniture, the nature of your items, the complexity of your move, and the moving help you’re going to have, you’re still not quite sure whether it will be better to empty your drawers or not, check the answers to the following frequently asked questions – they will help point you to the right decision:

Do I need to empty drawers for movers?

It depends on the moving company. However, even if you’re not required to empty drawers for movers, you’re strongly encouraged to do so.

With the drawers empty, it will be much easier for the movers to lift and carry your furniture and take it safely out of your home and into the moving truck.

The pros will be able to work faster and without hassle – and to take better care of your items. Things will go more smoothly and the risk of damages and injuries will be smaller.

In other words, emptying the drawers will help your movers do a better job – and perform your move in the safest and most efficient way possible.

So, do you have to empty drawers for movers? You may not have to, but doing so will increase your chances of a successful relocation.

Related: Furniture movers

Can I leave stuff in drawers when moving?

As detailed above, it depends on the type of the items, the sturdiness of the furniture, and the specifics of your move. If it’s safe to leave the items in the drawers, there’s no reason not to do it. However, if there is a risk (risk for the furniture, risk for the people carrying the furniture, risk for the items in the furniture compartments, or risk for your property), you should take your things out of the drawers and pack them in moving boxes.

While fragile items and heavy objects should always be removed from the furniture, some things – such as clothes – can sometimes be left in their drawers.

So, can you leave clothes in drawers when moving? Yes, generally, you can.

Clothing items are soft and light – they won’t get damaged if the furniture is tipped on its side or if the drawer falls out during the move; they won’t scratch or dent or otherwise damage the wood and they won’t put too much stress on the hinges and sidewalls; they won’t cause property damage or hurt the movers if they fall out of the drawers; and they won’t affect the weight of the dresser too much. So, in most cases, you won’t need to empty dresser drawers – it will be safe to leave your clothes in their place.

See also: How to move a dresser; How to pack clothes for moving

Good to know: It is usually safe to keep stuff in drawers when moving locally as your items won’t travel long and there won’t be a big risk of damages. When moving long distance, however, you’re strongly advised to empty the drawers – your belongings will be on the road for a long time and will be much safer when packed in strong, padded, tightly sealed moving boxes. (See also: How to pack for a long distance move)

To sum it all up: Do you need to empty drawers when moving?

You don’t need to empty drawers when the furniture is sturdy and doesn’t need to be taken up or down stairs or navigated through narrow doorways and tight spaces, the items in the drawers are lightweight and non-fragile, and there is enough experienced manpower available.

You need to empty drawers when the furniture is frail or extremely heavy, when the piece has to be tipped or turned during the move, when it’s not safe to keep the items in the drawers, when you’re moving long distance, and when you don’t have strong and experienced moving helpers.

How to pack drawers for moving

Once you’ve decided what to do with the drawers (leave them in the furniture or take them out) and what to do with the contents of the drawers (leave your items in their drawers or take them out and pack them in moving boxes), it’s time to actually pack the drawers for moving.

How to pack drawers inside the furniture

If you’ve chosen to leave the drawers in the furniture, you need to secure them in place, so they don’t open and/or fall out during the move. This isn’t overly difficult, but you need to do it right in order to prevent accidents and damages.

Here is how to secure drawers when moving:

1. Close the drawers tight;
2. Use several pieces of masking tape to keep the drawers in place (do not use heavy-duty packing tape as it may leave a sticky residue on the furniture surface and damage the delicate wood finish);
3. Wrap the entire  furniture piece in moving blankets (the blankets will, of course, go over the closed drawers and help keep them in place);
4. Use stretch wrap to secure the blankets in place – and secure the drawers once again. 

Alternatively, you can simply wrap several layers of stretch wrap over the closed drawers and around the furniture piece to prevent the drawers from opening during the move. This method is easier but riskier – it’s not safe to use stretch wrap directly on wood furniture, as moisture may get trapped underneath the plastic material and ruin the polished furniture finish, cause the wood to warp, or result in mold growth. (See also: How to use plastic wrap for moving).

Good to know: If the drawers are full, you need to take a few more precautions:

• If the drawer is overstuffed, remove some of the items, so it can close tightly;
• If the drawer is half-empty, add some more soft, lightweight items inside to prevent the objects in the furniture compartment from shifting during the move (and to maximize the storage space of the furniture, which will help you save space when packing (so you will need fewer moving boxes));
• Place several sheets of packing paper over the drawer items – as a protective layer;
• Secure the drawer as described above.

Knowing how to keep drawers from falling out when moving will help you avoid accidents on moving day and will save you a lot of trouble.

Related: How to pack furniture for moving

How to pack drawers outside the furniture

If you’ve decided to take the drawers out of the furniture, you need to provide them with adequate protection, so they stay safe and sound during the move. And if you’re packing the drawers full, you need to ensure the safety of their contents as well.

Here is how to pack full drawers for moving:

• Take out a full drawer and put it on the ground;
• If the drawer is overstuffed, remove some of its contents. If there is any empty space inside the drawer, fill it with small soft items;
• Place several sheets of packing paper over the items in the drawer;
• Wrap the drawer with stretch wrap, so that the top open part of the furniture compartment is covered completely and the items in the drawer are safely contained inside;
• Wrap the entire drawer in a moving blanket and use packing tape to keep the protective covering in place.

If you’ve emptied the drawers of their contents, all you need to do is wrap each drawer in a moving blanket and secure the pad with packing tape.

Your furniture and your drawers will survive the move intact and unscathed – and will help you set your new place and turn you into your dream home. Happy moving!