When moving your office from one place to another, you and your movers are bound to meet with some unique challenges. Upright filing cabinets are one such challenge. The problem with filing cabinets is that you are used to filling them, not emptying them, and when the day comes when you finally have to move, they can be exceptionally heavy, not to mention awkward.
Part of the problem with moving upright filing cabinets is that they often don't just contain paperwork, but also various loose items of stationery. This makes moving them hard on your back, unless of course you move them the easy way! A furniture removals team can of course help. And fortunately, there are several ways that upright filing cabinets can be moved with little fuss.
Moving Full Filing Cabinets
If you are rushed, emptying a filing cabinet is probably out of the question. However, don't attempt to lift a full—and heavy—filing cabinet by its handles. Doing so will likely cause the handles to break and sheet metal of the filing cabinet to warp. You and your movers may also be rudely brought down to earth by one or more drawers popping out as you shuffle along. This could be avoided if you are able to lock the drawers.
Instead, you'll need a furniture dolly and some straps. Use the straps to secure each of the drawers. Now, inch the dolly under the filing cabinet, align the two so that the cabinet is resting fully on the dolly, and move. Don't do this alone. Make sure someone else is there to guide you as you head for the moving truck.
Moving Empty Filing Cabinets
The safest but most time-consuming method would be to empty and box each individual drawer before moving the empty filing cabinet and its boxed items separately. However, if time is a factor, there is another way. You'll need a strong pair of arms, bent knees, and a straight back for this, so be ready. Filing cabinet drawers can be slid all the way out. However, they aren't as easy to slide out as a typical dresser drawer or kitchen drawer because that would make the filing cabinets dangerous considering how heavy they can be.
Slide the filing cabinet drawers all the way out until they stop, then lift the end up and gently pull. Lifting in this manner should raise the drawer over the bump that is designed to keep it in place. If this doesn't work, the drawer probably has release tabs on each side of the track. To access these, pull the drawer all the way out. They should be visible now. In most cases, while pushing the tabs you slide the drawer out; however, sometimes the tabs need to be lifted or pulled. Using this method you can pack the full drawers separately and safely.