How to Use a Moving Dolly Like the Pros

Publish Date: March 21, 2017

Last Modified Date: February 21, 2022

Category: Loading & Unloading Guides

Tags: Tags: dollies, dolly, dollys, Everybody's How-To's, For Moving Companies, hand truck, handtruck, home projects, house hunting, inflatable wheels, lifehacks, mover, moving, moving hacks, moving tips, moving truck, new home, new homeowners, packing tips, professional movers, protecting belongings, protips, selling your house, spring cleaning, storage tips, trucks, u-haul, uhaul, unpacking, wheels, zillow

Moving house without a hand truck – or a moving dolly – is like riding a bicycle without a seat. It’s technically possible, but honestly, who does that?

A sturdy, reliable hand truck is any mover’s best friend. Used properly, it saves you time, rescues your back and it can singlehandedly keep your stuff from getting damaged.

(Thinking of a square furniture dolly?)

But they’re not as easy to use as they look, provided you are using them in the proper way. With that in mind, here are tips compiled by moving pros as to how to optimize that hand truck you found in the back of your moving truck, or that one your friend let you borrow and you don’t want to return broken.

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In What Order Do I Remodel My House? In This Order

Author: DIY Playbook

Publish Date: October 20, 2016

Last Modified Date: May 8, 2017

Category: Home Improvement

Tags: Tags: cool lights, DIY Thursday, DIYT, DIYThursday, Everybody's How-To's, get organized, home project, home projects, lawn furniture, lighting, Moving Checklist, moving tips, Moving To-do List, new home, new homeowners, painting tips, patio, refurnished, remodel, remodeling, selling a home, spring cleaning, wood work

Homeownership can be confusing and comes with a lot of expenses. Even after you write that big check for a down payment, you’re still going to feel like you’re bleeding money. New furniture, DIY updates, fixing this and that…it all adds up! It can be overwhelming.

So today we wanted to give you some tips on how to prioritize all of those early expenses. What should you splurge on right from the start? What should you wait on to help you save some cash? We answer all of those questions…and more!

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Help a Friend Move (Without Lifting Anything)

Author: DIY Playbook

Publish Date: September 8, 2016

Last Modified Date: November 4, 2022

Category: Neighborhood Advice

Tags: Tags: apartment move, babysitting, DIY Thursday, DIYT, DIYThursday, Everybody's How-To's, friends, good neighbors, home cooked, landlord, Moving Checklist, moving tips, Moving To-do List, neighbors, organized packing, pets, spring cleaning, storage tips

Let’s say your friends are moving into a new home. For fun, let’s say they’re moving long-distance from Las Vegas to DC, so moving is an especially hectic and special time for them. That said, if these friends of yours are smart they’ve already hired long-distance helpers, so they’re all set for this big moving day. But you – being the amazing, thoughtful, generous friend that you are – still want to somehow help these friends with their move. Since the physical moving and lifting part is covered (thanks, HireAHelper!), you need to get a bit more creative when it comes to helping out.

Fear not! Moving is more than just picking up boxes; Here are five ways to help your friends move without any heavy lifting.

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6 Crucial Energy Drains to Tweak Immediately in Your New Home

Author: Guest Author

Publish Date: June 22, 2016

Last Modified Date: March 23, 2020

Category: Home Improvement

Tags: Tags: get organized, home projects, Moving To-do List, new home, spring cleaning

A glaring fact from the home owning world: most homeowners lose a couple hundred dollars a year from neglecting very basic energy settings.

And we get it. You just spent the last 7 weeks rearranging your life and now – Finally! – you’re in your new home. But before you get too comfortable and move on with your life, take a look at this list to make sure you don’t unknowingly lose energy (and money) from right under your nose.

Specifically, these 6 general areas are quick to check, and you can often see the savings immediately.

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5 Areas to Deep Clean Before You Sell

Author: DIY Playbook

Publish Date: March 3, 2016

Last Modified Date: August 11, 2023

Category: Buying & Selling a Home, Home Improvement

Tags: Tags: cleaning checklist, cleaning list, home selling advice, home staging, move out cleaning, selling a home, selling your house, spring clean checklist, spring cleaning

You only have one chance to make a first impression, right?! So when it’s time for an interview, a first date, or time to meet the future in-laws, it just makes sense that you would spend some extra time “cleaning up”. Maybe you’d get a fresh haircut, possibly a manicure… anything you could do to make that amazing first impression is well worth it, right?

Houses are no different, especially when they’re on the market to be sold. Your house only has one chance to make a first impression on potential buyers during an open house or a showing so spending extra time and effort to get your home in tip-top shape is worth it!

Over the next few weeks, we will be providing a step-by-step guide in helping your home’s first impression turn into love at first sight for those potential buyers– first up, 5 areas to clean before you sell. (more…)

How to Stay Organized in a Cramped Home

Author: DIY Playbook

Publish Date: January 21, 2016

Last Modified Date: November 4, 2022

Category: Organization

Tags: Tags: downsizing, get organized, home projects, organized storage, spring cleaning, storage tips

Even though we’re two home decor enthusiasts (who spend way too many hours browsing the aisles of HomeGoods and hitting up estate sales), we both live in pretty small spaces. Bridget lives in a small ranch in the suburbs of Chicago, while I have a 1,200 square foot condo downtown. Because we live in tight quarters, we’re forced to pare down the stuff in our homes on a regular basis and that is a-okay in our playbook.

Living small is big these days! People are doing their best to live with less, and we are big fans of this newfound minimalism. If you’re looking to get rid of the clutter and pare down to the essentials, we are here to help! Here’s how we stay organized in our small homes…without compromising style. (more…)

Go Green: 5 Eco-Friendly Moving Tips

Author: DIY Playbook

Publish Date: March 19, 2015

Last Modified Date: November 4, 2022

Category: Green Moving

Tags: Tags: charity, donations, downsizing, eco move ideas, going green, green moving, moving boxes, moving truck, moving truck rental, spring cleaning

Going Green….It isn’t just the “cool” thing to do, it’s the RIGHT thing to do. Here are 5 tips to make your move a little less harmful on the environment.

1. Donate Items

When you’re packing up your belongings, you’re probably going to be ditching quite a bit of stuff. Instead of tossing everything into the garbage (& your local landfill), think about donating your clothing, furniture, and gently-used items. Do your part in the “reduce, re-use, recycle” motto and find a new home for your old items. (more…)

Our Top 12 Neutral Paint Colors

Author: DIY Playbook

Publish Date: February 12, 2015

Last Modified Date: October 17, 2017

Category: Home Decorating

Tags: Tags: beige paint, DIY Thursday, DIYT, DIYThursday, gray paint, grey paint, home projects, home selling advice, home staging, paint sheens, paint tips, painting tips, picking paint colors, selling a home, selling your house, spring cleaning

https://youtube.com/watch?v=5vvWlZUYVOM%3Frel%3D0

Remember when Jerry got new cabinets? Too many decisions can fry your brain! Don’t let that stop you from making the important calls on the design of your home.

When you’re moving into a new home, you probably have a billion paint colors on your mind. There’s just nothing better than sprucing up your new place with a fresh coat of paint, but picking the exact shade you want can be a bit of a doozy, and we’re guessing most people find it overwhelming. Don’t pull a Jerry and let someone else decide – you might end up hating it. Let us help you narrow down your choices to a manageable few.

(If you’re painting so you can move out…)

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Where’s My Stapler? A DIY Tool Organization & Storage Idea

Author: DIY Playbook

Publish Date: January 15, 2015

Last Modified Date: May 5, 2017

Category: Organization

Tags: Tags: DIY Thursday, DIYT, DIYThursday, get organized, home organization, home projects, organized storage, organizing drawers, spring cleaning

New homeowners tend to acquire quite the collection of tools when they first move in. Trips to local hardware stores, shower gifts, fixes that somehow require that single tool you don’t have in your collection all attribute to a random pile of tools.

Pretty quickly, I’m sure you feel like you have plenty, actually you probably think you have too many when the dust settles, but trust me when I say that this enormous collection of tools will mysteriously be hidden in every nook and cranny of your home in about a year IF you don’t get those bad boys under control with some serious tool organization right from the start.

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How to Use a Moving Dolly Like the Pros

In What Order Do I Remodel My House? In This Order

Help a Friend Move (Without Lifting Anything)

6 Crucial Energy Drains to Tweak Immediately in Your New Home

(more…)

5 Areas to Deep Clean Before You Sell

How to Stay Organized in a Cramped Home

Go Green: 5 Eco-Friendly Moving Tips

1. Donate Items

Our Top 12 Neutral Paint Colors

(If you’re painting so you can move out…)

Where’s My Stapler? A DIY Tool Organization & Storage Idea

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