Fridge Follies

Another highlight/incident from moving day. We love our families, but sometimes planning is not always best and bodies are not at their prime. My father-in-law is in his 60s and isn't in the best shape. I was very concerned when he started huffing and puffing with some of our furniture, and I was very clear to him, and my mother (in her 50s) that they need to take it easy and not strain themselves, and let us younger ones do the heavy stuff. So father-in-law has the truck. Brother-in-law and husband and father-in-law all go to other house to get a fridge and bring it back. Our condo has a staircase to the main apartment on the 2nd floor. It's fine for large pieces of furniture, and manageable, but for a heavy large fridge, that staircase was a very scary place.

Guys like to be guys and like to think pushing objects and brute force will take care of things. I was like "how are you planning to get the fridge out of that corner in the stairwell?". Brother-in-law replied "we'll figure it out when we get up there". Mind you, fridge was LAST on the list of items to get that day, so we were moving it when everyone was worn out and tired from the day's moving. First mistake. Second - everyone helping us move was in the potential path of that fridge falling on them. Third - Thank God we had a Forearm Forklift strap to wrap around the Dolly to move it up, otherwise it would have been impossible to haul it up on the forklift. Fourth - Do not ask retired father-in-law to be one of the main people moving the fridge. Not that he wasn't a good guy or strong, he was very strong. But he started breathing very heavily, obviously straining himself and being crushed by weight or dolly at various times, and I just was not comfortable. And I do not think I was over-reacting.

I think part of the non-concern of everyone else, was the guy factor of "we can do this". I love them, but they need to realize that they shouldn't try to DIY with everything.

So I have some advice for moving large pieces of furniture or appliances. Try doing it in the beginning of your moving day, so all your strength and clear thinking can be used for the largest items. Only people under 40 should really be moving large pieces of furniture. Hire experienced movers or many strong men for large objects. Best yet, if you buy new they'll move it for you. Make sure you have the right tools and a sure gameplan. Using a fridge dolly and/or having a plan before moving up would have made a big difference. We used just a regular dolly and were like "we'll figure it out when we get up there", wasn't the best plan looking back.

After the fridge was moved, there were large scratches and scuffs in the wall and the floor. This may have upset me if I didn't see the whole fridge moving drama unfold. But, with everything that happened, I was just glad no one got hurt. I said a little prayer of Thanks, and will work on getting some touch-ups for the floor and wall. Makes you not sweat the small stuff and appreciate that everything was ok in the end. Be safe out there people!