Don't Toss Empty Water Bottles: Use Them To Move Heavy Furniture More Easily

Whether you're changing the layout of your home or moving to a new place, shoving a heavy sofa or dresser across the room is a good way to scratch your floors, strain your back, or both. You could even end up scuffing the furniture itself. The screeching noise can be hard to bear, too. Fortunately, you can hold on to those empty water bottles and save yourself from all this trouble. All you need to do is cut the bottom parts off your plastic water bottles and slip them over each furniture leg like a little shoe. With your homemade furniture sliders at the ready, your heavy pieces will then glide smoothly across the floor or carpet with far less effort.

This trick works because the smooth plastic eases the resistance where the legs meet the floor, so you don't have to lift the full weight or drag bare legs across tile or carpet. It'll also spare your floor from scratch marks, unless it's a wooden floor (in which case, you're better off using sliders made of softer materials like nylon). It's also free, which beats buying a set of sliders you'll use once in a while. That being said, bottle sliders only solve friction problems on the same floor level. If you want to take a dresser up or down the stairs, you're better off asking for help from your family and friends. Alternatively, try some of the easiest ways to get a heavy object up and down the stairs. But for everything that stays on one level, here's how to turn those landfill-bound bottles into sliders.

To begin, find the perfect match between your now-dry, empty plastic bottles and the legs of your furniture. Generally, a narrower bottle suits slim legs (like that of your dining table), while a wider one is ideal for pieces with chunky supports (think a couch or sofa). If you don't have bottles lying around in different sizes, warm the bottom portion of the plastic bottle you have using a hair dryer. This will cause it to soften and mold itself around your furniture's leg. However, don't heat it for too long, or it'll be difficult to get them off after. Moreover, keep in mind that this trick will only work in cases where your bottle's bottom is too large for a leg — not the other way around.

Once you have the required bottle(s), grab a sharp pair of scissors, your utility knife, or heat up a box cutter to cut off the bottom 4 inches. Whichever blade you pick, make slow, controlled cuts while steering the blade away from yourself for a neat finish. Now, carefully slide the cut bottom over a leg, and the curved, low-friction base will work as a slider, allowing you to move your furniture gently over carpet or tile.

And if all this seems like too much work for moving a smaller (but still heavy) piece of furniture, like a dining table chair, use the bottle's cap to move it a short distance away. Just place the cap at the bottom of the chair to glide it without scratching your floors or making any noise. The rest of the bottle doesn't have to go in the trash, either; reuse them in different ways, such as transforming empty plastic bottles into a simple herb garden.