How to furnish your home according to your abilities

Key points:

• Due to the cost-of-living crisis, the rise of online buying and trading has boomed, with Facebook Marketplace, GumTree and Depop becoming commonplace for cheap or pre-loved goods

• Moving into a new house for the first time or relocating later in life can be a milestone in the journey to living independently and the added help of a removalist can allow you to take control without relying on family or friends

• Single furniture items, such as lounges, cabinets or fridges, may be difficult to transport or carry for people with disability without added assistance

Sponsored — This edition of Disability Support Guide is intended to guide you through the process of moving out and furnishing your new home with ease.

Approximately one billion people are estimated to use Facebook Marketplace each month and unlike brick-and-mortar stores or traditional online commerce, transport can be difficult to arrange to facilitate shopping through online marketplaces.

Additionally, furniture that you may currently have at your residence can be difficult to deliver to your next property through awkward doorways, extensive heavy lifting and finding an appropriately spacious vehicle to transport large items.

Whether it’s necessary to clear out your old property for the next tenants or simply a cheaper way to furnish your new living space by moving your current furniture, removalists can save you the hassle of things that you don’t know how to handle or feel physically incapable of taking with you.

People with physical disability, such as loss of limb function, arthritis, cerebral palsy or neural tube defects, may find that their support worker, friends or family will still require the added support of removalist services. Through Upmove’s website, they offer the ability to request additional removalists for any job. You, your support worker or your carer can request as much or as little assistance as needed and save you the cost of an entire removalist team.

Similarly, people with cognitive or psychosocial disability may find that the stress of moving single household items, such as furniture or whitegoods — even relocating entirely, can be reduced through the peace of mind that Upmove provides. Car transport services and specialists who are capable of getting your items from one place to another can ensure that the risk of breakage or unforeseen hazards is significantly reduced.

Breakage, for items such as televisions or white goods, may be more expensive than the price of moving itself — meaning that, for a lesser price, you could have saved yourself the hassle, risk and inconvenience associated with heavy lifting and moving.

People who live with a vision impairment or a condition such as epilepsy may wish to consider the added benefit of a person with the strength and skill to maneuver around raised surfaces, such as stairs, steps, doorways or fireplaces. An unsupervised fall or the onset of a seizure could lead to significant injury and the added risk of carrying a heavy item could trap, crush or hurt the person moving.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme may not cover the cost of moving house, as NDIS guidelines state that these costs are universal, whether a person lives with disability or not.

As such, Upmove enables you to reach a network of independent carriers in Australia through one free request and offers a low-cost same-day service at a fixed rate.

Do you need some added assistance with moving out? Visit the Upmove website to see why the service has a five-star rating on Google Reviews from over 140 community contributions.

Let the team at Talking Disability know your top tips for moving house and subscribe to the newsletter for more news, information and industry updates.

Related content:

Your guide to moving out of the family home

Leaving a group home – tips for moving into your own home

Moving out of a nursing home? Here’s what to think about