So, you’ve found yourself stuck in that unenviable position. You have to move all your things, including your sofa, table and mattress–and you’re going to have to do it without the help of a mover company.

Maybe you don’t have the money for it, or maybe you’re stubborn, and like proving that you can do things yourself (if that’s the case, we like your grit!) Regardless of your reasons, we’ve been in your position ourselves many times, so we get how stressful this can be.

Here are some tips to make the moving process easier:

1. Ask Friends and Family for Help

Yeah, we know this is an obvious one, and you’ve probably thought of it yourself, but having people to help can make all the difference, so it deserves to be included on the list.

Think about it: if you have thirty items, that’s things you’ll have to carry if you’re striking it alone. Enlist five friends, and each of you will only have to carry six items. Get thirty, and you’ll only have to make the trip from your car to your new home once.

Having more people will also help make heavier items less of a burden to carry (indeed, for some of the heavier items you might find it impossible to carry them on your own). If you feel awkward asking for help, remember that you would do the same thing for your friends if they were in your situation.

2. Consider Removing the Door

Maybe you’ve managed to carry your sofa all the way to your front door. Thinking that things will be easy from then on, you try to bring your sofa into your house, when suddenly you find that you can’t.

If you’re in this situation, don’t despair. In the worst case scenario, you can remove the door entirely, allowing you that inch of extra room that was taken up by the hinges.

This may sound almost impossible, but actually isn’t that hard to do, and it may make all the difference.

3. Wrap the corners of your sharper items

Have a bookshelf with sharp corners? Or maybe a table with sharp legs? If you don’t want to pay a large deposit by the time you leave your new place, this moving company in Portland, OR recommends that you wrap those up.

Any kind of packaging fabric will do, as long as you’re sure the corners of your heavy item won’t mark up the shiny floors of your new home.

4. Hook Couches and Tables around the Door

Sometimes you just won’t be able to get your favorite armchair through the door if you try to push it in upright. Instead of trying harder at a futile effort, turn it on its side and try to slide the corner past the door.

A similar thing can be done with chairs. Just turn them on their sides and get the inner corner of the “L” shape close to the frame of the door.

5. Remove what you can

This is especially important if you’re going it alone. Instead of carrying one heavy item (which may be beyond your capacity, depending on how strong you are), disassemble the piece of furniture until it is several manageable pieces.

You can reassemble it once you’re through the door. This goes for drawers, too–remember to empty them before carrying them! It’ll make all the difference.