Ready for the big lug

Mark and Heather Hartley had to go up against the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots on moving day.

The couple inadvertently chose Super Bowl Sunday this year -- not the easiest day to lure friends away from the tube to help lug boxes and furniture -- to move into the 1,485-square-foot, nearly new tract home they had purchased for $299,000 in the Riverside County community of Beaumont.

Fortunately, Heather had started packing boxes two months in advance of the February move. And Mark, who works part time as a motivational speaker, knew how to package the experience for his friends. He recruited volunteers from church, work and his graduate school program by pitching it as a chance to help a young couple complete their dream of owning a home.

“People are willing to help if you’re moving into your first home and you’re excited about it,” said Mark, 34, who is an advisor for fraternities and sororities at the University of Redlands.

As an alternative to hiring professionals, cost-conscious home buyers or renters often turn to friends and family on moving day. But pulling off a smooth move can require almost as much cheerleading and choreography as a halftime show.

Having helped friends move at least 20 times before, Mark knew to place the big things in the rental truck first -- smaller items can always be transported in cars. He also understood the importance of keeping his crew well fed: doughnuts in the morning, pizza and soda in the afternoon. The move went so quickly that the Hartley’s six helpers didn’t even miss the big game.

“As soon as the last box was off” the truck, Mark said, “kickoff was starting.”

In addition to timing the move to coincide with helpers’ availability, Robert Sanchez of Rancho Cucamonga suggests downplaying the whole lifting-boxes-and-furniture aspect of moving.

“Try to make it a social event,” said Sanchez, 31, who recently moved into a larger home with his wife and kids. “Let’s light up the barbecue ... and see who bites.”

A dose of humility also helps. Carolyn Ratley of Pasadena knew she was going to need some muscle power for her move to another apartment after her roommate of seven years got married and moved out. So Ratley simply told friends that she knew it was an inconvenience but that she really needed their help. She also stressed that the more people she lined up, the faster it would go.

After three of her helpers canceled at the last minute, Ratley reached beyond her inner circle, asking a friend from high school she sees only occasionally. The friend agreed.

Organizing volunteers for maximum effectiveness is as important as recruiting them. The trick, Ratley said, is to spread out the help over several days and give them specific, manageable tasks.

“Don’t wear out your people,” said the 28-year-old marriage and family therapist intern.

Ratley arranged for a friend to come the Friday night before the move to help her organize. She primarily scheduled men to show up on Saturday morning to do the heavy lifting. And all she asked them to do was load and unload the truck, then plop down the boxes in the new apartment.

“There’s nothing more annoying when you’re moving than somebody who’s really indecisive about where they want stuff,” Ratley said.

After her possessions were moved, she had friends come over each of the next several days to help set up her new place. One handled the kitchen. Another worked on her bedroom. She asked a tech-savvy guy to set up her entertainment system.

“I have a friend who’s really ... ultra-organized,” Ratley said. “So I had her tackle my books, CDs and DVDs. She alphabetized them.”

Friends appreciated her efficient approach.

“She got us in and out in less than three hours,” said Mandy McCurry, 26, of Burbank. “Usually, it’s an all-day process, and you have to plan to give up your entire Saturday.”

Ratley was grateful for all the help. “It really gives you a sense of community,” she said.

But results may vary when mixing friendship with heavy lifting.

Erik Hammett, Cynthia Torres and Trish Troesh are part of a circle of friends who have helped each other move over the years, and they’ve noticed some interesting social dynamics.

An alpha male may take charge. Or an overload of testosterone may lead to competition for top dog.

“Sometimes, you get too many guys who think they’re the foreman,” said Torres, 23, of Montclair.

Another role is the packing guy who obsessively shifts items around in the truck, like it’s all a big game of Tetris.

“He will spend hours trying to get as many pieces of furniture [as possible] into one vehicle,” said Troesh, 28, who lives in San Antonio Heights, an unincorporated area north of Upland. “Two trips, baby, and that’s it.”

“And you always have to have the comic relief, the guy who brings the levity to the situation,” said Hammett, 28, of Ontario.

They allude to one friend who always shows up but hardly lifts a box. “He will bring maybe one lamp,” Torres said, “and then he’ll stop and rest and talk to the girls.”

Enlisting volunteers to help with a move also brings obligations.

“If you’re going to ask your friends to help you, you’ve got to be available to help them,” said Lesley Carlin, co-author of “Things You Need to Be Told.”

And even if you’ve gathered a stack of IOUs, it doesn’t guarantee an easy move.

Joel Kosi, 35, is the guy who always gets asked to help friends move because he owns a pickup truck. While they were dating, Kosi took his future wife, Deborah, to a social gathering where she met some of his friends for the first time -- and the pair wound up helping somebody move.

“They said, ‘Wow. If she sticks around after that, she’s definitely the girl for Joel,’ ” said Deborah, 25, an adult education teacher.

In June, it was the Kosis’ turn to ask for help. They were excited about completing the purchase of their first home, a 1,586-square-foot, three-bedroom built in 2003 near downtown Riverside that they bought for $369,000. They set their move-in date for a Saturday and lined up at least six friends to help.

Then their loan’s funding was delayed a few days, and escrow couldn’t close. They wound up rescheduling their move twice and finally had to set it for a weekday, when their friends had to be at work.

Joel’s brother was their only helper. That made for a long day of moving furniture and boxes down the stairs from their second-floor Ontario apartment. It wasn’t until around 8:30 p.m. that the Kosis finally were ready to turn in the apartment keys and drive their cars, loaded with stuff, to their new place.

And how did they manage without their crew? “Not great, but OK,” Deborah said. “I’m going to treat myself with a Mocha Blast from Baskin-Robbins.”

Mark Kendall can be reached at mkend27@aol.com.