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How to Remove Drawers

If you’re moving or rearranging furniture in your house, there’s a good chance you’ll need to remove the drawers from your furnishings, such as dressers or nightstands. This will make it much easier to move the furniture around, since you’ll find it to be surprisingly light without the weight of those drawers. But how can you remove the drawers without damaging the furniture? Well, the answer depends on which type of sliding mechanism your drawers have, so here’s a quick rundown of how to complete this task for the most popular types of drawers.

Metal Glide with Lever

Most furnishings come equipped with metal glide drawers, and luckily it’s pretty simple to remove them. First, always make sure you remove the top drawer first—no matter what kind of drawers you have—so your nightstand or chest of drawers doesn’t tip over due to being top heavy. Position yourself in front of the furniture before sliding the drawer out as far as possible.
Feel around for the track levers, which you’ll find in the middle of each track on both sides. Then press both levers down at the same time while you pull the drawer toward yourself. It should lift out quite easily.

Wood Glide Slides

If you have older wood furniture, you might find wood glide slides on the drawers. These don’t tend to have levers you can push, but all it takes to open them is a good pull.
Basically, just pull the drawer of your nightstand or dresser out as far as possible, and then once it stops, be prepared to pull with a little force using both hands. The drawer should pop out after a quick tug.

Stabilizer Screws

If your drawers have stabilizer screws, it will take a few more minutes to remove them, but it will still be pretty easy. Just as with the other types of drawers, stand in front of your dresser, chest of drawers or nightstand and pull the drawer with one hand on each side. Keep pulling until the drawer is fully extended.

Once you can’t pull the drawer out anymore, feel around for stabilizer screws on the inside of the drawer. When you find them, use a screwdriver to remove them, and then locate the catch tabs on each side of the drawer. Release them while you pull up on the catch tab devices, since this will release the drawer from the tracks. You should be able to pull it out straight toward you.

If the drawers of your dresser, nightstand or chest of drawers don’t come out as easily as they should, maybe it’s time to get new furniture that is easier to work with. Whether you need new items for your bedroom, living room or family room, take a look at our furniture selection for beautiful home furnishings you can be proud to call your own!

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Editorial Disclaimer: Articles featuring tips and advice are intended for educational purposes and only as general recommendations. Always practice personal discretion when using and caring for furniture, decor and related items.