For the environment's sake, dispose of old CRT televisions safely.
They need to be taken to a place that recycles them correctly. Please don't dump such things where they can harm the environment. Many communities have neighborhood cleanup days, where they don't charge too much for big old picture tube TVs. That's why I'm getting rid of three of them next weekend. Today, I'm loading them into my pickup. But, there's a problem. All three are down in my basement. All three weigh about 100 lb. each, and I'm working alone. After some thought, I came up with a safer, much easier way to get them upstairs and out to my pickup. It's a simple trick, but I'm sharing it to help anyone else who is facing this dilemma alone:
How to move large old TVs with picture tubes upstairs for disposal
Moving large CRT televisions up basement stairs by yourself is a tough job. They're awkward and weigh over 100 lb. However, there's a way to make it easier. You need a 4' X 12' or 4' X16' tarp or a strong painter's canvas drop cloth. Drape it down the stairs and pull it out over the floor
You want the ends to meet, more or less, after you put the TV on it, face-down, with the shorter side facing the steps. Wrap the tarp over the TV. You'll need more tarp below the stairs than above.
Then, from up the steps, pull the tarp over the top of the TV and grab the ends together. Eliminate any slack on both halves of the tarp. Lift the front end of the TV up and over the first step by pulling up on the lower tarp, and then simply walk backwards slowly up the stairs, pulling the TV up with you. It will slide up the steps pretty easily. But, take one step at a time, please.
You can drag the tarp and TV across smooth floors, as well, and even outside if you need to. I'm taking three old TVs for disposal, so I have to repeat this process three times. I suggest moving the largest, heaviest TV first. Really.
Note: This is still a hard job. Rest after getting it up the steps, especially if you're 74 years old like I am. Don't rush. Take your time, and catch your breath. Don't hurt yourself please, and don't let anyone stand below the TV on the steps, just in case.
Note 2: This tip is for TVs you're disposing of. Don't do this for a TV you want to use. Not that anyone has any use for a picture tube TV any longer, but...
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The Ranger's bed is completely full, with no space left at all. I'm just going to park it on the street until next Saturday. Maybe someone will steal it all.
I'm a pretty sturdy guy. I'm old, but as long as I take a rest now and then, I can do that kind of stuff just fine still. How much longer, though, I don't know. Being in your 70s means having to give up that kind of work eventually, but today, I got it done, with no pain or strain. I'm tired, but good tired.
I've been doing that kind of thing all my life. My tip is for people who are comfortable doing that kind of stuff. If not, calling someone to come in and do it is much safer, if you're not used to moving heavy stuff around. I can safely get anything up to 250 lb. into a pickup bed. Heavier than that, I need help. The problem is that I don't know a lot of people who are used to heavy lifting, so I'm very hesitant to ask neighbors for that kind of help. Too much chance of someone getting hurt.
I learned a lot of tricks from my father, growing up. He taught me how to do such things safely and how to do them more easily. The tarp trick I described isn't my invention, really, although I've never used it before. But, heavy things that are large enough can slide up and down stairs pretty easily. Working with another guy, I moved a heavy old upright piano out of someone's basement, using the same strategy, but with a piano board under the piano. The other guy understood the process, and we got the piano up the stairs and into a low trailer in less than half an hour. Nothing was damaged, and nobody got hurt. That job involved a winch on the front of a pickup truck, which did the heavy pulling. The piano mover quoted $400 to move that piano. We did it as a favor to a relative.
I just did it again last spring and it involved a stairway to the outside. I don't have large things anymore but I do have some containers that are heavy, too much for me without sliding them.
I learned, in many years of trucking, how to move large volumes of weight and your description of the "tarp trick" brought to mind a lot of things instantly. In the trade it might be called "slip sheeting" and is accomplished by just-larger-than-pallet-sized sheets of cardboard. I use the same thing in the back of my carpet-lined SUV when I have to put stuff in the back and when sliding large boxes on stairs. I used the tarp thing just yesterday for moving large heaps if vegetation around on pea gravel. I also used three long boards to slide large plants down a steep incline to the shed, my colleague said it was an ancient Egyptian tool and was thrilled I thought of it.
You can push or pull far more than you can carry, and if done incrementally (small moves) you can accomplish far more than you might have thought. Gravity can really be helpful too.
