Table of Contents
There is always the urge to pack and move as many things as possible during a relocation. While it may seem normal to move regular items such as furniture, electrical appliances, kitchen utensils, clothes, musical instruments, jewelries and several other household goods, by law, some items are not allowed to make it to the moving truck.
Your move will be a lot easier and even quicker if you’re aware of what is allowed in a shipment and what is not.
Items you shouldn’t pack or move
Hazardous Items
These hazardous items are illegal to transport and shouldn’t make it to your moving truck: loaded weapons, weed killer, lamp oil, ammonia, fertilizer, paints, car batteries, matches, nail polish and remover. Others are ammunition, liquid bleach, aerosols, kerosene, pool chemicals, chemistry sets, fireworks, paint thinners, batteries, propane, cleaning fluid, acid, Sterno, darkroom chemicals, pesticides, motor oil, gasoline, charcoal, and lighter fluid.
If you have any of these items, you can contact your local recycling pickup service, fire station, or the nearest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) office. You should ask questions about how to properly dispose any or all of these dangerous items.
Also, you should consider donating any of these items that are allowed and acceptable to schools, hospitals, or local community associations. Another easy option is to give these items to your friends or neighbors who helped you during the move.
Moving Perishables
If you intend to move perishable foods over short distance, they may be safe. But if you’re moving perishable items over long distance, they may perish, decay or spoil while in transit.
If you have perishables such as vegetables, ripe fruits, fresh and frozen seafood, fresh meat or plants, consider consuming them before the moving day. Also, if you intend to move household and outdoor plants ensure they are appropriately packed and stored safely. You’ll have to be very careful with eggs and dairy products too, they perish rapidly.
Moving High Value Items
High value items are not necessarily items that are very expensive. The values you place on each of your items determine if they are high or low. Some of your high value items could be a certificate, an award, documents or items such as the piano your grandfather gave you at 10 for Christmas.
Sometimes you may need to make copies of some of your documents before you move. Nonetheless, when you’re packing think carefully before you consider shipping any of these items with any moving company: jewelry, computer software, medicine, children artwork, checkbooks, school records, and financial statements.
Other items are photos, photo albums, computer back-up disks, home movies or personal video tapes, tax records, deeds, safety box keys, house keys, car keys, flight tickets, address books, letters, stocks, collections, personal files (birth certificate, passport, marriage license, insurance papers, wills) and any other important item.
Moving shouldn’t be a risky adventure or an ordeal. How you prepare, pack and move can make all the difference between a safe trip and a risky or illegal one. You can have a safe and fun filled move if you move the appropriate items and leave the risky ones out. Just before you start packing for a move, learn more about how to handle hazardous materials during a move.
Let us connect you to a licensed and BBB rated moving company. You’ll get up to six free moving quotes and compare costs before hiring.
