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Items You Should Not Pack Before A Move

Organizing and starting to pack things as soon as you know that you’re going to move is a smart way to make your move less stressful. But, there are some things that you shouldn’t pack early and other things that you shouldn’t pack at all. Not everything from your existing home should go with you to your new home and some things you will need to transport very carefully. Go ahead and start packing up your out of season clothes and the linens you aren’t using but don’t pack these items:

Anything Potentially Hazardous

Professional movers will give you a list of items that they won’t move because of the potential risk, and you shouldn’t move some of these items either in order to protect yourself and your family. Household batteries are ok to move but you should never move auto or marine batteries.

You also shouldn’t move:

  • Gasoline
  • Kerosene
  • Any fuel oil of any kind
  • Camp stoves or other items like that if they have fuel in them
  • Bleach
  • Household cleaners
  • Air conditioners
  • Space heaters
  • Paint
  • Turpentine
  • Wood sealant
  • Industrial glue

Or any other hazardous liquids or substances.

Firearms

Another type of item that must be packed carefully is anything related to firearms. If you’re transporting guns and ammunition don’t pack them until just before you are ready to move. Transfer the unloaded guns to a portable gun safe with a solid lock. Only you and maybe your partner should have a key. Place the ammunition in a lockbox or fireproof box and keep it locked. Store the ammunition box separately from the gun safe.

Food

Moving some types of food like canned goods is usually fine. But you shouldn’t bother to pack anything perishable. To try and whittled down the stored food in your freezer and fridge make casseroles or one pot dishes for the week before you move so that you can throw whatever meat or vegetables you have in the freezer into a pot and use it up. If you still have perishables like milk, salad greens, or frozen items you can gift them to your neighbors or just throw them away. You will need to start fresh with new perishables once you get to your new house. If there’s something special that you really want to keep you can put it in a cooler with ice to transport it to your new house but in general it’s better to just give away or throw out anything left in the fridge on moving day.