Avoid shipping these items when moving.

While you pack for your move you may think all your household items are safe for moving, well you might want to think again. What about batteries, fertilizer or cleaning fluids? What do you do with perishables like food and plants? Each of these items requires special handling when packing and movers must follow specific rules and regulations when it comes to moving them. This post will give you a list of what not to pack on moving day and steps you should take to ensure your move is both safe and smart.

Here’s the list of items you should not pack: All items that are considered dangerous and all perishable items, dangerous items include explosives, compressed gasses, flammable liquids, and solids and poisons. These items are illegal to move and any reputable moving company will not move them. Common examples are: Nail polish remover, paints, paint thinners, lighter fluid, gasoline, matches and propane cylinders. If you have any of these items, be sure to either give them to a neighbor, or call your fire station recycling company, or the environmental protection agency office to find out how to properly dispose of them.

Other items not recommended for transport by the moving company include firearms, family photos, food and beverages, perishable foods and prescription drugs needed for immediate use. Perishable items include animal’s food and live plants. Refrigerators and freezers should be emptied out and cleaned out at least 24 hours before the move day and should be properly dried to prevent the growth of mold. Perishable items can easily decay, rot, or spoil during a move and are not recommended as items to pack, however if you’re moving locally some companies may agree to move some perishable items if packaged properly. Another category of items not to pack are special items, these include: exercise equipment, heavy electronic domestic items such as washing machines and dryers and old playground sets. These items are not only a hassle to pack but are also extremely costly to pack, because of how heavy they are, it’s best to leave them at the old house.

If you want to save yourself a lot of pain and money, the last category of items that shouldn’t be packed are valuable items. Valuable items include things such as passports, birth certificates, financial statements, medical records, coin collections, photos and jewelry. Instead of placing your valuables in a box and sending them on a moving van, it’s best to keep them within reach and take them in a car with you. Now that you know what not to pack on moving day, let’s talk about some other steps that you can take prior to your move. Remember to drain oil and fuel from garden tools and other machinery, disconnect any battery operated equipment from its battery and disconnect propane tanks and return them to collection centers. By following these simple steps and remembering that dangerous, perishable, special and valuable items are on the do not pack list.