What Not to Pack Inside Your Moving Container

Preparing to use a moving container for your upcoming move? While renting a moving container may be more cost-efficient than hiring full-service movers, you should know that many of the same packing rules still apply. From loaded guns to flammable goods, many of these items are obvious no-no’s. However, some of the moving container non-allowables may be a tad surprising. So before renting a moving container, make sure to request a full list of the company’s non-allowables. To give you a good idea what’s not allowed inside your moving container, we’ve provided a basic list of valuable items, plants, hazardous materials and perishable goods that most moving container companies will refuse to transport (or at the very least, strongly dissuade you from packing inside). Best of luck and happy moving!

Valuable Items

Your moving container company may have certain policies regarding valuable and sentimental items. If you plan to move these items, it may be best to keep them with you in a separate box during the moving process. While moving containers are considered a safe and secure option for shipping your household goods, there is still a small chance that something could break or become damaged during the process. After all, accidents happen. For this reason, it’s important to avoid placing valuable and irreplaceable items inside the moving container. Valuable items to take with you may include:

Money

Jewelry

Furs

Firearms

Computer software or programs

Credit cards

Medicine

Financial documents

Sentimental items

Family heirlooms

Electronics

Medical and dental records

School records

Laptops

Collections

Keys

Checkbooks

Photo albums

Car titles

Cell phones

If you do decide to pack valuables inside your moving container, be sure to read the company’s liability options first. For example, PODS customers must have coverage for their container and its contents. The moving container company offers two levels of liability including: Contents Protection Option and the Container Only Option. While these options do provide some degree of protection, they will most likely not provide full compensation for lost or damaged items. Additionally, certain valuable items are typically excluded from these liability options.

Plants (or anything alive for that matter)

Chances are good that your moving container company won’t allow indoor or outdoor plants inside the container – especially if you’re embarking on a long distance move where you plan to cross state lines. This is because many states have certain laws in place about which kinds of plants can and cannot be imported. This is intended to prevent the spread of pests, harmful insects, disease and invasive plants. Of course, plants won’t survive without sunshine anyways, so it’s best to carry them with you during a move. Before packing your plants, make sure to check with your State Plant Regulatory Official first.

Hazardous Materials

Both moving companies and moving container companies refuse to transport hazardous materials. So Go here before moving, you should properly dispose of these items immediately. Fortunately, many (if not most) hazardous items can be easily replaced after you move. Remember: hazardous materials are labeled “hazardous” for a reason. They are typically chemical-containing materials that are highly combustible and/or potentially explosive. Hazardous items include:

Fertilizer

Paints

Paint thinner

Aerosols

Cleaning solvents

Propane tanks

Poisons

Motor oil

Charcoal

Pool chemicals

Scuba tanks

Pesticides

Batteries

Acids

Charcoal lighter fluid

Fire extinguisher

Gasoline

Loaded guns

Nail polish remover

Ammonia

Matches

Whatever you do, don’t throw hazardous materials in the trash. Doing so could put the trash pick-up service and the public in danger. To get rid of these chemical materials prior to loading a moving container, visit your local hazardous waste facility drop-off center. These drop-off centers will have multiple, clearly labeled bins to make the disposal quick and easy.

Perishable Food

Packing perishable food (or any unopened food) into your moving container is not a good idea. Not only could you attract some unwelcome guests (think: bugs or rats), but you could also end up with some seriously spoiled fare at the end of the move. So before moving, I highly recommend tossing or donating opened or perishable food items. If you’re hoping to move unopened pantry items, you should be able to move these in a moving container. Non-perishables https://en.search.wordpress.com/?src=organic&q=moving company include canned goods, soups, rice, unopened sauces and pasta. If you decide to ditch your canned corn and pasta before moving, try donating it to a local food bank. After all, having that food go to waste would be a true shame. Perishable items that should not be packed inside of a moving container include:

Milk

Butter

Yogurts

Ice cream

Frozen treats

Fresh produce

Refrigerated food

Opened pantry items

Opened beverages