When you start packing for your upcoming move, if you do the packing yourself or have Columbine Moving & Storage do the packing, here are a list of things that should not be packed for various reasons.
- These items are not safe in a moving truck. Batteries, fertilizer, or cleaning fluids are items to leave behind. Other dangerous items include explosives, compressed gases, flammable liquids and solids, oxidizers, poisons, corrosives and radioactive materials. These items are illegal to move and any reputable moving company will not move them. Samples of these items are nail polish remover, paint, paint thinners, lighter fluid, gasoline, matches, and propane cylinders.
- Food and live plants will require special handling and it will save you money if you take these items in your own vehicle or give them away to your relatives or friends. Other items that you should give a second thought to not moving are exercise equipment, washing machines, dryers and old playground sets. These add lots of weight to the shipment and can add additional handling costs.
- Other items not recommended to move by the moving company are firearms, family pictures, beverages and food in glass jars, perishable foods, and prescriptions drugs. These items you may want to have access too immediately at arriving at your new home so it is best to take them with you in your vehicle. Perishable foods if left in the moving load will rot and smell up the rest of the load. Beverages are apt to break and seep onto other boxes or furniture which could cause damage.
- Your refrigerator and freezer should be emptied out at least twenty-four hours in advance. Dry these appliances completely so mold will not start to grow.
- On moving day have all the oil and fuel drained from garden tools and machinery, disconnect any battery-operated equipment from its battery, disconnect propane tanks and return them to collection centers.
- Jewelry and legal documents such as passports, birth certificates, financial statements, medical records, coin collections are best moved by you, the customer, or sent via a secure courier service.
If you have any other items that have not been mentioned above that you have a question on whether they are safe to move, give Columbine Moving & Storage in the Aspen or Eagle, Colorado office a call to answer your question.