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Boxes for Moving

Boxes for Moving: What not to Pack with the Rest

Before signing up with a moving company for your planned move, make sure you are first provided with a list of “non-allowables” or the items that the mover will not agree to transport with the rest of your boxes for moving. “Non-allowables” is the term used in the industry to refer to such unwanted items.

Although the list includes obvious items like gasoline, loaded guns, and ammunition, it also contains seemingly harmless and inoffensive items such as your kids’ ordinary chemistry set and your favorite nail polish. While some of your personal items with sentimental value and perishable food may not, at first glance, seem to be hazardous, moving companies will also bar you from including them in your boxes for moving.

Following are the different classifications of non-allowables:

Hazardous Materials

Do not be surprised to see if some of the things listed under “hazardous” materials are common and easily accessible items that you find useful for your everyday chores. For example, fertilizers are considered hazardous for good reason. Under the right conditions, they can turn into highly explosive materials. You may not be aware of it, but tragic 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that took away 168 lives and injured 800 people was caused by a bomb made by Timothy McVeigh, with – you guessed it right – fertilizer as the main component. Thus, this material should not be included in any of your boxes for moving.

The complete list includes: acids, fire extinguishers, nail polish removers, aerosols, fireworks, ammonia, paint thinner, gasoline, paints, ammunition, ordinary household batteries, pesticides, car batteries, poison, charcoal, lamp oil, pool chemicals, kerosene, charcoal lighter fluids, liquid bleach, propane tanks, chemistry sets, loaded firearms, reloading supplies, cleaning solvents, matches, SCUBA tanks, darkroom chemicals, steno, motor oil, fertilizer, weed killer, and nail polish.

A lot of these items can be easily obtained. They are even given openly to family and friends. If you are moving and you will leave behind any of these things, make sure that the materials are properly disposed of. You can request your local safety officers for help in the disposal of these unwanted materials.

To sum up hazardous materials, generally included are those that are considered as flammable, corrosive, or explosive.

Perishable Materials

If your move is one that can be considered as long-distance, you can expect that your mover will disallow food items that you may want to include in your shipment. The logic behind this is quite simple. Perishables will not keep for a long time, and will only attract rodents and other pests that can wreak havoc on your belongings.

In cases where the shipment will be picked up and delivered within one day, the mover will allow the inclusion of perishable items in the transport. Just make sure that they are packed properly.

The following are considered as “perishables”: frozen food items, refrigerated food, fresh produce, opened food products, and plants (even indoor plants).

Sentimental or Personal Items

Most professional moving companies frown on the idea of transporting sentimental or personal items simply because of the possible risk of damage or loss. In general, movers want to minimize their culpability in case these items get damaged or lost while in their care. This is not a problem to most people, as they would rather have these items under their care at all times, anyway, instead of lumping them with other items in separate boxes for moving.

School records, financial documents, and medical records can be very hard to replace once lost. Cash, jewelry, important personal collectibles, CDs or videos may also be irreplaceable. Likewise, any of your sensitive electronic devices like laptops and tablets may be damaged easily from exposure to extreme temperatures inside a moving truck.

Following are the things that movers consider as personal or sentimental items: address books, computer discs, personal videos (tapes, DVDs, etc.), airline tickets, financial documents, photo albums, photographs, insurance policies, car keys, professional files, car titles, research projects, tax records, deeds, IRAs, jewelry, cash, school records, house keys, CDs, cell phones, sterling silver, laptops and computers, bonds or stocks, medical and dental records, certificates of deposit, wedding albums, medicines, checkbooks, and personal collections such as stamps and coins. Put them in boxes for moving separate from your “allowable” items and take them with you in your car, instead.

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