Most of a house belongs on the truck. A small part of it does not, and getting that part wrong is how people end up hunting for passports in a sealed box, or arriving at the new house with no medicine and no keys. This article sets out what not to pack when moving: the things that should never travel on a removal truck, and the things that are safer in your own hands.
Things that should never go on a removal truck
Some household items are dangerous in a closed truck. They can leak, catch fire or damage everything packed around them. Use them up, give them away or take them to a disposal point before moving day.
- Fuel. Petrol in the mower or the jerry can, kerosene, lamp oil. Empty the mower and the whipper snipper before they are packed.
- Gas bottles. Barbecue and camping gas bottles, full or empty.
- Paint and solvents. Half-used tins of paint, thinners, turpentine and varnish.
- Chemicals. Pool chlorine, garden sprays, weed killer, strong cleaning products.
- Anything flammable or under pressure. Aerosols in bulk, matches, fireworks, ammunition.
- Perishable food. Anything that will spoil or leak on the way, and anything frozen that will thaw.
If you are not sure whether something can go, ask your removalist before packing day rather than on it. Moveall’s Wrap & Pack service packs all approved household items, and the word approved is there for exactly this list.
Things to carry yourself
The second list is not dangerous, just too important or too hard to replace to sit in a box among hundreds of others. Put these in a bag or a box that travels in your car, and set it aside somewhere nobody will pack it.
- Documents. Passports, birth certificates, wills, the contract of sale or lease, insurance papers and anything you need for settlement.
- Keys. For the old house, the new house, the cars, the letterbox and the shed.
- Money and cards. Cash, bank cards and cheque books.
- Jewellery and small valuables. Watches, heirlooms and anything small enough to lose.
- Medicines. Everything the household takes, plus scripts and a first aid kit.
- Electronics you use daily. Laptops, phones, chargers and the hard drive with the family photos.
- Irreplaceable things. Photographs, children’s artwork, letters: whatever could never be bought again.
Set it aside before packing starts
The most common way these things end up on the truck is that they were sitting in a drawer when the drawer was packed. The fix is simple: a week before the move, go through the house with one box or bag for the carry-yourself list, and empty the hazards out of the garage and the shed. Put the bag in one room and tell everyone, including the packers, that the room is not to be touched.
If you are having the house packed for you, this matters even more, because the packers will pack what they find. Our page on packing and moving services in Adelaide explains how Wrap & Pack works and what to keep back, and packers and movers in Adelaide covers getting the house ready when one team packs and moves it.
Getting rid of the hazards safely
Clearing the garage of fuel, paint and chemicals is the job most people leave until the last weekend, and it takes longer than expected. Start early. Use up what you can: run the mower dry on its last cut, finish the pool chemicals before the summer is out, give the half-full paint tins to a neighbour or a friend who is painting. Check with your local council what it accepts for disposal and where, since paint, gas bottles and chemicals cannot go in the household bins. Whatever is left on the morning of the move should be set apart in one marked spot, so it is not packed or loaded by mistake, and dealt with after the truck has gone.
Plants, pets and the fridge
- Pets travel with you, never on a truck. Keep them away from the open doors on moving day.
- Pot plants can be damaged in a closed truck on a hot day. Carry the ones you care about in the car.
- The fridge and freezer need emptying and cleaning before the move, and a freezer needs defrosting the day before.
- Moving into SA from interstate? Do not pack fresh fruit, vegetables or plants: PIRSA restricts many of them, and the Yamba quarantine station checks vehicles.
The first-night box is part of this list
Alongside the documents and the medicines, carry a box of what you will need on the first night: bedding, towels, toiletries, the kettle, mugs, chargers and toilet paper. It is the most forgotten thing in a house move, and it has an article of its own: the first-night box. For the full order of jobs before a move, see our moving house checklist.
Planning a house move in Adelaide? Call Moveall and ask about Wrap & Pack.
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