Moving House: What Should I Not Pack?

Posted on 05/02/2015

When you’re moving house and packing up your life to move to a new home, it’s easy to write up a moving checklist of all the items you need to take. Essentials like clothes, cutlery and furniture are all on there with some of the most important items to bring. However, most of the time we end up bringing too much and having to spend a lot of money on a huge removal van when, in reality, we could actually bring a lot less. Here are some ways of whittling down your belongings and what not to bring to your new house.

Broken belongings

Sometimes, a household item, like a blender, will break and we’ll put it away in a draw or cupboard with the intention of fixing it at a later date when we’ve got more time on our hands – especially if the item was expensive. However, we rarely actually get round to fixing the item and instead it sits there taking up space and gathering dust. When packing, throw items like this out, don’t bring it to the new house. If you haven’t fixed it yet, it’s probably fair to say you don’t use it often enough to keep hold of it.

Empties

Just like broken items, many of us tend to keep empty bottles and jars lying around. Whether it’s food, toiletries or cleaning products, we’ll notice we’re running out and buy a new one, only to leave the empty bottle sitting there, taking up room. Throw away or recycle all your empty containers. Also, check the use-by date and throw out any expired products. If there are some bottles with only a little product in, either throw these away or make an effort to use them up before the house removal; make a note to buy new ones when you arrive at the new house.

Old clothes

Go through your wardrobe and throw away or donate to charity any clothes you never wear any more. You’ll be surprised with how many old jumpers, trousers and hats you may have lying around at the back of your cupboards. Be strict and throw out anything that’s unwearable or has seen better days.

Food

Once you arrive at your new home, it should be pretty easy to get food. Bringing food from your old house is completely unnecessary and will only take up room in the removal van. Go through your cupboards and throw away any expired items lurking at the back. Also, if there are certain food items which you know are never going to get eaten, like a jar of pickles or old, dried pasta, throw these out. Do this around a week before the moving day so you can use up the food you do have. Get adventurous and use up those tins of spaghetti hoops you have at the back.

High value items

Expensive personal items should always travel with you in the car to the new home and shouldn’t be packed away by the movers in case of loss, damage or theft. Although moving insurance can cover you, if the items have sentimental value, the money you receive as part of your claim may not be enough to fill the hole the loss of the item will leave.

Cleaning fluid

It can be illegal for the removal service to move cleaning fluid, especially liquid bleach, because they’re highly corrosive and flammable. Therefore, it’s recommended that these, as well as other dangerous fluids, are moved by the council. However, it’s probably easier just to use up any cleaning fluid before you move and purchase new products at the new house.