Moving Tips&Tricks March 15, 2022

Moving Internationally? Here’s the List of Items Movers Won’t Move

Blake Shaw

Bostonian and residential moving and packing expert. Blake Shaw enjoys bar-hopping, music, and writing insightful content.

If you find yourself in the process of packing all your personal belongings for your next move, make sure to remember that certain items movers won’t move, so make sure they’re omitted. The packing process is quite complicated and stressful so ensure to stay organized and prepare a particular checklist to remember what won’t movers move to your new home.

Items You Should Be Moving by Yourself

When preparing for relocation, especially if they are moving out for the first time, people often ask ”Do movers move everything?” and ”What won’t removalist take?” Most people are quite overwhelmed by moving stress when deciding what to pack when relocating abroad. To answer the question, professionals don’t transport particular objects and you should be carrying them by yourself. It’s probably best to bring your most valuable pieces with you. That includes objects that can’t be restored or that are complicated to replace. Some of those objects are personal documents, cash, jewelry, expensive electronics, family heirlooms, and others.

Before the movers come to your home, make sure to collect all of those crucial things of extreme value. Some movers may offer you a sign-off on the liability of these things before they start working on transporting your belongings.

Expensive golden jewelry on a pink box
You should always carry your most valuable possessions with you

Do Not Pack Hazardous Items

While you are preparing boxes for relocating across the world it’s always a good idea to get rid of certain household chemicals and hazardous items. Even if you are moving abroad, it is better not to consider transporting these things in your car or with you.

If it’s dangerous for relocation services to relocate these items long distance, it also means they are dangerous for you. There is no need to migrate these materials and unnecessarily expose yourself and service people to danger. Most of these units can be easily replaced, so why not stay safe and throw them out before your relocation?

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Flammable Items Are Forbidden

This one is pretty obvious. International moving companies will not take anything flammable and dangerous for transporting. You should take this very seriously because mistakes like this can cause disastrous situations with fatal consequences. Here are some of the most common objects relocation companies don’t want to carry for you out for safety reasons:

  • Matches,
  • Kerosene,
  • Scuba tanks,
  • Aerosols,
  • Guns and ammunition.

Of course, there are many more flammable items you shouldn’t pack especially with international moving by sea. Don’t be surprised that many beauty products are considered flammable, for example, nail polish, polish remover, deodorants, hair sprays, and others.

Other Hazardous Materials

If you’re wondering what materials are considered hazardous, you might be surprised that those are some of the most common daily stuff we keep in our household. However, relocating companies prohibited these materials from ever being transported.

Also, keep in mind that if you ignore the warning of the relocation company about which objects are prohibited, any damage that the chemicals cause is not going to be covered by them. So it might be wiser to remove them from the packages and not cause more significant problems for yourself later. Examples of more materials like these are:

  • Paint,
  • Cleaning supplies,
  • Motor oil,
  • Pool chemicals,
  • Lighter Fluid,
  • Gasoline,
  • Poisons.
Boxes filled with hazardous materials dangerous for shipping overseas
Hazardous materials are extremely dangerous and should never be transported by an overseas moving company

Moving Pets Is Not Allowed

Needless to say that pets are an essential part of the family, and you probably haven’t considered placing your cat, dog, or other pets in boxes like it was a piece of furniture. In case you did consider it, it is definitely not allowed to transport animals like that while relocating internationally or long distances. Assuming leaving your pet is not an option, here are some ways of making transportation of your pet less stressful for both of you.

Move Pets by Yourself

The best option when you are relocating with dogs is to go in your own car as it might be much more comfortable for them and less stressful. Animals get anxiety as well, and it’s essential to take your pet to their vet for a full check-up, and they will give you the best advice on how to make the transportation best for your pet. If you are relocating with a cat or a smaller dog, consider air travel as it is also a good option, of course, if the air company you’re flying with allows it.

Cat sitting on a bed in a room full of boxes ready for moving abroad
Relocation is stressful for your pets as well, so make sure you find the safest way to bring them to your new home

Do Not Pack Perishable Food

When relocating internationally, do not pack any kind of perishable food that might go bad because companies don’t want to accept transporting. Transporting them can create all sorts of problems during the trip, and it can put both you and your service company at great risk. That is why most companies don’t transport stuff like:

  • Foodstuffs that are frozen,
  • Foods that haven’t been preserved in a proper way,
  • Food in open containers,
  • Refrigerated foodstuffs.

In case you have some left in your old home, consider donating your food to the ones in need of it or even contact a crew from Move For Hunger – this organization will donate it to the local food banks. It can be much better to present it by throwing it away or, worse – packing it in the back of a long-distance transportation truck.

Grocery bags full of fresh food
If you have some food left in your old home, it's better not to pack it but donate it to the ones in need

It’s Better to Not Transport Living Plants

When relocating across the world, it’s better not to pack and transport your living plants. It is even illegal to move living plants more than 150 miles unless you have a license. The problem with living herbs is that certain pests can hitch a ride on your house plant and be transported to a completely different area. However, fake ones are fine and won’t cause any problems to people transporting them.

Consider Gifting Plants to Your Friends or Family

If you have living herbs that you can not move overseas, you don’t need to get rid of them. Your moving to another country is a great opportunity to give them to your friend or a family member. You’ll feel better knowing you gave that to someone who is going to take care of them rather than just throwing them away.  While you’re keeping in touch with your friends, you can always ask them how your herbs are progressing while you are away.

Two plants placed in a living room
Plants are tough to relocate, so you might want to consider giving them to someone else

Things Movers Won’t Move Unless You Prepare Them

If you are in the process of preparing objects for your relocation for living overseas, you are probably wondering what packers will not pack for the transportation for long-distance transport. No matter how good the company is, you’ll need to do some preparations so the workers can do their job properly. Companies can move particular objects, but only if you prepare them well before the workers can put them in their tracks:

  • Things with gasoline like lawnmowers or chainsaws must be drained of all flammable liquids before packing and relocating.
  • If you have a propane tank attached to your barbeque, you must remove it first and just pack the barbeque gear. Movers will not relocate a propane tank for you, especially if you are relocating overseas.
  • You should empty your refrigerator and prepare it before transporting it. Ensure it is empty, clean, and unplugged 24 hours before the relocation firm shows up.
  • Your furniture should be clean and dust-free before transporting.

Will Movers Move Things Not in Boxes?

When international moving, everyone is trying to avoid any last-minute hassle and wants to know how to move efficiently without additional stress. Most people are wondering if professional workers need everything in boxes and there is no right answer for it simply because policies vary and you should always contact your firm to be sure. You’ll most certainly need to address questions such as this when interviewing relocating companies. But you should definitely plan ahead which objects should definitely be in boxes and which shouldn’t.

What Should You Box?

When considering how to prevent objects from breaking and whether you should box something or not, think about the size, weight, value, and fragility of the object. If we are talking about how to pack fragile things, always choose to stuff them in boxes as it will be much less likely to get damaged.

Objects You Don’t Need to Pack

When relocating to another country, you want your relocating process to be as efficient as possible. In case you were wondering, objects that won’t need to be boxed are: bicycles, bed frames and rails, skis, toolboxes, rugs, and others. Though boxing these objects isn’t necessary, these and similar objects could be wrapped in relocating blankets.

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Declutter to Reduce the Cost of Relocating

If you’re trying to stay on a budget and save money while relocating, you might want to consider decluttering and getting rid of all the unnecessary objects. Reconsider what is really with preparing stuff and relocating to your new home.

Think about what is hard to replace or too expensive to throw away. If something is cheap and easily replaceable, there is no need to relocate it when you can easily buy it at your new location. It will do less work with unpacking, and you will also save money on boxes and moving supplies. You’ll be thankful to yourself for decluttering when your relocation budget starts looking more generous.

Two people decluttering their house and preparing boxes for overseas shipping.
Decluttering before relocating can make the process easier and save you some money.

Preparing Well for Relocation Means Less Trouble Afterward

Making a plan for your relocation day is essential if you want to make it less stressful for yourself and the people around you. You should always inform yourself of all of the details of the relocation process, such as documents needed to travel abroad or just reading the experiences of other people living abroad or even contacting them. Consider making a household inventory list that you can show to your relocation crew and double-check everything with their employees. If by any chance you are planning on moving abroad alone and you’re having trouble completing all of the tasks independently, you can always book packing services.

Maybe after this article, you’ll see why it is so important to organize well in these situations. Not only does that save your time and energy, but it may also help your budget by saving money. Organizing is beneficial in many aspects, so make sure you prepare everything on time so you can have much less trouble later.

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