Make sure all your treasured belongings are well protected when moving them to a new home.
If you are about to move house anytime soon and have just embarked on the Herculean task of sorting out and organizing your belongings for packing and shipping, you may be completely overwhelmed by the enormous number of household items and personal possessions you have accumulated over the years. However, most of them are just objects designed to render your everyday activities easier and to make your life more comfortable – there is no deeper meaning or particular value invested in them. So, when moving to a new home, all you need to do is put them in boxes and load them onto the moving truck. Of course, you will have to be careful when packing your belongings in order to preserve them in good condition and to be able to use them again at your new place. Your best bet to have your items delivered to the final destination intact and without any problems, is to hire experienced movers, as they will have the practical know-how and the adequate moving equipment required to perform a smooth and trouble-free relocation.
However competent and reliable your chosen movers may be though, you are strongly recommended not to entrust them with certain “special” possessions of yours.
If you are about to put the folder that contains all your documents on top of the last moving box and hand it over to the movers, for example, think twice. Some things are just too important and you need to keep them by your side all the time.
And again, if you intend to pack your grandmothers’ jewels in a simple moving box and have it loaded on the moving truck, think twice. Some items are invested with so much sentimental value that parting with them is truly painful and unreasonable.
So, which are these very special things among your ordinary items that you should never entrust to movers?
# Essentials you can’t do a day without;
# Items of extremely high monetary value;
# Cherished possessions reminiscent of beloved people, happy experiences, or fateful events.
Here is a full list of the valuable items you should always move yourself:
1) Important Documents
Even if your briefcase doesn’t have a special protection spell, your important documents will be safe and sound in it.
No one will steal or damage your documents on purpose, of course, but you never know what may happen and how soon you are going to need them. If you have conveniently kept all the moving-related papers in a separate binder, just put it in a small safe or a lockbox together with all your personal documents (passports, driver’s licenses, medical and school records, birth and marriage certificates, insurance policies, car registration papers, mortgage papers, bank statements, etc.), and keep the box with you all the time. Of course, you can just collect all your papers, relocation-related and personal, and put them in your briefcase so that they are easier to carry around regardless of how you will travel to your final destination. Double-check the keys to your car if you are driving or the plane tickets if you are flying.
How Much do Movers Cost?
Save up to 40% on your upcoming move and get a quote from reputable moving experts.
Jewelry pieces are small and expensive – two qualities that make them very prone to mysterious disappearance during the moving process. Indeed, it is quite easy to lose or misplace a tiny ring or brooch in the moving chaos and never find it again. It is even easier for someone to just take a jewelry piece and forget to return it, especially if you are so careless as to leave your costly items unattended during the hectic activities on moving day. It may be hard to believe but many inexperienced home movers who have been so naïve as to pack their valuables with the rest of their household goods have found their jewelry boxes missing after the move.
If you research the moving companies beforehand and hire reputable movers, you can rest assured that they won’t steal from you. However, a delicate jewelry piece may get easily damaged during the transportation, the chains of necklaces and bracelets may get tangled, gems may get broken, etc. So, be very careful when packing your jewels and move them yourself as you will handle them with utmost care and will certainly get them to your new place safe and intact.
Be warned that expensive state-of-the-art electronics top the list of stolen items during a move (even digital photo frames and stereo headphones have been reported missing, not to mention DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs with popular movies and games). Besides, if some ill-intentioned people get access to digitally stored personal information, you may even become a victim of identity theft.
Traditional life-savers have been replaced with electronic gadgets. And indeed, who could survive an hour without access to the Internet?!?
So, keep your laptop, your digital camera, your smartphone or whatever expensive electronic gadgets you possess with you all the time. You may even put them to good use during your trip – to consult with your moving app, to call the moving company or your friends, to take pictures of the beautiful natural scenery along the road, to research some useful information (location of good restaurants nearby, time-schedules, expected weather conditions, etc.) or just to keep yourself and your family entertained.
What’s more, sensitive electronics top the list of damaged items during a move, especially during long-distance moves in mid-summer or in mid-winter. The extreme temperatures and adverse weather conditions can cause irrevocable damage to your sensitive devices, so you are advised to move them in your own vehicle in order to keep them in temperature controlled environment all the time. When it comes to very large and difficult to move items, such as plasma TVs or desk computers, for example, pack them in appropriate sturdy boxes and add plenty of adequate padding material (such as foam cushioning or packing peanuts) that will prevent shifting inside the boxes, will absorb vibrations during the transportation, and will provide sufficient temperature insulation. Secure the boxes with lots of packing tape and label them “FRAGILE”, “HANDLE WITH CARE”, “THIS SIDE UP” and other appropriate instructions before entrusting them to the movers. Also, don’t forget to protect your digital storage devices with a password, just in case.
4) Family Heirlooms
Losing any of the above-mentioned items may cause you lots of headaches and may cost you dearly, but losing any of the items described below will result in deep emotional distress as no efforts and no amount of money can ever bring them back.
Items of high sentimental value are irreplaceable as they keep the memories of something or someone important in your life. Whether it is a golden pendant worth thousands of dollars, or a broken pocket watch, worth nothing, your family heirlooms are certainly priceless to you and the mere thought of losing them is probably painful and unbearable. So, to take good care of your precious keepsakes, you are strongly recommended to transport them yourself. Even though such items are highly unlikely to get stolen, they can be easily damaged, so the only way to ensure your peace of mind is to keep them with you all the time.
5) Antiques, Artwork, And Collector’s Items
Whether the balls in your precious collection have been signed by the greatest baseball players of all times or just by your baseball buddies, they are certainly priceless to you.
You won’t be able to move your 19th century armoire in your own vehicle, of course, but any smaller antiques that will fit in the car should travel with you to your final destination. Wrap the large pieces that will be loaded on the moving truck very carefully to provide as much protection as possible and personally ask your movers to be very careful when handling these particular items (you can even offer an incentive in the form of extra tips to make sure they will heed your request). If you have a whole room full of antique furniture, however, you are advised to contact specialized movers in order to ensure a safe and problem-free shipment of your precious pieces.
Likewise, art pieces are too delicate and valuable to be loaded on a moving truck. In case you have large items that cannot be transported in your own car, get hold of custom wooden crates, especially designed to hold artwork, and use plenty of bubble wrap, foam sheets and corrugated paper to provide maximum protection to your precious art objects. Consider shipping them by air as the trip will be shorter and you will avoid the risk of having your pieces affected by harsh climatic conditions.
Do your best to find enough space in your car or in your hand luggage for your prized collections, too. Even inexpensive items you have enjoyed collecting, such as postcards or foreign coins, are probably dear to you, so if they are not too bulky, just don’t risk it and take them with you.
However treasured certain material possessions of yours may be, there are some even more precious “things” you certainly don’t want to entrust to anyone, for their well-being matters more than anything else in the world:
Children – without a doubt, the safety and welfare of your little angels will be your primary concern throughout the entire moving process. Do whatever you can to ease your kids’ anxiety and plan your trip to your new home so that it is as peaceful and enjoyable for them as possible – keep their favorite toys in the car with you, pack a box of essentials your little ones may need on the road, make frequent stops for snacks and drinks, stop by nice parks or playgrounds to let your kids get some fresh air, and so on;
Pets – your little animal friends are part of the family and need your tender loving care to cope with the stress induced by the moving chaos around them. So, it will be best to move your dear pets yourself, so that you can tend to their needs and treat them with all the love they deserve. If that’s impossible for some reason, take advantage of the quality services specialized animal shipping companies offer;
Plants – plants are among the most difficult things to move, as they may not survive the relocation unless properly treated. You need to take a number of things into consideration and to make various preparations in order to successfully relocate your plants.
Of course, there are many other things you should always move yourself as well:
Pick your most cherished possessions and keep them close all the way to your new home!
Survival kit –it doesn’t make much sense to have your open-first box loaded on the moving truck, right? Although it is unlikely to be full of expensive things, it may prove to be invaluable when you have to spend a day or two in your new home without all your earthly possessions. Make sure your medications, toiletries, change of clothes for all your family members, comforting toys, small tools and any other essentials you may urgently need, travel with you;
Money and credit cards – you will need cash to tip your movers, to pay for road tolls, to buy snacks and drinks along the way, etc. It is also a good idea to keep your credit cards handy in case of emergency;
Non-allowables – the movers won’t take hazardous materials, perishable food, and other non-allowable items for safety reasons, so it’s up to you to use them up prior to your move, to get rid of them, or to find a way to transport them to your final destination.
Even additional insurance won’t ensure your peace of mind when it comes to the above-mentioned valuables, but at least you will be reimbursed for your loss if something bad happens. So, research your options and provide proper insurance for your cherished possessions.
Last but not least – before the moving truck departs and you leave your old property for the last time, make sure nothing important has been forgotten and left behind or misplaced and mistakenly loaded on the moving truck.
Remember that even if you have hired trustworthy movers, an accident may happen and you may lose your shipment or some of your items may get badly damaged. If you have opted for an adequate liability protection plan, you will be duly compensated and will be able to repair or replace your missing or damaged household items. Your valuables, however, especially items of high sentimental value, cannot be brought back, so don’t risk it and move them yourself.
Can you think of other items one should never entrust to their movers?
*At MyMovingReviews we will connect you with a professional moving company. Please note that we may not be affiliated with
and you may be speaking with another licensed provider.
Best movers nearby
We use cookies to optimise your experience.Accept and close or Learn more
Share your thoughts by leaving a comment