When you’re preparing for a move, even a local one, it can get overwhelming sometimes. It’s not easy with so many tasks ahead of you! What did I forget to pack? We often ask ourselves this question. Even the best of us are bound to miss something, so you shouldn’t be hard on yourself! If you tend to move often, maybe it would do you good to learn the most commonly forgotten things to pack.
Knowing what people tend to lose most often can help you avoid losing something important in the future. Also, if you’d like to know how to avoid the mistake of forgetting, keep on reading: we have some ideas that can help you. Let’s make your next move the best one yet!
Most Commonly Forgotten Things to Pack When You’re Moving
From experience, we’ve learned that most people tend to forget similar items when moving to a new home. This is partly due to the fact that some of those are always in plain sight, so we stop noticing them. Some, however, are not used very often, which is why we also tend to keep them out of our minds.
Stuff We Often Forget – Important Documents
It is kind of funny that we quite often leave essential documents behind. After all, you don’t really use stuff like your birth certificate, right? Who even thinks to pack this? Well, you better do, because losing documents can get you in trouble in the future, so be sure to remember to bring everything with you. Paperwork is boring, we know, but it is an important part of life. Losing your social security card, for example, can leave you vulnerable to fraud. That’s a problem that takes a lot of energy and effort to get resolved, so we suggest you do a double-check so you can be sure that you have taken all of the essential documents with you.
How to Avoid Losing Documents?
Getting a binder to store everything of significance is standard practice, and we recommend it. Use it to store financial paperwork, car-related documents, social security card, birth certificate, passports, and any moving-related paperwork, like insurance and contract with the Orange County moving company. If you don’t have one yet, make sure you don’t fall for a moving scam! Also, it is always good to have a copy of all of those documents if something gets lost. That’s one of the essential moving hacks.
What Other Things Not to Forget When Packing?
Even if you leave something in your old home, it’s not a big deal if it’s something that’s easy to replace or you won’t miss that much. However, this is unnecessary when you can just put a bit of effort into remembering everything. To help you, here’s a list of what not to forget when packing, so you know where to pay extra attention when you start to pack.
Remember to Pick up Clothes From Dry Cleaning
When you’re in a rush to do everything at once, and you can’t even find a few minutes to have a break, it’s usually easy not to remember to pick up your clothes from dry cleaners. You will probably remember only when you decide you want to wear those particular clothes. Depending on your moving distance, this may or may not be an inconvenience.
Take Items From Your Storage, Attic, or Basement
Be sure to bring with you anything you will be using in the future. Empty attic or basement, if you have one. You will most likely find a lot you don’t even remember you have. Some of that content is likely useless, so this is an excellent chance to declutter, but you may find something interesting, maybe toys your kids have outgrown, or furniture that wasn’t a good fit but now can be of use in your new house or apartment. In any case, this task will likely take quite some time, and it’s not easy.
Pictures and Chandeliers Are Easy to Overlook
Decoration such as pictures is something we pass by every single day, so unless you are an art lover, chances are you won’t be noticing your frames if you hung them on the walls a long time ago. Forgetting them will make you painfully aware of empty walls in your new residence, especially before you unpack all of the furniture.
Overlooking chandeliers – it seems crazy, but it’s not. Chandeliers tend to look like a part of the house, but they are not, it’s just that we don’t appreciate them much. Don’t lose them, getting new ones isn’t something you want to be doing when you have countless boxes to unpack and transform your new home into a comfortable place for living.
Things You’ve Borrowed
The belongings you have given to your neighbors can include a wide variety of stuff, like kitchenware or books. We rarely notice that we’re missing a few books or bowls, right? You likely won’t be coming back for them once you leave the neighborhood, so be sure that everything is returned before you go.
It Is Best to Prepare a Bag With Essentials for the Moving Day
You’ll want to pack a bag and put everything that could be useful to have on the moving day and in the evening when you get to your new home. Everybody is tired after the move, so looking for pajamas or a phone charger is annoying when all you want to do is sit down and finally relax once the move is done. No worries, you will be able to do that if you remember these few tips.
Firstly, bring some food with you, and water bottles of course. You’ll need extra energy or simply something to snack on if you, or more likely your kids, get bored. Besides that, it’s wise to keep close any medication you or your family members take daily. Remember to put toothbrushes and paste in the bag, and even a roll of toilet paper and soap, or any hygiene products that could come in handy. Have some clean clothes to change in the evening, so you don’t have to start unpacking to look for something comfy. And of course, you should take phone chargers, headphones, and laptops with you.
These tips will also work great even when you’re only going on a short trip. Considering we’re in a pandemic, no matter how much we’d like to keep that out of our minds, it would definitely be smart to be careful and have hand sanitizers and masks in the bag since we’re always using them these days.
Hazardous Material Is Something You Want to Forget
What should you not pack? We have already covered the items you want to have close to you since they are essential, but what about those that we don’t bring to our new address because they are not safe to transport? Hazardous products are not safe to relocate, and no moving company will agree to transport stuff like this. By hazardous, we mean:
- Paint,
- Aerosol cans,
- Gasoline,
- Lighter fluid,
- Car batteries and motor oil,
- Nail polish and nail remover,
- Pool chemicals,
- Cleaning supplies and bleach,
- Chemicals such as propane and ammonia.
These materials should not be transported anywhere. Ask around your community or local fire department where you can get rid of this stuff before you move. You will easily find an organization close to you that can deal with this type of waste in the best way possible.
Movers Can’t Give You a Hand With These Belongings
Since we’re talking about what shouldn’t be forgotten and what should be thrown out instead of packed, let’s take a minute to look at what movers won’t be able to help you relocate.
- Food – Frozen or refrigerated food shouldn’t be packed, and usually, people try to eat as much as they can before the moving day. Our advice would be to stop ordering takeout until you eat all that’s left in your kitchen.
- Valuables – If you own expensive jewelry or similar belongings, put them in the bag you take with you on a moving day if you don’t want to stress about them the whole day. It’s just simpler. The same goes for wills, money, checks, and all those documents we talked about earlier. Better yet, if you have a safe deposit box, put it all there until the move is finished. It’s an easy solution.
- Scuba gear – Most moving companies don’t allow their workers to move scuba tanks because they contain highly pressurized oxygen that can explode in a collision. You will likely have to figure out how to transport this on your own, but be careful and empty tanks first.
- Weapons and ammunition -It sounds logical that the movers can never transport these. You should also know to take the bullets out of guns. The temperature in the moving trucks can get high, which can create a dangerous situation. For this reason, ammunition should be transported in cooled vehicles.
- Live plants – Keep in mind that movers, in most cases, won’t be keen on transporting flowers and pots since those are fragile and hard to keep in one piece during transport. Larger plants may be acceptable if wrapped correctly. However, if you have plants that aren’t suitable for moving trucks, the best solution is to transport them in your vehicle. Watch the video below for more information.
How Do You Not Forget Things When Packing?
This is something you must learn if you want to know how to move efficiently. Now that you’ve seen where to pay extra attention, let’s say a few words on tactics that will help your memory. They are simple but highly effective. You can’t lose if you try them.
Make a To-Do List
Maybe it sounds pretty obvious, but that’s precisely the reason why people don’t try to help themselves with moving to-do lists. They are of great help when you have a lot on your mind. Put everything in your phone: type in the notes app all that comes to mind. Once you think of something, type it immediately, as you probably won’t remember it later. Make two separate lists: one for tasks you plan on doing the next day and one where you write everything you want to pack. This list can be divided into a couple of segments, one for every room you have. Be sure to check off items from the list once you are done with them. You can consider writing a moving expenses checklist as well.
Learn How to Deal With Stress
Moving stress often makes us forgetful. We stress about a lot, like not being ready on time or not knowing how to pack fragile items (no worries, there’s plenty to say on how to pack plates). We spend countless hours panicking about our move, and for what reason? It’s not helpful – quite the opposite. Make sure that you relax a bit after every day you spend packing. You’ll have more energy to continue and have a clearer mind, which means you’ll be less likely to miss anything.
Relaxation techniques you can use depend on your preferences. Whether it’s watching a movie, reading a book, or playing with your dog, we all need something that brings us peace. You should take a moment for yourself every day and continue doing that even after you are done with moving – it will improve your life quality in your new place.
Double-Check Everything
When the moving day approaches, check twice if you have packed everything you need. Since you should be ready a couple of days before the move, you’ll have an opportunity to do this. Go through all the lists you had and check every room just in case. If you’ve missed something, you’ll fix it quickly. The chances that you can miss something twice are really slim.
Ready to Go? Time to Call the Best Movers in Orange County, CA
Since you’re moving locally, moving doesn’t really take a lot of time. It’s all great when you hire the best movers in Orange County, right? If you haven’t decided on the company, look no further. We’re the Orange County movers everybody wishes they had when they were moving. Contact us to book your move and enjoy this stress-free experience! We’re here for whatever you need regarding residential moving, we offer excellent packing service, and we will make your local moving experience smooth and stress-free!