Things People Tend to Forget to Pack When Moving

Forgotten items when moving– Moving takes a lot of work and planning. In the midst of all the chaos, it’s common for people to forget to pack things, only to remember them when they’re en route to their new home. Sometimes it’s something that can be easily replaced, like an old USB cable. Other times, it could be something important, like a case that contains identification cards. Adding these things to your inventory can help prevent leaving these items behind.

In today’s post, the local and international movers at Star Moving Solutions share the things that people tend to forget when packing for a move. 

Important Documents

An average homeowner has just enough important documents to fill a single briefcase or binder. If you have more, prepare a document box and clearly label it as such. The following are the types of documents that fall in this category:

Personal Documents — These are documents that can be used to establish your personal identity, and are typically issued by the government. This includes passports, birth and marriage certificates, driving licenses, diplomas, professional qualifications and school records.

Employment Documents — These include contracts and performance evaluation reports.

House Documents — This includes property deeds, insurance policies, rental agreements and mortgage documents.

Financial Documents — This includes loan documents, bank statements and tax-related documents.

Automobile Documents — This includes auto insurance policies, vehicle registration and other vehicle-related documents.

Keep all of these documents in a secure, conspicuous spot that you won’t miss when you leave. Don’t hand over the case or binder to your international movers, as you have the responsibility to keep these documents on your person at all times.

Medication

You might be surprised to learn how many people forget to bring their medicine when they move out, usually because these medicines are often left in medicine cabinets and closets. Prescription medication can take some effort to obtain after you move if your physician is several cities away.

Make sure you check the contents of every cabinet in the bathroom days or weeks before your move-out date. Prepare an essentials box or medical bag that contains all your medication. Throw away expired medicines, containers with illegible labels and medication that you have already stopped using. Keep your medical bag or kit in your bag that contains your personal items, as you don’t want your international movers to accidentally put them in checked luggage or in one of the boxes for transport.

Valuable Items

While it is true that your valuables are not far from your thoughts and will probably be the first items to be packed during a move, there are others that you may have stored in hidden compartments in your home. Whether they’re stored in a safety deposit box, a portable safe or behind a false front in one of your bookshelves, make sure you take them out and prepare them for moving. Breakable items, especially priceless ones, should be packed with enough padding to make sure they survive the trip. It’s better to spend extra on layers of bubble wrap than break something that’s irreplaceable.

Clothing Left at the Dry Cleaners

People are more likely to forget packing things that are not at their homes. Check whether you have clothing that may still be at your favorite dry cleaning place: you probably won’t want to leave your best suit when you’re hundreds of miles away from your old place. Make sure you include picking up your clothes from the dry cleaners on your moving-out checklist. Retrieving them can be costly depending on how far your new location will be.

Paper Plates, Paper Cups, and Disposable Utensils

One of the inconveniences of moving is you won’t have access to your dishes, utensils and drinking glasses while on the road; they’d be with your local or international movers, sealed in their boxes. You’ll probably be too tired to unpack anything after arriving, let alone hunt for the boxes that contain your eating implements. A few days’ worth of paper plates and disposable cutlery can be extremely handy during such times. If you forget to pack them, make sure to pick them up at your next convenience store stop. The best part is you don’t have to worry about washing anything and just focus on getting your family settled into your new place.

Items In Storage

Whether you’re storing items in your garage, unfinished basement or attic, or an off-site storage space, you may want to go through all of them and take anything that you might use, or may be of some value. It’s better if you clear these spaces out first because, even if these are items that you consider not of any use, they can be sold at a garage sale or online, and you’ll have plenty of time to organize and ship such items. The extra funds can be put towards your moving costs and unexpected expenses.

Phone and Laptop Chargers

In our experience as local movers and international movers, some of the most common items our clients leave behind are phone and laptop chargers, sometimes still plugged into outlets. Others get mixed with unwanted items, never making it to the new place. Retrieving them would often cost more than buying new ones, and while phone accessories are cheap and easy to purchase, replacement laptop chargers sometimes cost as much as $100. If you’re using your laptop for remote work, you may have to forego using it until you get a replacement charger.

We recommend using an electronics organizer that contains your chargers, cables, travel adapters and storage devices. They’re easy to find online, come in various sizes and compartments, and will easily fit into laptop bags. Also, make sure everyone at home has their devices fully charged before heading out.

Plungers and Toilet Bowl Cleaners

You probably have checked whether or not the toilet works in your new home before you decided to move in. Nevertheless, you’ll want toilet brushes, plunger, and cleaning products handy just in case. If you find it icky to pack used toilet tools, make sure you buy new ones and have them packed before you go.

Gardening Tools

If you do a little bit of gardening, you’ll want to make sure you take your tools with you. People tend to forget their gardening tools behind because they’re left outside the house. Make sure you bring your gardening tools, as you never know if you’ll need to do some cleaning in your yard during your first days in your new home. Garden hoses, in particular, are essential for cleaning the driveway, siding and windows.

Forwarding Address

While it’s much easier to set up a forwarding address nowadays, it’s difficult to retrieve mail that’s delivered to your place after you’ve moved out. Once you have settled on a moving-out date, make sure your billing addresses are updated, or, if you haven’t done so, opt for electronic billing. Packages that are already en route can be redelivered to your new address at cost.

Need local or international movers for your upcoming move? Call Star Moving Solutions at (703) 687-0669. You can also fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment.