Is it worth it to pack your food and move it with you, or should you toss it and just start over at your new home? Before you create a bunch of garbage and waste a lot of food, check out this list to find out what you can move with you, and what you can do with the things that might not move so well.
Pack Dry Goods Into Airtight Or Properly Sealed Containers
You can safely move dry goods like oats, flour, pasta, or cornmeal if you pack it correctly. Sealed original plastic packaging is safe to put in a plastic moving box as is; just make sure you check the best before dates. Opened plastic packaging or paper packaging might not hold up as well, so in order to avoid a box full of loose spaghetti, pick up some glass or plastic containers that can be used to store dry goods. Look for containers that have an airtight seal, and then make sure that they are packed safely so that your new containers don’t break in transit.
Non-Perishable Goods Are Good To Go
For the most part, non-perishable goods are fine to pack and move with you. That said, take this as an opportunity to clean out your pantry. Don’t bring anything that is expired, stale, or that you’re never going to eat. Unopened, non-perishable goods that aren’t expired can be donated to your local food bank. When you are packing your non-perishable goods, make sure you pack them intentionally. Put the heavy things like soup on the bottom and the lighter things like crackers on the top.
To Place in a Cooler or Not?
You’ll have to be thoughtful about how much you pack into a cooler, depending on how long the drive to your new place will be. If you are making a short move, you can definitely pack up things from your freezer and fridge into a cooler (or two). Make sure that you pack your cooler somewhere easily accessible so that you can unpack the items into your new fridge and freezer right away when you arrive. If you are making a long-distance move, you’ll have to be quite conservative as to what goes into your cooler. In this case, you’ll want to pack things that you can consume on your trip, and ensure that you have sufficient ice to keep things cool on the way. Though you’ll likely want to mainly pack snacks that don’t require refrigeration for the long trip.
Tape is Your Friend
Tape is important for your move as a whole, but when packing up your kitchen, tape will be your best friend. Taping around the seal of containers of liquids like olive oil or vinegar can help prevent spillage, and taping over the openings on salt shakers or spice jars can prevent a big mess in transit. You may also want to label things as perishable or non-perishable using tape so that you know what needs to get unpacked right away.
In short, don’t toss the contents of your kitchen! With some careful packing, you will be able to safely move lots of the food in your kitchen to your new home. Blue Bins plastic moving boxes are a great way to safely transport your kitchen goods. Even if something spills inside the box, it will be contained to a single box, making it easy to clean while also protecting your other possessions. Contact us today to reserve your plastic moving boxes!