We move thousands of homes a year, and we can tell you with confidence: the things that go missing or get damaged on moving day are almost never the couch or the dining table. They're the small stuff. The wedding ring tucked into a sock drawer. The hard drive with twelve years of family photos. The original Social Security card buried in a box of tax records.
Here's how we tell our customers to handle valuables — what to keep with you, what to pack separately, and what to never put in a moving truck no matter who you hire.
The "Stays With You" List
Some things should never go on a moving truck. Pack them in a single bag or small box that travels with you in your own car:
- Jewelry, watches, and heirlooms
- Cash, checkbooks, and credit cards not in your wallet
- Passports, birth certificates, Social Security cards, immigration documents
- Medication (prescription and prn)
- Hard drives and laptops with irreplaceable files (especially family photos)
- House keys and garage door openers
- Firearms (if you own them, transport them yourself, locked and unloaded)
Documents and Records
Tax records, mortgage documents, insurance binders, vehicle titles — these can survive in moving boxes, but only if you label them well and pack them tightly. We recommend a single labeled file box that goes on the truck last and comes off first. If you have an envelope of "absolutely critical" originals, that goes in the car bag with you.
Art, Antiques, and One-of-a-Kind Pieces
If a piece is irreplaceable in any meaningful sense, it deserves more than the standard wrap. Tell your moving company in advance. We crate art over $1,000, use archival paper between framed pieces, and double-box anything ceramic. A good crew will also document the existing condition with photographs at pickup so there's no ambiguity later.
For very high-value pieces (over $5,000), look into "full value protection" — the upgrade from the standard $0.60-per-pound default coverage that federal law requires moving companies to offer. It costs more, but it's the difference between getting paid replacement value and getting paid for the literal weight of a broken sculpture.
Electronics
Modern electronics survive moves well if they're packed in their original boxes. If you don't have the original packaging, ask your movers for proper TV cartons (we include them free with full-service moves) and wrap each device individually in bubble wrap. Power cables go in a labeled bag taped to the device.
Two specific tips: back up your computer the day before the move (cloud or external drive — both is better), and remove batteries from anything that's been sitting unused. Leaking AAs ruin remote controls every single moving day.
Photographs and Memorabilia
Loose photos and photo albums should be flat-packed in stiff cardboard boxes — never in plastic bins, which can trap moisture. If you have decades of family photos, this is a great time to digitize the most important ones.
Inventory Everything Valuable
Before move day, walk through your home with a phone camera and shoot a 30-second video of each room. Open drawers. Open closets. This is your insurance proof that everything was there before the move. It takes 15 minutes and it's saved more than one of our customers from a long claim conversation.
The Bottom Line
Trust your moving crew with the heavy stuff and the everyday stuff — that's their job. But anything irreplaceable, take it yourself. Even the best moving company in the country can't replace your grandmother's engagement ring.
If you have questions about how Diligent Movers handles high-value items, packing crates, or full-value protection, give us a call. We'll walk you through it before booking.