confused_uk

We've got the packers coming on Monday so are trying to sort through our stuff & work out what we won't be taking. The shipping company have been a bit vague as to what we can't take & told us this:


The main items not to take are food items, aerosols, liquids, weapons and anything flammable


Translated into actual regular household items what does this mean? (obviously minus the food items & aerosols). Perfume? batteries? matches? What did people specifically not pack? What do they mean by liquid?


I've also read somewhere else creams are prohibited, I have various potions & lotions I don't wish to part with.


Also read somewhere all personal electronics, is this just a security precaution for our own sake? We can't take all of them in our hand luggage so we were going to hide them amongst our clothes & stuff.


One last thing is my husband has a sword (he doesn't want to part with because it was a gift) & a machete (which he got from the tool shop he worked in to hack down overgrown trees in the garden, not for anything sinister ). Are they prohibited too? I have no idea what to do with them if they are, don't want them falling into the wrong hands with our fingerprints on them.


Thanks

maggs8247

Hello, we were told recently when the shipping companies came out to quote, that in terms of liquids, nothing flammable (so no nailpolish remover e.g). We weren't told no personal electronics, but we were told to take the batteries out of everything so they don't leak.
I wouldn't recommend hiding things as the shippers also act as customs agents on this end so they have to check all of your stuff (so don't tape it all up either).
Good luck!

Former Lancastrian

The sword and machete are ok if declared.
Packaged dried food will be ok if in original packets. White powdered goods in ziplock bags might look suspicious
The creams will be ok as well as electronics.

Souvy

I went through Billy Bishop a couple of weeks ago. The guy behind me in the security screen was mightily pissed off that his largeish pocket knife was taken away from him. What did the dork expect?

gary123

HI


A few things to think about,


1, Any garden stuff and your tree chopper might be classed as that , they don't like any soil etc , so I repainted everything that come from the garden(shipper told me to do it) or was used in the garden. As if they find it they will take it out and power wash it, (for a stupid cost) .


2. They told me 6 weeks for delivery it took 13, so anything you cant live without for 13 weeks don't send it. We reduced from a full container to a shared container and purchased beds, sofa etc over here. So all your lotions etc you might want to just buy new here .


3. Sword etc fine as long as you say where it is, I would try to get them to pack it with easy access if they want a look and have to take the container apart( as it is in the back) there might be a charge.


Things I wish someone would of told me,


Bedding, different sized beds in Canada , unless you are bring a Uk bed don't bring fitted sheets etc .


Towels etc , buy from the second hand store ,


Pots pans plates cutlery again if you have good sets, ship them. Then back to the charity store to get some that will last you 3 months.


Get insurance as much as you can afford, 4 boxes where damaged and we went for the middle option and got fleeced , one box was all my sons baby photographs so any thing like that, that can't be replaced ,scan and save a copy.


Good Luck


Gary

Siouxie

This might be useful to you: Category:Moving Logistics-Canada : British Expat Wiki

Pulaski

Anything electrical can be a PITA, things like food mixers, hairdryers, toasters and whathaveyou. Even if they could be plugged in to a transformer they often don't work right, and can be a safety and/or insurance risk. TV's, gaming systems and laptops are often dual voltage - look on the back for something like 100-250v, 50-60Hz for dual voltage appliances.

rivingtonpike

I'm sorry, but where's the safety risk in plugging your Magimix into a transformer for 5 minutes to mix up some stuff? We're still using the last surviving electrical items from our UK lives to this day. So what if it runs 5 or 10% faster or slower? Who'd know - or care! We saved a fortune by shipping everything we owned, then, if necessary, reviewing its usefulness and replacing if/when we needed to. I Don't get the "it's the wrong voltage - it won't work" mantra. My experience is pretty much everything we brought to Canada worked either perfectly, or as near as damn it. I'm still using a 20 year old amp for some of my music stuff with a transformer because it is at least as good as anything that would have cost me hundreds of dollars here - if not thousands. Big white goods I concede are not worth shipping. Most houses include them anyway (as an aside, even our Dyson worked with a transformer (do you know how much those things cost here!!?!)). TV for kids games - fine. Breadmaker with transformer - fine. Magimix thingy - fine. Turned out my garage has 220v laid on so ALL power tool - fine. Electric pressure washer - not so much I must admit. DAB radio - nope. Scalextric (with transformer) - fine

For what it's worth, if you are paying for a container anyway, if it isn't nailed down - bring it!

MillieF

I moved here four years ago in August, and took my inspiration from a response to,my similar post, from Rivingtonpike! I brought everything....just like he told me to...I have never regretted it!

Four years on....I admit...we went out when the shippers came, and on our return discovered they had packed the contents of our wine rack etc., which we had thought to quietly imbibe during the last few weeks...we didn't hide them, and all arrived safely

Certainly more angst seemed to be generated at the thought of soil and anything that might be dirty...we brought a car with us and the underside was pressure washed and all garden furniture washed with Jeyes Fluid.

Best of luck

Auryn80

We are planning to take our TV's, cake mixer, dyson and other things like lien mower. I don't think we can afford to buy so many new things. Do you think that will be ok? Thank you

Pulaski

But then you'll need transfomers, decent sized ones, especially for the vacuum and lawn mower, and they aren't exactly cheap. You aren't going to save a lot by bringing things with you, and as you have been advised already, some of them won't work quite right anyway.

If you look in the small print of your insurance, you might even find that running appliances on a transformer will invalidate your homeowners insurance.

BristolUK

Have you "destroyed" the evidence since?

SchnookoLoly

Larger appliances like vacuums and lawn mowers... not the best idea to bring it. Smaller electronics are easier, but note what Pulaski said about it invalidating homeowners insurance. We just brought everything new, it was cheaper, plus if you have any issues with the actual appliance itself, warranty/replacement dealings are easier as well.

Our shippers told us not to pack shampoos, lotions, etc, but more because leaking potential was a risk - stuff in boxes for a efw weeks/months, if it leaks it can do damage. I decided not to pack things like shampoos, and any lotions I did bring I double-bagged in ziplock bags.

mikelincs

Remember that moving will invalidate the warranty on any item you have sent over as well.

MarylandNed

When I moved, I shipped (apart from clothes) books, CDs, and photos. With advances in digital storage since then, I wouldn't need to do that again. Next time, I'd only take clothes, laptops and a few important documents. I'd sell everything else and save the shipping fees. The income from the sale and the saved shipping fees could be enough to replace what I need.