Waste Not, Want Not: What to do With Your Food When Moving

Posted on January 18, 2021

That time between moving out of one home and into another is a worry-filled time as you try to tackle all the important tasks. Sometimes, things slip through the cracks. One important task you shouldn’t forget to include in your moving timeline is organizing, consuming and getting rid of food before moving day.

Perfectly-timed consumption is the goal, of course. But not everybody is that lucky to time it out just right. And because most movers won’t move perishable food, you have to figure out what to do with it beforehand. Here are some tips.

Inspect Your Food Supply

The first step is to know exactly what you have left in the house. Take this opportunity to inventory your food supplies, going over all the areas in your home where you store food, such as the fridge, freezer, cupboards, pantry, and basement, etc. You can write it all down or take photos.

Sort out your food supplies into:

• Frozen food: meat, veggies, ice cream, etc.
• Refrigerated foods: meat, eggs, milk, seafood, juices, cheese, butter, etc.
• Canned food: meat, soups, vegetables, soups, etc.
• Boxed/dry food items: chips, snacks, cereals, beans, rice, etc.
• Bottled food items: olive oil, dressings, etc.
• Cooking supplies: flour, spices, sugar, etc.

Note how much you have of each.

Throw Away Expired Items

Go through your food supplies and toss anything that has expired. Don’t keep or consume anything past its due date, for the health of your family. Throw away the food, rinse out glass containers and cans, and recycle properly.

Plan to Use Your Perishable Food

The idea here is to reduce food waste while saving some money in the process.

• Limit visits to the grocery store and only purchase food you know you can reasonably consume before leaving the house.

• Concentrate on the perishable food items in the fridge or freezer first and eat those.
• Cook leftover food supplies rather than order takeout in the days leading up to the move.
• Set aside enough food to put together sandwiches or treats for moving day and the first day in the new place.

Donate Non-Perishable Food

Unopened cans and boxed dry goods are the easiest things to donate to charity. That’s why you should focus on consuming the perishables first. Try places like Move for Hunger, which is a non-profit organization that delivers non-perishable foods to food banks all over North America.

You can also drop off boxes of unopened canned and box goods to your local shelters, schools and drop-off centers prior to moving. Just check expiration dates before donating.

Pack Up Food You Want to Keep

All the food that made the cut will have to get packed. You will need plenty of clear plastic bins to store the non-perishables, such as:

• Canned foods. Canned food items are heavy, so pack them securely in small cardboard boxes due to their collective weight. Plastic storage bins are best because they won’t break under the weight.
• Dry food products. When moving packets or boxes of already-opened dry goods such as pasta, rice, flour and sugar, tape the openings, put them in re-sealable plastic bags and pack them into small-to-medium moving boxes. You may also use regular plastic bags too like clean trash bags to transport the dry food, preventing any spills along the way.
• Glass containers. Wrap all glass jars or bottles in many sheets of packing paper, tape up the paper bundles, and transfer them into thick cardboard moving boxes. Fill any gaps with additional sheets of paper so the glass containers don’t shift or break.

Just remember to pack as few food products as possible. You’re paying movers good money to move those cans and boxes, so the less food you transport, the less money you have to pay. Oftentimes, it’s more cost feasible to just buy new food in the new place.

Do not bother packing and moving frozen or refrigerated foods, as they fall under the category of things that aren’t allowed for transport because of safety reasons. If you absolutely have to move frozen or refrigerated foods, put them in coolers on ice and take them with you in your car.

Contact Around the Block Moving Company

Ready to book your move? We can move all kinds of appliances, including refrigerators, but we don’t move perishable foods. Start off with a free quote from us; just call 214-433-6762.