What Not to Pack in a Moving Tote: Kelowna Move Guide
Updated: 2 days ago
Most of your home packs neatly into moving totes, but a few things should never go in one: perishable food, live plants, pets, paint and chemicals, propane, cash, passports and the papers you'll need on move day. Knowing what not to pack in a moving tote before you start in Kelowna saves you a leaky mess, a damaged tote or a frantic search for your keys. Here's the full list, and where each item goes instead.
When you rent moving totes from Bin Ready, you get clean 102L plastic moving boxes with yellow snap-on lids and a free dolly, and every package covers 14 days. That's plenty of time to sort the "pack it" pile from the "not in a tote" pile, so nothing ends up in the wrong place on move day.
Why some things don't belong in a moving tote
A moving tote is a closed box that spends a day or two in a truck, a garage or a hallway. Anything that can spoil, leak, catch fire or needs air will cause trouble in there. Other things, like your passport or your laptop, are simply too important to have buried somewhere in a stack of 40 identical totes. The rule of thumb: if you'd panic if it went missing, or it could hurt someone if it leaked, it rides with you or it goes somewhere else.
What not to pack in a moving tote
1. Perishable food and anything from the fridge or freezer
Fresh food, open containers and anything from the fridge or freezer can spoil fast in a closed tote, especially in a warm truck. Start eating down the fridge about a week before the move. Pack sealed pantry items like pasta, cans and rice in totes as normal, but keep any cold food in a cooler that rides with you, and donate unopened extras to a Kelowna food bank instead of moving them.
2. Paint, chemicals and cleaning products
Paint cans, solvents, bleach, drain cleaner, pool chemicals and garden sprays can leak and stain, and some react badly if they mix. Use them up before move day or take leftovers to a recycling depot that accepts paint and household chemicals. Keep the few cleaning products you need for the move-out clean in a separate bin you carry yourself, standing upright.
3. Propane, gas and anything flammable
Barbecue propane tanks, gas cans, lighter fluid and camp stove fuel should never go in a moving tote. Empty the lawn mower and the trimmer, and move propane tanks upright and secured in an open, ventilated space, or ask your supplier about an exchange at the new address. Matches and aerosol cans are best used up or packed on their own, away from heat.
4. Plants
Houseplants need light and air, and a snapped-shut lid gives them neither. Move plants in the car with you, in their pots, wedged in with towels so they don't tip. Water them a couple of days before the move, not the morning of, so the soil isn't sloshing around.
5. Pets, obviously
It sounds like a joke, and on our Instagram it is one, but it's worth saying: pets never ride in a tote. Pack a pet tote with food, bowls, leash, litter and meds, and keep the pet itself in a carrier or a quiet room until it's time to go. Our moving with pets guide has the full plan.
6. Cash, jewellery and keepsakes you can't replace
Cash, jewellery, family photos, and anything with real sentimental value should travel with you, not in a stack on a dolly. Pack them in a small bag or box that stays in your car or on your shoulder the whole day.
7. Important papers and move-day documents
Passports, birth certificates, your lease or sale papers, keys, the strata move-in form and your elevator booking all go in one folder that stays with you. If you're moving out of a rental, keep your move-out inspection notes in the same folder.
8. Laptops, hard drives and medications
Laptops, tablets, hard drives and chargers ride in your bag, along with any medications you take daily. Bigger electronics like speakers and consoles can go in a tote wrapped in towels, but the TV never does. See our electronics packing guide for the details.
What does go in a moving tote
Almost everything else. Clothes, books, dishes, bedding, toys, tools, decor, pantry goods in sealed packages, bathroom items with the caps sealed, and small kitchen appliances all pack well in a 102L moving tote. Keep books to the bottom half of a tote and top it up with towels or pillows so it stays easy to lift, and give fragile totes a gentle shake: if anything clinks, add a towel.
Slide a card into the clear label sleeve on the side of each tote with the room and a number. No tape needed, and nothing written on the tote. Not sure how many you need? Our how many moving totes guide has counts by home size.
Pack a "travels with me" bin
Most of the items on the "don't pack" list end up in one place: a bag or bin that rides in your car. Here's what goes in it:
The documents folder, keys and your phone charger
Medications, glasses and a change of clothes
Laptop, tablet and hard drives
Cash, jewellery and keepsakes
A small cooler with drinks and snacks
Toilet paper, a towel and basic toiletries for night one
Set it by the front door the night before, and you'll never wonder where your passport ended up.
Keep your rental totes clean
Our totes are sanitized between every rental, and we ask that they come back clean. That's one more reason to keep fridge food, leaking liquids and chemicals out of them. Pack bathroom bottles with the caps sealed and zip-bagged, and line a tote with a towel if you're unsure. When you're done, nest the empty totes and we pick them up for free.
Moving tote rental in Kelowna, West Kelowna and across the Okanagan
Bin Ready Tote Rentals drops off clean 102L moving totes and a free dolly, you pack and move at your own pace, and we pick up the empties when you're settled. We don't store or haul belongings and we're not a moving company: we just make packing easier and cheaper than cardboard.
Start: 20 totes, $99
Apartment: 30 totes, $149
Home: 40 totes, $189
Family: 65 totes, $249
Every package covers 14 days, which works out to about 35¢ a tote per day. Need longer? Just $2 a tote per extra week. We serve Kelowna, Glenmore, Dilworth, the Upper and Lower Mission, Rutland, West Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland, Vernon and Penticton, with free drop-off and pickup. Browse more moving tips, read the blog, or book your moving totes.
FAQ: what not to pack when moving
Can I pack food in a moving tote?
Sealed pantry food like cans, pasta and rice packs fine. Fresh, open, fridge and freezer food should not go in a tote. Eat it down before the move and carry anything cold in a cooler.
Can I move paint and cleaning products in a tote?
No. Paint, solvents, bleach and other chemicals can leak and stain. Use them up, take leftovers to a recycling depot, or carry the few you need upright in a separate bin.
Where should my passport and important papers go on move day?
In one folder that stays with you the whole day, along with your keys, lease or sale papers and any strata move-in forms. Never pack them in a moving tote.
Do the totes keep rain out?
The snap-on lids keep rain and dust out, which helps on a wet Kelowna move day. See our FAQ for more answers.
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