The garage needs to be started earlier than any room inside the house, honestly, since about a third of what’s in it legally can’t ride on a moving truck. Fuel, propane, pool chemicals, fertilizer, paint, solvents, all of it has to be used up, given away, or tossed before moving day, and that just takes more than one weekend.
Walk the garage with a notepad this week and sort things into three piles: goes, gets used up, gets disposed of. The households that start three weeks out tend to have easier moving mornings, and that’s something we notice on nearly every job we run as a superior moving company in Roseville, MN.
What Cannot Go on the Truck
Federal regulations prohibit carriers from transporting hazardous materials in a household shipment, and the list is longer than most people assume. It catches people off guard almost every time.
Gasoline and diesel in cans, propane tanks of any size including the grill tank, kerosene, charcoal lighter fluid, paint and paint thinner, pesticides, fertilizer, pool chlorine, aerosols, car batteries, and fire extinguishers all stay behind.
The practical approach is to plan them down rather than deal with them at the end. Run the mower and the trimmer until the tanks are dry over the last few weekends, and use up that half can of stain on the deck railing while you’re at it.
Give the propane tank to a neighbor or exchange it rather than trying to move it, and if you’re also eyeing a garage full of stuff you just don’t want anymore, it helps to think through what to do with unwanted items so it doesn’t all pile up the week of.
Ramsey County runs a household hazardous waste drop-off for residents, and checking their current hours and accepted items before you load the car saves a wasted trip.
Preparing Mowers, Blowers, and Small Engines
Anything with a small engine needs the fuel out and the fluids handled before a crew will load it. Run the tank dry, then start it again and let it stall, which clears the carburetor as well as the tank. Disconnect the spark plug wire on a mower so it can’t turn over in transit, and drain the oil on anything being stored for more than a few weeks.
Then clean it, and don’t skip this part. Caked grass on a mower deck and dirt on a tiller transfer to everything they touch inside a truck, and a wrapped sofa sitting next to an unwashed mower is a problem that shows up at the other end.
Hose the equipment down and let it dry fully before moving day, since damp metal in a closed truck rusts faster than people expect. Snowblowers get the same treatment, and in Minnesota they’re worth servicing during the move rather than after, because the window between a fall move and the first snow is short.
Grills, Patio Furniture, and Anything That Lived Outside
Grills need the propane tank removed and left behind, the grease tray emptied and cleaned, and the grates wrapped separately so they’re not sliding around inside the lid. A gas grill with the tank off travels fine. A charcoal grill needs the ash cleaned out completely, because ash finds its way through a truck faster than almost anything else.
Patio furniture comes apart more than people realize. Table tops separate from bases, umbrellas come out of stands, and cushions go into bags rather than riding loose. Everything that lived outside should be wiped down and dried, since spiders, wasp nests, and dirt travel with it otherwise.
Glass tabletops need the same treatment as any other large glass panel, wrapped and carried upright rather than flat, and for something that fragile, it’s often worth bringing in single item movers rather than risking it with everything else in the truck.
Garage cleared out and not sure what’s left to sort? Give us a call at (651) 317-8713, and we’ll walk through the garage and shed with you so the written estimate reflects everything, not just the tidy rooms.
Heavy Equipment That Needs a Plan, Not Just a Dolly
Some garage items are jobs on their own. A gun safe or a floor safe, a workbench bolted to the wall, a tool chest loaded with hand tools, a motorcycle, a kayak rack, a treadmill in the corner, the list goes on.
Each one needs equipment and a crew that’s handled it before, and each one is worth naming during the estimate rather than discovering on the day. And honestly, if the new place is smaller anyway, it might be worth browsing some of the best places to downsize before moving instead of hauling every piece of garage gear with you.
Safes are the clearest example. A full-size gun safe can run well past what two people should attempt, and stairs or a sloped driveway change the plan entirely. A crew that handles heavy equipment regularly will bring the dollies, straps, and padding sized for it.
Tool chests should be emptied into boxes rather than moved loaded, since drawers that slide open mid-carry are how hands and doorframes get hurt, so empty the chest, tape the drawers, and move the shell.
Sorting the Rest Before the Crew Arrives
Garages accumulate things nobody has decided about, and moving day is the worst moment to make those decisions. Give yourself an evening with the three-pile method, and just be finished with it. Once the sorting is done, the packing itself moves quickly, since most garage contents are either tools, sports equipment, or seasonal storage.
A short list covers most of what remains. Box hand tools by type rather than by drawer, using small boxes since tools get heavy fast, and coil and band extension cords and hoses so they don’t tangle through the load.
Bag hardware, screws, and fasteners, and label them by what they belong to, and wrap sharp edges on saw blades, shears, axes, and shovels before anything goes in a box. Anything going into storage should be set aside separately, and if it’s an appliance, make sure it’s drained and dried out first before it goes in.
Have questions about getting your garage ready, or just want to talk through what’s involved first? Contact us, and we’ll help you figure out the right next step. You can reach us at (651) 317-8713 or daymakersmoving@gmail.com.
