What embarrassing items should you hide from movers?

It’s moving day, and strangers are about to invade your house and load your all your belongings onto a moving truck. 

You’ve likely spent weeks preparing for this day, frantically getting your house ready for the moving process. You’ve wrapped and boxed certain breakables. You’ve ditched the stuff you’re not taking. You’ve even gotten your cat prepared for the long-distance journey. 

But one step you may have overlooked is asking yourself if there are any items you’d rather the people from the moving company not see. You know, items of a more — how to put this? — personal nature?

Granted, the moving crew is just here to move you, not judge you, but there still may be some things in your house that you’d rather hide from them.  

Fair enough. The movers would probably rather not see those things either. They get — at best — amused and — at worst — traumatized by some of the embarrassing things they’ve had to move in people’s houses. 

“There were some questionable photos from a trip where my friends and I did a photo scavenger hunt and you got bonus points if you could get a picture of someone else in the group naked,” recalls one person who evidently forget some of the things she was moving to her new home. 

“I was hauling a dresser down a flight of stairs and it started vibrating right in front of the customer,” says one employee of a professional moving company. “She was super embarrassed.”

Don’t let that be you. 

The professional movers may well offer you a gentle reminder themselves. 

“When I’m doing a walk-through of the house giving a free quote, I would tell the client to make sure to empty the drawers or take things out,” says one mover. “When the mover goes to move the dresser, the first thing he’s going to do is open the top drawer and stick his hand in top to lift it.” 

How else are you supposed to get a grip on heavy furniture? Gotta open the drawers. 

“Everyone says the same thing: ‘What, do you want to look in my underwear drawer?’ ” the mover says, laughing. 

The answer is, of course, no. A reputable, full-service moving company is not in your house to creep through your things. 

But here are some tips on how you can do your part to keep the move date from turning awkward. 

First, go through every room in your house and single out all of the things that you’d like to keep private. It could be photos, clothing, medication — even bank statements and things of a financial nature. 

You’ll want to pack all those items in some cardboard boxes and seal them shut with tape. Then make sure to clearly label the boxes with whatever words you’d like — code words are acceptable, naturally — so you know what’s in them. 

You may also want to consider packing up any especially valuable items before the move date. 

“It could be deeds, wills, irreplaceable jewelry,” the mover says. 

If you’re able, pack these items in your own car and transport them yourself. That way, when it comes to unpacking at the other end, you’ll know exactly where they are. And you can handle these boxes of sensitive items yourself. 

That way, everyone wins.