Moving overseas - organization tips

[Anonymous]

We will be moving overseas soon for DH's job. My task is to divide our household goods up into 5 categories: Storage in US, Air freight (Takes a few days to arrive at destination and is a very limited number of pounds), Ocean Freight (takes a few months to get to destination and is a generous pound allowance), what we are taking on the plane with us, donation and give to family, etc.

We also have a baby and animals. I am a very organized person, but am really starting to stress over this. It has been recommended to us that items be segregated by room - e.g., ocean freight items in one room, etc. However, our house is tiny there is no way we could do that. I bought several rolls of different colored electrical tape as a way to mark what goes where for the movers. Has anyone else been through this and have any organization tips? I will probably have about 3 weeks after I quit working to get all of this done.

[Anonymous]

If it were me, I would:

Find an expat forum online for the country you are moving to and see what they found to be a necessity from home and what is useless from home. I have a friend who moved to Germany and brought several small appliances like microwaves and toaster ovens and irons, and it was more of a pain to use them with plug adaptors and step-down converters (which can be huge), than to just buy things new over there. And depending on where you are moving, you might have trouble finding the oddest thing. Moving to the middle east or Africa for example? Take a year's supply of tampons. Very difficult to find. But expats can really help in that regard.

Go through closets and get rid of everything you can (for donation or trash) to pare it down and leave it organized and visible.
Do the same with stored items in basements if you have it, but that's a much bigger job. The key is to do the donation and trash ASAP to cut down on what you have to go through.

When that's done, buy 5 different colored mini post it notes and stick them on everything by category in your house. Then spend time looking at it to see if it continues to make sense to you. Again if it were me, I'd look at what I planned to take, and then try to cut it in half. It may not be possible, but I'd try.

Keep items that are dear to you in your carry on bag or leave with family here at home. They will often get lost or damaged otherwise.

To the extent you can, scan important documents and store them online in a secure manner. That includes copies of your passports, etc., in case they get lost.

Invest in something like a Kindle or Nook and ditch as many books as possible.

Think long and hard, and research as much as possible about taking animals overseas. There are quarantine issues, possibly for both entering your destination country as well as coming back here.

Hope that helps.

[Anonymous]

Great suggestions from the PP.

When we moved abroad, the moving company had us use different color stickers for the various categories. They asked us not to move things.

Definitely take the time to sift through / get rid of stuff!!!

[Anonymous]

Look for info from military folks...they have it down when it comes to this, and there is lots out there.

Keep hardware, nuts/bolts/pieces to put things together with you if possible or within that first shipment. It's an unhappy day when you have your stuff and are staring blankly at it because you cannot put it together. Another alternative: paint tape a ziploc bag onto each piece of furniture they will be taking apart. This way your hardware will be with your furniture. Movers/you should label this box 1st unpack.

Be super obvious when it comes to which stuff you'd like on which load. For instance, I typically load our personal stuff in the car before the movers ever come, even if that means I'll be unloading it. Other times, I have piled it in a bathroom and taped off the bathroom.

Put anything you can in ziplocs (think office supplies, silverware, etc.). This is going to save you time on the other end, and movers will appreciate it, too.

Get ridof anything you can, too.

[Anonymous]

I have moved overseas several times for work, and I find the dining room is a great place to put all the airfreight. You can use the table for breakables, and the chairs for other items. Usually the movers will dedicate one person to pack all the airfreight, so you can just tell that person what's going then leave them with it.

Sea freight can be all over the house, since there's so much of it. I usually put big X marks on one dresser and closet where I keep all the clothes and other items I plan to have in suitcases. You can do the same in a kitchen cabinet where you keep all your cleaning products that won't be shipped at all.

I've never put things in storage, so not sure how best to sort those items...

Lock up the pet in one room - my dog tried to run away last time the movers had all the doors propped open! And find someone else to watch your child the day of! Hope this helps!