Whatcha gonna do with all that junk?
One of the best silver linings of a big international move is the forced downsizing. You need to leave behind all the stuff you’ve accumulated over the years, no matter how sentimental you might feel about stained baby clothes or that chair nobody sits in.
You get a clean slate, hallelujah!
So. Much. Stuff.
It happens to the best of us. The materialism, I mean. We need more clothes, more furniture, new appliances, another car, those toys and then some more toys (especially in the U.S. with our big houses and a million spots to stash belongings). In our suburban neighborhood, we have neighbors who can’t park in their garages because the garages are so crammed with boxes of stuff.
I don’t think our family is particularly obsessed with buying new things, but I still have a closet full of clothes I don’t wear and a garage full of scooters and bikes and other wheeled forms of children’s transportation (plus a broken vacuum cleaner and an old crib mattress I’ve been meaning to take to the animal shelter for over a year). Don’t get me started on the basement.
How to start the downsizing process
It’s pretty overwhelming to look around the life you’ve built for yourself and your family and try to figure out how to dismantle it. Some things are easy to leave behind, others are more of a negotiation.
Here’s how I’m starting to divide up stuff:
Kids’ things: Anything they’ve outgrown or haven’t looked at in a year or more is obviously not coming with us. Physically large items won’t make the cut either (goodbye, climbing frame). I think we’ll bring lots of toys and books though. Our oldest will be 6 at the time of the move, so she can have a big say in what we bring.
Electronics: Anything that plugs into a wall is not coming to the UK. We learned our lesson on our last move when we brought a bunch of UK electronics to the US. Some things didn’t work at all (like the vacuum cleaner that instantly shot a fuse the second you turned it on) and the rest didn’t work well (like the food processor that could only be used on the low setting or the lamp that hummed).
Furniture: I think a lot of our furniture will stay behind. Without knowing where we’ll stay in the UK, it’s hard to say what would be useful and what wouldn’t fit through the door. And I hate the idea of going through the blood, sweat and tears of shipping a bunch of furniture to the UK only to find that we don’t need it. Beds won’t make the cut since the mattress sizes are different in the UK. And goodbye to all the big stuff since cargo shipments are by size and it just won’t be worth the cost to bring the couch or the dining room table.
Clothes and toiletries: I’m going to have a stern word with myself and finally get rid of all the old clothes and shoes and scarves and stuff I never wear anymore. Same with old sheets and ratty towels and tubes of hair gel. Begone with you! We’ll definitely bring some big bottles of ibuprofen and Tylenol though - that’s one thing that’s cheaper and better in the States.
Kitchen stuff: This gets its own category cause it encompasses so many things - dishes, pots and pans, utensils, towels, cupboard goods, spices, tinfoil, you name it! I think we’ll bring a lot of this stuff since it’s all relatively small and will fit in a few boxes, and the cost of kitchen stuff adds up, so not having to stock a whole kitchen from scratch should help with budgeting.
What to do with your stuff
Once you start figuring out what’s staying and what’s going with you, then it’s on to the next step. Here are your basic options for what to do with all your stuff:
Stuff to sell: This is an important category because it’s your moneymaker to help fund the purchasing of new stuff after you move. You can have a garage sale for the offloading of random crap and then post more expensive items on Marketplace (it’s got to be worth your time to take photos and manage posts - for me that’s a $20 minimum per item). You could also use an estate service to handle a big household sale, where people wander through your home picking out plates and batteries and other miscellaneous junk. An estate service would take a cut of the proceeds, but it’s an interesting option to streamline the process.
Stuff to donate or trash: After you’ve sold everything you can, then it’s off to Goodwill to donate the rest. And recycle or throw away the really useless stuff.
Stuff to give to family and friends: I like this category, because it’s kind of a win-win. You get to feel generous and that your belongings are going to a good home, and your recipients get something they (hopefully) need or want. For example, I’ll check with my extended family first to see if they want some of our more sentimental furniture.
Stuff to store for later: If you really feel unsure or aren’t ready to part with something, you can always rent a storage unit. This isn’t ideal though - it’s expensive and it’s something you’ll have to manage later when you’re not in the country. But if you really can’t deal, it’s always an option.
Stuff to bring in a suitcase: These are the most important things you want to bring with you on your move. Passports, toiletries, kids’ most beloved stuffed animals, etc. We’re going to bring as many suitcases per person as possible as this is the best way to have some home comforts with us the whole time. And it will make the landing softer and easier - no need to immediately run out and buy a new blankie or some bedtime stories.
Stuff to bring on a cargo ship: All of your precious belongings that don’t fit in a suitcase can bring up the rear via shipping container. Everything that made the cut - the furniture, second-class toys, extra clothes, kitchen items - will all be lovingly packed into boxes and sent over the Atlantic to find you a couple of months after your arrival. And, truth be told, it is pretty exciting to be reunited with your old treasures. Maybe the slate isn’t totally wiped clean, but hurray your tinfoil made it across the ocean to find you!
