When our 70 (yes, 70, and we really purged A LOT before we moved) boxes arrived, I was curious about what I would regret, both having shipped and NOT having shipped. Did I really NEED that $16 IKEA desk I found at a consignment sale? Should I have sent that bag of Christmas wrapping paper that I had stored under my bed. The answers: Yes and yes.
So much of the lead-up to the move is a blur, and certainly as it got closer, I was much less thoughtful in my decisions – throw this in the keep pile, toss that in the donate pile. When we had our garage sale, I was pretty much giving stuff away for free just so I wouldn’t have to see it again (the garage sale is a whole other blog; garage sale people are a special breed: No, you can’t have my 12-foot ladder for a dollar, are you insane?!!?)
Side note: I fully recommend pretending every five years or so that you are moving, if you haven’t actually moved. Pull everything out of every closet and drawer. Donate, recycle, trash, and fix ALL the things you keep saying you are going to before you toss it into a closet or drawer. Patch the holes, spot paint the stains – do all the little things that make your place ready to sell, but bonus! You get to keep living there in a spruced up, cleaned out abode!
Anyway, back to the boxes, I am happy to say that 99% of the things I pulled out of the boxes sparked some joy, and I have very few regrets. Do I regret not carefully surveying my garage before telling the movers to “pack everything in here”, resulting in the shipping of a sun-cracked, sandy old milk crate filled with broken test tubes and chewed-up dog toys that had been on the back porch back in the days when my boys had a sandbox back there and an extra-long outdoor extension cord with a U.S. grounded plug? Yes, yes I do. But I can honestly say that was it – out of 70 boxes, I’d say that’s pretty good! My awesome food storage containers, my kitchen things, all my holiday decorations and, indeed, the $16 desk, all made me smile as I unwrapped them from the acres of packing paper the movers used.
And speaking of movers, I highly recommend working with Adam at Laser, International. They weren’t the cheapest option, but after reading horror stories of people who went with the initially cheaper option and then had their stuff held hostage until they coughed up a bunch more money, I was very happy with the excellent customer service and transparent pricing offered by Laser.
What would be your nonnegotiables that you would want with you if you left the U.S.? Comment below to let us know!
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