northernbird

Now I know what you are all thinking, yeah yeah she is stating the obvious. However when you get here and you move into your first place, usually a rental you unpack your stuff when it arrives and think its Christmas you don't really look at your stuff you are just glad you have it, its yours. If like me you then go on to buy your own place you then have to do all the packing again. I am packing at the moment and I can't believe what total and utter crap I brought to the other side of the world and have a skip on my driveway to dispose of it.

Have a long hard look at your stuff before you come and bin it if in any doubt of its usefulness (is that a word??)

invictia

I emigrated 7 years ago September, and arrived with 5 suitcases (1 each) 2 boxes and my handbag! Just wasn't worth the effort as I could see, a new life, meant exactly that!!! We bought good secondhand essentials to see us through a few years until we have got settled, all I;ve got left from my UK stuff is photos and a Reebok Sweatshirt!
I recently moved again here in Perth after spending 6 months in a rental when my marriage broke down and I couldn't believe the junk I had aquired in that six months!, I left my marriage with the kids, cats, clothes and photos and started all over again!

Luma

That is good advice - exactly what a friend of mine told me - she moved to a different country every couple of years so she was an expert.

Good luck with your packing.

pete jackson

Carboot sale!! we made £70 for a mornings selling, not bad for a little bit more money to take over wuth us. Removals would have charged alot more to take the stuff over there!! Pete

TeresaG

We have far too much junk and there is no way we will be bringing it to the other side of the world with us. We will definately be having a good sort out and getting rid of it all.

Welshie

Oh I totally agree! As I am typing this there are at least 20 boxes behind me that I haven't even opened. Been here six months and I haven't missed any of it........!!!

northernbird

thats exactly my point and its exactly the same in my house. i brought english double bed bedding, we don't even own one anymore and some of the skanky duvets and pillows I brought with me are shameful.

invictia

That is the way I look at it! If you haven't used/needed it for 6-12 months get rid of it (more room to buy new stuff!).

Must admit, all the stuff I have now is mine not ex's, came outta marriage with Toyota Camry paid off, thats bout it!
Spent last few weeks with OH before I moved in taking Ute loads up tip, typical male, horded everything!!!!!

Britishaussie

We're going to bin/sell as much stuff as possible, the process has been going on for a couple of years now anyway. Definitely WON'T be taking the bed linen! Or even the bed come to that. Pine is so passe. Hubby has a workshop (for that read garage) FULL of crap which he swears is useful and I think is just a pile of junk. All the stuff in the garage will fill a 40ft container with not a lot of room left for our other stuff.

caron n chris

Currently doing just that,

pack it and think DO WE REALLY NEED THIS C"*P and in the charity box it goes

The Crow

I agree!! Our double garage is almost full with unpacked boxes and we've been in Oz for 5 months! Admittedly we knew we wouldn't be in this rental for long, but even so just goes to show what you accumulate. I blame it on OH's movie memorabilia and comics/videos etc, etc...... God knows what else is in there.

Welshie

I pissed myself laffing when I saw you had written skanky! Haven't heard it in years! I will definitely now be using it more often!

northernbird

I'm a northerner so skanky was one of my first words

toon williams

I doing just that, doing our first car booter on Sunday and have gone through each room with black sacks one for selling one for charity one for bin!! Did the kids rooms yesterday and felt so bad when I went back in as they were SO empty!! Thought my 7 year old daughter would kick off, but she simply said oh thats brilliant mum it is so much easier to keep tidy!!
Just did our room thinking to myself oh there wont be much but 2 black sacks later!!!

Thing that scares me is that we are not moving to February next year, so by the time I do a few more boot sales we will be going with half a container rather than a full one!!

dave_woodsy

You definately need to be tough with what you do and don't take.

My daughter and I did a Car Boot before we left . We made the best part of 100 quid out of it and anything left over went to charity shops or the tip. We really enjoyed doing the Car Boot too , you come across such a cross section of people at these events. People that would haggle over the price of something that was only marked at 30p anyway. We also had a couple of people that offered more money than the marked price cos they thought it was worth more.

We also had a second hand furniture place by us that took our dining table , lounge suite , bookshelves etc and gave us a couple of hundred quid for the lot.

Theres always Ebay too..........