Badge

"I packed my container and in it I put"

I was wondering what weird and wacky things people are taking in their container as I am having trouble visualising the amount - are people getting their entire household gear in a container. Like a 3/4 bedroom house with 3-4 beds etc?

We're getting a 1/4 or 1/2 of a container price - 1000 - 2000 quid to ship the 1 bed flat worth of basics literally one of everything from Mrs B's flat. Heck here is our inventory:

1 double bed plus linen
2 sofas - all is left of mine(!)
1 microwave
Kitchen utensils inc Mrs B's posh metal hanging things - we can hold our heads up in the street(!)
1 table
1 Coffee table - don't drink it but never mind.
2 HUGE mirrors - make the flat look a lot bigger - good tip from Mrs B. One above the bath, one on the shortest wall at the end of the living room hey presto.
1 wooden turn of the century looking dresser thing - so many drawers the mind boggles - just one in use by me.
1 Fridge - use as beer fridge (hah! Can hold our heads up in the street in AUSTRALIA!!)
1 washing machine (bit wary of all this top loader carryon)
Dyson..never used it yet! want to try it out in Straya. Supposed to be good.
Mrs B's posh pictures which would give you a hernia if you carried them.
Mrs B's tiny plastic micro hifi (girly one - I keep well away to avoid any accusation of ownership)
No TV or VCR.
Bread maker. Best thing I ever bought.

a lot of this gear is Ms B - all very posh and in wood. Might as well take it then.

I am shipping 3 crates of:
'best books' over, Books like (selection from my spreadsheet)
"O level maths" (why? I did GCSE),
"How the Stock Markets work" (why - I still don't get it)
"Dictionary of Military Quotations" (now we're talking),
"Spycatcher" out of print (so 2 copies lol),
"Delia Smiths Winter collection c1996 (not looked at yet). "
"After the trade is made" ditto - I don't understand one word. Might come in handy for aussie in the banks/it jobs if I buckle down.
Any of you keep things on the basis you might need them?
Anyhow, you get the idea.
(Books I would be devastated by loss of, in suitcases.)

my Hi-fi seperates - Amp, CD, Tuner bought back in 1992 and still going.
200 quid speakers(I was feeling flush - reminds me must get them off my brother)
1 crate of music CDs.

Hand Luggage
'Best of' music burnt to CD MP3 in hand luggage. Can play through TV or PC.
laptop,
software CDs
certs, )
educational, noclaims bonus, driving license, yadda yadda.
Might even stick DVD player in as well.
Best A4 sized pictures. Rest are going in suitcase No 3 - along with IT books I can't too without - too sentimental to wait 2 months..
Best photos eg. picture of 16 yr gf in bikini which I never got around to chuck..
All negatives in case photos are lost at sea.
Wash kit (waterproofed to stop contents leaking and/or migrating)
Cushion for plane

Suitcase 1
99 pc of my entire wardrobe is going in 1 suitcase (yes really! I minimilised my entire wardrobe 2 years ago in anticipation and haven't bought any new clothes this year - and it showed walking around Bluewater yesterday. was darting from one pillar to pillar - had to take deep breath before going in to Marks. Almost got chucked out for vagrancy..)
3 jeans, 1 fleece, Ms B's cashmere jumper I gave her to wear in bed when its cold - am I good? 2 jumpers. 5 t-shirts, 3 work shirts, 3 polo shirts, ties, cufflinks in box, 3 casual shirts. 4 singlets, 1 trainers (pair), 1 pair jodphurs, 1 scarf, 1 wax jacket, 1 Gore-tex jacket, salopettes, 1 black shoes (pair) yadda yadda

Suitcase 2
3 suits, riding boots, hat, crop, hacking jacket, blazer, Army No 2s, (they were all tailored to fit 12 years ago so I'm buggered if I am getting rid of them) wrapped around pictures and stuff all thus protected. May even stick my DVD player in wrapped to high heaven..few DVDs anyhow.

Suitcase 3
More stuff I can't do without getting musty in a container.
Skiing boots,
Warm training top, socks, rugby boots, rugby top*2, rugby league shorts * 3, (dont forget mouthgard!) pads,
student pilot manuals,
booties, flippers, (oops fins buy instructor a pint) mask and snorkel.
Fav sentimental books chosen after deliberation inc my fav books
"Living Dangerously", by Fiennes,
"Everest the Hard way" by Bonnington,
"Handbook for Jackeroos",
"Pommie bashing for Dummies" (joke)

Suitcase 4
Mrs Bs. Her to organise.

On plane

Will wear walking boots (heavy) on feet, wear leather jacket under Drizabone on plane. (Not on plane, you understand, just whilst checking in. My chance to be "obese" for once. ;-) )
Gear like camera, portable CD player, old UK mobile in pockets of Drizabone and jacket. Can drape Drizabone over few carry bags if too big.

BTW - stuff that has been shipped before has arrived musty. I worry for the books. Whats the best way of preventing this?

Badge

markeh

Blimey badgersmount,

it looks like alot, but when I started to think of all the stuff I had I realised that the list was actually small.

My wife has a massive ammount of clothes & bits & pieces

I noticed that there wasn't any tools on the list etc.
The kitchen stuff would take a few box's & the dish washer.
Are youtaking a TV at all and any video's etc.
I've a garage full of stuff that I wonna take as well.

For the mustyness of the books, it might be worth trying silica jell and sealing the books up in plastic to stop the moisture getting in.

Bye
Markeh

young_lad

Good work soldier! :lecture:

Hope Mrs B is aware that your planning has allowed 3 suitcases for you and simply 'suitcase 4' for her.

The book thing - not too sure but I seem to recall waxed brown paper has been mentioned before for books....

Badge

silica gel and plastic looks good.

The boxes of kitchenware will go in the container. Shame I can't get my bread maker on the plane. :-(

I have a "now pay attention 007" style socket set from Halfords which will go in the container. mmmmm maybe in suitcase 4. It doesn't get much use - I just like to play with it sometimes. Also a bag of spanners.

Mrs B is coming over for 4 weeks initially so only wants the one - she has offered me the rest of her allowance. She's only taking dresses, shorts, bikinis, yadda yadda.

The other book to go on the plane will be my 50th anniversary Playboy book. Work of genius. Got every centerfold since 1911, or something.

Badge

Simone

Wow, we've got heaps more
Have only been living together for 1.5 years, and am only 21, but I've accumulated so much already!
We have a 3 bedroom flat:

1 double bed with linnen (2nd time in container, it was bought in Oz by my parents originally)
2 bedside table thingys
1 dresser
2 chairs
1 single bed + linnen
Washing machine
1 big desk(2nd time)
1 filing cabinet (2nd time )
Ironing table thing
All the painting/drawing stuff of my boyfriend (2 boxes?)
1 chair
1 big 3/4 seater sofa
1 armchair
coffeetable (don't drink it either...)
1 big bookshelf thing
1 dining table, 4 chairs
1 tv cupboard thingy
tv, stereo, video, dvd, Imac, printer, scanner
200 CD's
30 videos
10 dvds
3 paintings
2 mirrors
1 desk chair
1 small kitchen table + 2 chairs
Fridge/freezer (big)
MIcrowave
A huge amount of kitchen utensils/appliances (4 boxes?)
Vacuumcleaner
Probably about 10 boxes with books ( seroiusly, we have heaps, and they're all coming!) Oh, maybe this is including our fotoalbums. Maybe then 12 in total...
About 3 boxes with nick nacks(candleholders, ornaments, photoframes)
1 big box with linnen
1 box towels
1 box of my bathroom stuff (makeup, perfume, bodylotion, hairdryer)
1 box with junk
2 boxes with winterclothes, coats
1 box with shoes

OMG, this is terrible!
Though, 3 quarters of it is second hand, given to us, or taken with us from our parents houses, so that makes it better...
We are taking it all though! It is definetly cheaper than buying there!

About the musty books: can't remember my parents books having that problem. Books are fine, I have some of them, I know!

Then:
Suitcases:
1: half my clothes/half Pascal's. + one pair of shoes
2: same

Handluggage:
Digi camera
discman
important stuff (oh, bugger, that's everything Seriously, I don't like my photoalbums on the boat But I'll take the negatives in the suitcases I think)
Copies of computer files on cd.

What have I forgotten??
lol!




Badge, I think you'll only need a quarter of a container by the way, looking at what my parents put into a whole one (20 ft?)
We, I think a half one. Haven't had quotes done yet though.

bundy

That's pretty useful, Badge. I'm dreading the whole shipping thing. I find myself sitting there in our tiny flat marvelling at the amount of crap we have accumulated over 3 years (main culprit Mr Bundy, who hoardes) and trying to work out how many boxes it would take to get it over to Oz. I usually end up muttering to myself about this materialistic culture and vowing to take nothing but some spare knickers and vital documents. Which will, of course, never happen.

karawara88

Badgers I am most dissapointed, I really thought you would arrive with just shorts and T - Shirt, surf board under arm and BOSCH life would be sorted.

Suitcases, clothes, furniture, dyson! what a let down.

We bought two holdalls, two bits of hand luggage. BOSCH. and we are about to send some of that back.

cherry6

Dont forget there is no point taking a tv as it wont work in Oz. I am not sure about VCRs. A lot of UK fridges cant cope with the heat and the motor burns out easily. Washing machines? well top loaders are rubbish, but front loaders are more popular now and a new one can be bought for about $800 upwards. We only ever take 5 cubic metres and buy the rest when we get there. Also, if you are taking any expensive electrical items like a PC remember the basic removal insurance will not cover it against electrical derangement, you will have to insure that as an extra. Passing through the equator in a container on top of a ship can cause some probs!

Simone

Hmm, just did that too, except the vowing to take nothing, I know it won't happen, and unfortunetly I don't want it to happen.
Actually the most important stuff for me are my books, photobooks and things from my youth (schoolstuff, nicknacs, books).
But the thing is, if you take nothing, you'll end up buying most of it again anyway...

karawara88

Depends on TV and most can be converted cheaply. See www.movingdownunder.co.uk/files/faq.php

claireg3

I'm probably teaching granny to suck eggs here but make sure that you spread your clothing etc throughout all your suitcases ie underwear . everyday clothing, smarter clothing etc in each then in the event of you getting to Oz but your luggage not making it you'll still have stuff to wear whilst you are giving the airline a hard time.

I'm going to have to sit down tonight and work out how much everything is worth for the shipping insurance:scared:

The house looks like some kind of cargo depot at the minute with all Dave's "sparkling clean" tools in the conservatory and most of the kids toys shoved in there out of the way. Suitcases are around the place with all the summer clothes in. I just can't wait to get going now. Dreading the shippers coming though as I'm paranoid that they will have underestimated the amount of space we need. Where's my whiskey??

Claire

ANA123

I'm having difficulty deciding what to take, initially we'd planned to travel light and just take personal items but as the time draws nearer my natural hoarders instincts kicking in.
My biggest dilemma is shoes, I have a huge amount, many of which are pairs of boots which I probably wont need in Bris. but I am so attatched to them, as I'll be needing them until we leave here it would mean taking up one whole suitcase, cant see Mr M allowing it really???

Badge

thanks Simone!! The only misc things we have all belong to Mrs B which will go in the container.

I wasn't sure. We will budget for 1/2. Worst case scenario and all that. A 3 bed flat! must be cheaper in Holland then!

Badge

Badge

consider granny to be sucking happily away. good point, I had considered this. Don't after all, want to be wearing scuba gear down the pub in lieu of trousers etc.

Badge

Simone

Yeah, and that's on one salary!
I'm a student, and don't earn anything at the moment.

But, we live in the eastern part of Holland, in a town. So in Amsterdam it would be a completely different story!

And we don't spend much, like we only go out once a month, when eating out we don't do anything expensive, holidays are cheap (camping), we have a cheap car, we don't wear expensive clothes (just mostly H&M and things on sale).

I don't think I'd cope with one bedroom tbh!!
We now have one for us, one as a guest room (for when brother in law stays the night when we do go out) and that's also the hanging up the washing room, and for ironing.
And the third is small, which has the desk and filing cabinet. Have all school stuff in there, but don't have homework anymore, so Pascal is now using it as a painting room (he is now into oil paint, and he needs terpentine when using it, so if he does it in the living it'll stink! So he shuts himself in there often now!