What to ship ahead of time?
 

Hi Chaps.

So we booked our tickets for our move today, May 4th, three weeks and counting! Very nervous, in fact we've both been feeling queasy today about the move, that feeling of overwhelment at what is ahead of us.

Well I was just thinking as I was packing boxes today, what stuff would be useful to ship ahead of time so that it's waiting for us at the other end? The fees for checking additional baggage at the airport are outrageous now, something like a hundred quid a bag!

I'm struggling to think of what would be useful to have shipped ahead, maybe because its been such a long day, I'm having a mental block. So I put it to you guys, what items would be most useful straight off the plane? I can only think of tea bags and a kettle but I can't even bring the damn kettle with me!

PS: On an unrelated note, my wife likes to cook and has accumulated a vast collection of herbs and spices. Are we OK to ship these into the USA?

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

I am in same situation but will be shipping all house contents on next week which should arrive a day before me as they are personal goods and it these need the owner to be in the USA when they clear customs.

Re the spices, ditch them. I have asked the same question of my shippers and they have advised that foodstuffs are on the prohibited list, although with a slight contradiction of a rigourous inspection by the FDA!!

Good luck!

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

We included our spices because we didn't know any better. No problems. Depending on the quantity maybe you could send them over separately via UPS or something. They'll be expensive to replace here.

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

Can/bottle opener in the suitcase as it won't do you any good that first night when you grab a beer and realise you've got nothing to open it with and have to go buy one.

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

I have an incredibly resourceful wife though, she can do this trick with a cigarette lighter to open a beer bottle.... has come in handy many times! And I have also over the years mastered using a wooden spoon to open a bottle of wine without spillage ;)

But yes I agree, it would be useful not to have to resort to these tricks.

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

Screw tops on most bottled beer. I prefer a can.

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

Thanks, as far as I know its certain foods that are on the prohibited list. I'll have to check it out tomorrow as I'm too far down a bottle of Shiraz right now ;)

The odd thing is my wife has had various foods shipped from the States by UPS here, such as chorizo, chocolate, Girl Scout cookies etc. I'm guessing the UK side doesn't worry as much about these things?

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

Step one is to prepare a "day one" or "hour one" box. This box should contain everything you anticipate needing on the very first day you arrive. You should mark this box heavily with stickers or big X's on the outside, and inside you should include things like:

a can opener
a pan to cook something
some plates, cups, utensils (or just send some plastic / paper ones)
a few towels
shampoo, bathroom kit, etc.
pen and paper
change of clothes for you and your family (in case your luggage is lost by the airline)
sheets / pillows
any legal documents you might need first few days (i.e. if kids are starting school right away, or you need to open bank account).

etc.

Stuff you really will need the first moment you get off the plane. This is the box you will unpack / use first when you arrive. You may end up living out of this box for more than the first day while you go through the other boxes.

One key to remember is to mark every box heavily. Full details of what is inside so on the other end you can unpack as needed instead of sorting through dozens to find 'that pair of shoes'.

Other than that, ship any bulky items that you have a particular 'taste' for. For example, let's say you like a specific type of shampoo or washing powder (and don't want to try the American versions) these are some items to send over in bulk early. Food is on the no-no list but you wouldn't be the first to do it.

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

Maybe I was too laid back, but honestly, relax!!! We came over here with 10 suitcases - we didn't see any of our stuff for 13 weeks after it was all packed away back in the UK. We arrived here, had a hotel to book in to for 6 days before the rental was available - it was fine. What we didn't have to hand, we went and bought the cheapest alternative we could find.

Please, please believe me. It will all work out, what you're going through just now is totally normal. Enjoy your last couple of weeks back home, look forward to what's ahead of you, relax and it will all work out. The best of luck with the move, I'm sure it will all go according to plan. Oh, and as for the Chiraz, we said we were going to stop drinking when we moved - eh NOT!!! When you can get a 5ltr box of wine for $16 - I don't think so!!!

GOOD LUCK, relax!!! :thumbsup:

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

Excellent response, many thanks! I'll bear all this in mind, my wife will be packing the 'day one' box today, while I'm doing DIY to fix this place up for sale :)

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

Yeah I guess I know it will all work out... It's just that the container arrives in 5 days and we're now sitting in a room full of boxes and eating off paper plates. Kind of really hitting home now that we're really moving.

Look forward to the $16 box of wine too. I have a 1980 bottle of red that I got a year ago for my 30th birthday, planning to sup that on arrival!

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

Oh, one other thing for the day one box--some scissors or a box cutter to open all the other boxes.

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

Yeah, I know how that feels, it's kind of a reality check that it's all happening. Is it a pain in the arse not having all your own stuff for a while - yes!! Is it like Christmas when it all arrives - yes!!!! Try and imagine you being wherever you're going to be when you arrive and what you would need as necessity - bottle opener, plastic cups etc (just kidding). No, honestly, if you forget anything, I'm sure there will be plenty of stores nearby. We brought over 2 suitcases each (10) which had all the paperwork for everything, the kids medical files etc, plenty of towels, enough clothes to last until the shipment arrived, my jewellery, some of which are family heirlooms so I didn't want to take the chance and brought it in a case, laptops (absolute necessity for us as we were in a hotel for the first 6 days and had to contact the landlord etc). Apart from that, once we moved in to the rental, made a trip to Target and Walmart for the essential kettle / toaster etc (have to say that our stove makes toast in a quarter of the time that the toaster does), and then just bought stuff as we needed it.

This is a very stressful time and there's always something that will come in to your mind that you hadn't thought about or worry about. Honestly, it will all fall in to place, try and enjoy the time you've got back home with the people that matter and look forward to a whole new life over here. I wish you the very best of luck - keep us posted how the move is going :D :thumbsup:

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

I seem to remember you saying that you had cats - if so you should probably throw a few cans of their favorite cat food in there as well - you really don't want to find yourself alone with two hungry jet lagged cats on your first night in the US.

(As far as I know you should be OK with canned food as far as US customs goes).

Re: What to ship ahead of time?
 

Not on decent beers though :D