Ok this is my mini guide or blog post rather on a few tips when it comes to moving from one country to another.
As you might know if you read more about me I recently moved from the states to the UK. This blog post is kind of a continuation on my moving countries series and cultural differences that come with moving. So here we go. Here are my top tips when it comes to moving countries:
Tip #1 – Rolling Clothes
Ok so this is more about traveling on the plane and a long journey. You can only take so much with you if you don’t want to get charged crazy excess baggage fees. So roll your clothes. If you have a two day journey ahead of you then you will need like 10 sets of clothes if you are like me.
Rolling clothes takes up a lot less space in your carry on bags and everything stays more organized compared to just throwing everything in your backpack.
Tip #2 – Use Packing Crates
Sending boxes internationally is not fun. I’ve done it before and boxes get so beaten up. I’ve also run an import/export business in the past so I know first hand how boxes get thrown around. Things break easily. When you are moving it’s best to get packing crates. They can be expensive but you will keep them for the rest of your life.
If you can’t do this they make sure you buy really heavy duty reinforced boxes. If you moving from the states like I was you can get them from Lowes. The cost a few dollars a box but they are worth it.
Tip #3 – Sell!
Sell, sell and sell some more! Trust me on this. I sold a big of my stuff but not near enough.
When you are moving countries things get expensive. And when I looked at everything I was going to send to the UK in my move most of it was old and had no meaning. I added up the cost of getting a moving quote from a company that would do a door to door service for me and if I had to buy everything again.
In the end I basically sold off half my stuff. I’m not the type of person who has years of things lying around. So for my husband and I think was a good play. It might not be for you but at least sell some stuff off. You can move stuff quite fast on Craigslist and eBay.
Tip #4 – Don’t Mix, Match!
When it comes down to it you will be going half way around the world and once you are here you have to unpack and start a new life.
You can do yourself a favour when you’re moving if you mix everything up. But rather match it up. And label it! Put all your shoes in a few boxes. Put all your clothes in the same boxes. Put all your electronics in the same boxes. And then label them. And a neat trick is to label the boxes with some system. for example 1A, 1B, 1C and so on. And keep some notes on your phone so you know what each label means.
As you don’t want a box going missing that just so happened to say ‘designer shoes’ on the outside!
Tip #5 – Research Moving Companies
When it comes down to it do some research. It’s so easy get online these days and do some research about the moving company that you are planning to hire. Google has reviews. Facebook has reviews. There are lots of reviews sites just for moving companies also. I actually decided to use a moving company that was not in the town I was moving to.
My situation was kind of different though with my husband. I used a normal courier service to get all our stuff to the UK. We stayed with friends in Swindon for about 10 days before we moved to Bristol. They had a spare garage they didn’t use and a spare bedroom plus we had not caught up for years! So it was perfect!
I did my research and found a local company (https://www.wemoveandclean.co.uk/) that does moving from Swindon to Bristol and based my choice on the fact that they had about 200 reviews and basically everything was 5 stars!
So there you have it. These are my five quick tips on moving homes.