We survived our very first packout. The thought of doing this every 2-3 years makes me have a slight panic attack, but I will relish in the fact that is it DONE (for now). No, really, it wasn't that bad.
Basically, we are not allowed to pack anything. I guess it's for insurance purposes, in case something breaks or whatnot. But we do have to decide where every single piece of our belongings will go: UAB, HHE, long term storage, consumables, suitcases. The UAB is the air shipment (up to 800lbs), which arrives about 2 weeks after we get to China. The HHE is the boat shipment, which arrives anywhere between 2-6 months afterwards. Long term storage is for the items we won't be bringing with us to China, mostly furniture. (Did I mention that our house in China will be furnished?) We are entitled to 2500lbs of consumables to be shipped for free (hygiene, food, etc) for our particular post. I will have to dedicate a blog post just for that. And suitcases- the items we will be taking with us on the plane. We are entitled to 10 checked suitcases plus carry-ons.
So how does one go about putting all her items into 4 piles? The thought of tackling this task overwhelmed me at first, but we got some good advice from friends who went through this before.
1. Pack your suitcases ahead of time (or at least gather what you want to take with you on the plane) and store them in the car, a friend's house or lock them up in the bathroom. We've heard horror stories of people who accidentally had their passports packed.
2. Make 2 piles for UAB- one for the items that you really really really need soon, and one that you'd like to include if there is room. Some examples of items that went in my really really really need pile were toys, crockpot, kitchen knives, good pots and pans, toolkit, sheets, extra clothes. It ended up being mostly kitchen and baby stuff. We will have a "welcome kit" with the basics- sheets, towels, kitchen items, etc. but there is just something about using your own knives and sleeping in your own sheets. And I hear that the quality of items in the welcome kit isn't all that great. And toys, of course. I estimated 800lbs of stuff almost perfectly- we got everything from both piles in!
3. Clean up. Don't be lazy and not take out the trash. Because it has been and can be packed. Our movers weren't as snarky. I did have a pile of trash but I marked it off well and they were totally cool with it. Our movers were actually really really nice and professional.
4. Keep your piles separate if you can, just to make things smooth and easy for the movers. So we took the time and effort to put all our UAB in the dining room. Most of our HHE were brought down to the living room. Our luggage was locked up in bathrooms. Our consumables were in the basement. We put the furniture going to long term storage up against the wall.
I am so thankful that everything went smoothly. We'll see if all our stuff arrives when and where it's supposed to. I'm really hoping to not see our couch. But I really really hope I can be reunited with my kitchen stuff.
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