Packing & Purging

One of the challenges of choosing to become an expat is deciding what to keep, what to give away or sell, what to ship, and how to ship it. It’s hard. On one hand we didn’t want to ship a lot because it is outrageously expensive. On the other hand it is painful to give away or throw away things you’ll need to spend a lot of money to replace when you are living on a tight budget. Aaargh! In the process of selling our condo of 12 years and moving to a temporary apartment, we purged a lot of stuff – or, we thought we did. Now, phase two of the purge begins in earnest as we start the sort and pack process.

The reality of the move hit home for me when I sold my car last week. It’s strange to think that I may never own another car in my life. But, we look forward to living where we can depend on trains, metros, and buses. We will probably just rent a car when we want to travel farther.

After considering all the options for getting some personal belongings to Portugal, we opted to go with the company UPAKWESHIP and two of their U-Crates. They are each a 45″ square wood pallet with a heavy cardboard outer box that stands 6′ tall on top of the pallet. We can pack any combination of boxes and stuff inside that fits up to 1000 pounds each. Of course there are many things you aren’t allowed to ship like guns, alcohol, and such. When ready, just before we leave, a truck comes to pick them up using a pallet jack and a lift gate. They go to the port of Charleston then across the Atlantic on a container ship to the port of Rotterdam. After clearing customs, they are stored until we are ready for delivery. Then they will deliver them to the street outside our address for us to unpack and move in. Shipping will take 4-7 weeks, but we won’t be able to take delivery for the next 4-6 months. We will have them delivered after we buy an apartment. So, we are only shipping things we won’t need until we have our own place. We also plan to take a total of 6 checked bags & 2 carry-ons bags on our flight. We’ll take computers, cameras, all clothes, and anything we can’t live without for 6 months. The extra baggage fees are worth it.

The cost of shipping these 2 pallets is only slightly less than the value of the contents. So, we aren’t doing it because it makes financial sense. We are just shipping things that are either sentimental, decorative, or a pain to replace.  We could have gotten by with just one pallet if it weren’t for the rowing machine that Wayne is addicted to. 

We will pack all the boxes and design what goes onto each pallet and loosely assemble them in the confined space of our small apartment. Then, early on pick-up day, we will need to disassemble everything, haul it out to the parking lot, reassemble it all, and seal it all up. It would be so much easier if we were in a house with a garage. But, at least we are in a ground level apartment right by an exit. Praying for good weather at the end of December.

I have already designed & redesigned the boxes and layouts on graph paper two or three times. Wayne also “re-engineered” the outer boxes using brute force to maximize the available interior space which comes in at just 42.5″ square, at best. In the process, I also learned that when you order boxes that are sold as 24″ x 18″, they are actually more like 24.5″ x 18.5″. Every fraction of an inch matters. You don’t want to waste space and you want everything to fit snugly and not bounce around while crossing the ocean. It’s like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle. Thank goodness we started weeks early. We are scheduling pick-up for December 28.

As we pack, we need to carefully itemize everything in each box on a spreadsheet for customs.  Since customs officials at the port aren’t likely to be English-speakers, we need to be careful how each item is described to avoid problems. For instance, you say “kitchen cutlery” not “knives.” We’ll be sending the packing list (in triplicate) to the Portugal consulate in DC to request a certificado de bagagem (baggage certificate.) For electronic items, you must specify, brand, model, and serial numbers. We are allowed one or two shipments of personal property within the first 12 months of residency. Everything must be at least 6 months old when we move and we may need to prove that; especially for electronics. This is the only way to avoid paying a hefty duty on everything or having it all held for ransom in customs at the port. Our goal will be to send the final list to the consulate at least a week before pick-up. So, the last week or two we will be living out of suitcases and eating off paper plates.