How to Pack up your Whole Life into Six Suitcases

It has now been almost 6 months since my husband and I packed up our lives into six fifty-pound suitcases. It was quite a process of sorting, throwing, giving, donating, and deciding what we wanted to take with us to South Asia. There were days I felt like I was just on autopilot and wasn’t able to fully process what I was actually doing and preparing for. There were days of sadness, mourning friends and family I wouldn’t be able to see as often as I had or, as trivial as it may seem, moments of sadness regarding items I had truly grown to cherish that I simply couldn’t take with me.

The purpose of this isn’t to talk about our accomplishments or what we had to give up to move.  Our families, who didn’t move with us, still had to give up a LOT to send us 8,000 miles away. The purpose in telling this part of our story is to be a support and shed light on the process for others who will join in the overseas journey. There were so many moments I wished I had resources and blog posts that I could glean from. How do you pack up your life? Where do you start? How do you decide what to take? I found a few helpful tips and hints but not as many as I’d hoped for.

Step #1  Downsize as much as possible

This is first step is vital. The more you get rid of on the front end, the more ease you’ll have when you really have to decide what to pack in each piece of luggage. I sorted, donated, and had a garage sale before I invited two amazing but brutally honest friends over to our apartment. I needed their help for additional decisions about what to pack or store at my parent’s house. They asked me questions like, “Do you really want to take this or store this? Do you need two mugs that are similar? Is this a necessary item?” We had boxes and sharpies and things flying everywhere. Categories included the following: Definitely Overseas, Maybe Overseas, Donate/ Give, Storage, and Trash. 

Step#2 Decide what you think you will need, use, or want to take with you by laying everything out on the floor in categories   

This is definitely the arbitrary part. I asked probably 10 different people who live overseas what is helpful to take with you and they all gave different answers. I wish there was a cut and dry process but its mostly based on preference.

Think about what you like. What makes you happy? What do you love to do? Is it cooking? Bring your favorite cooking utensils and spices. Is it being outside? Bring hammocks, outdoor gear, and different outdoor shoes. Is it decorating and making your space cozy? Bring lightweight decorations that you love. I have realized that when you live in a country that doesn’t celebrate any of the same holidays you are used to, American holidays can become more important to you than they ever had been in the past. Lightweight holiday dish towels or decorations are now something I love.

Lay Out your Clothing/ Accessories in Categories 

Maybe you already know this about me by now but I love to be organized. I love systems and efficiency. So, here is the system I came up with for clothing. I mean… seriously, how do you pack clothes not just for a trip but YEARS of LIFE? Think about where you will live and where you might travel.

• Brainstorm every possible category of clothing that you might need and write each one on a sticky note.

Here were some of mine: South Asian clothing (leggings/ long dresses/ scarves), vacation clothing, winter clothing, workout clothing, sweaters, coats, shoes, jewelry

• Put each sticky-note around the room, leaving a space for a pile of clothing to be placed underneath it (on the ground, on a chair… wherever).
• Go through all your clothes, creating neat piles around the room underneath your categories. This allows you to see everything and to get an idea of how much of you have in each category. This definitely helped make the process less stressful and overwhelming for me.

REMINDER:

Take a Break. Eat a cheeseburger *beef* or go to your favorite ice-cream spot. I doubt you’ll regret enjoying some delicacies that you won’t have access to once you move 😉

Step #3 Label anything you are having someone store for you that you are not taking overseas 

There were some items that I thought I might want to bring or have someone else bring over later (or I just didn’t have the capacity to sort through at that moment). These items were stored in clear plastic bins with labels. I wrote a number on each box in sharpie and typed the items that were in the box into a word document. That way, I know exactly what box various items are in and can ask my family to send____(whatever item I NOW know would be helpful)_____ in box #3 with any individual who I know is coming to our part of the world.

Step #4 Decide what luggage you want to pack in 

Now for what you will actually pack in. We looked at several plastic trunks at various stores. Some were just too heavy– if the luggage is over 10 pounds, you’re already down to less than 40 pounds instead of the allotted 50. We chose Sterilite Footlocker trunks because they aren’t very heavy but are heavy enough to hold pretty bulky things (like a bread machine). They are durable, great for storage, and can be found at Walmart, Target, or Amazon.

TIP:  Drill holes in the sides of any plastic trunks you have so you can zip tie them shut for additional structual support.  Tape additional zip ties inside the lid so customs can replace them if they need to be cut open. We did this and know many others who have  as well. There have never been any problems with this zip tie method.

We also decided to take a few normal suitcases for travel since trunks  are great for transporting heavy items initially but aren’t as conducive for frequent travel.

 

RECOMMENDATION: The other handy tool that I highly recommend is purchasing a
luggage scale to weigh your luggage and to take with you overseas. This saves you
from having to step on a physical scale, balance with an awkward piece of luggage, and subtract your body weight from the total to figure out how much each piece weighs. (I can testify to this method–not efficient).

 

Step #5 Pack  STRATEGICALLY  

–pack small items in bottles, shoes, and containers

–there should not be unnecessary packaging or empty spaces

–tie string around bulky items to make them more compact (I have used rubber bands but one bled/melted and stained my shirt during the transit because the weather was so hot.)

–distribute the weight

–wrap heavy or fragile things in clothing or other fabric

–try not to take liquids but if you need to, double zip lock bag them

–weigh, weigh, and weigh everything again as you pack and when you are done

–label each piece of luggage or trunk so you know what is in it. Write down what you pack in each piece of luggage (as best as possible). We lost 2 bags for a few days and pretty much knew exactly what it was that we were missing. Because of this we could guess how much the value was if the airlines needed to cover the cost of any loss.

Other Helpful Resources

Our Goodwin Journey– Moving Overseas 

Moving Overseas – An Ultimate Guide for Moving Overseas

35 Items We Wish We Brought With Us