When I started thinking about what would be the most useful items I should bring overseas, I got stuck pretty quickly. Everyone I asked said something different. I wasn’t sure what I could purchase in country and what I should bring. At the time, I brought what I thought I should and honestly, I don’t have any regrets but looking back I have more clarity about a few super helpful items that I want to share with you.
First off, you do not NEED any of these for life overseas. They are simply items that I have personally found helpful to have and they’ve made my life a little easier.
Many of these items, were things we gathered throughout the years and didn’t purchase all at once But, we still felt like we had to invest quite a bit of money for random things before moving overseas. Keep in mind, you might not be spending a lot of money once you move. Do your research beforehand and figure out what is available in the country you are moving to. Talk to other people who live there. Ask a lot of questions. It’s a good thing and will help you in your preparation.
health
#1 Electric Toothbrush
I lived in South Asia for one summer, enjoying the simple life and drinking all the chai that was offered to me. I got back to the States, my dad (a dentist) checked my teeth, and I had 8 cavities. Oh My Word! He filled them all in one day, too! #numblips. Granted, I was taking care of my teeth BUT after that, I vowed to only use electric toothbrushes, especially when I live overseas.
Before we moved to South Asia, we bought Quip travel electric toothbrushes but any electric toothbrush will do. Just make sure that if it is 120 volt, you remember to purchase a converter when you arrive in the country (look into this first & make sure you don’t need to bring a converter with you).
We love Quip because…they aren’t super expensive, are small and travel easily, are battery operated, & come with a travel cover. Also, I have even taken it to villages and people don’t even know it’s electric cause it is sooooooooo quiet. They even sell kids toothbrushes.
Quip was on TIME Magazines 25 best inventions list of 2016.
We travel quite a bit, sometimes to other countries and sometimes just a few hours away. I never have to worry if my toothbrush is going to quit working or I won’t have the right plug.
Just make sure that you bring plenty of extra toothbrush heads with you! You should change it every 3 months so plan accordingly. We just buy a bunch from quip at one time and have people bring more if they are coming to visit.
- luggage space: very little
- price: $40 adult toothbrush. additional brush head + battery= $5
- worth the money? : absolutely. Worth it for your dental health!
cleaning
#2 norwex rags
One day when I had a lady helping me clean my house, she used my purple Norwex window rag to clean the outside of all the first floor windows. Note that the windows were covered in mud, not just a tiny bit of dust. I thought, “oh well, it can’t be good for the rag but she IS following the directions I gave with using it only for windows” (unlike a few weeks before when she was using it for dusting–oh dear). When she was finished, I rinsed it, boiled it, and can testify that it was perfectly back to normal and clean looking. Amazing!
We have the window rag for glass and the enviro cloth for dusting.
It was after that experience that I realized just how amazing these rags are. They are antimicrobial and long lasting.
- luggage space: very little
- price: $35.99 for window and enviro (dusting cloth) together
- worth the money? : absolutely. Life overseas if often dustier and dirtier than life in the States.
#3 Dyson Vacuum
When we originally came over, we did not travel with the Dyson vacuum. We have limited luggage space and this is a commitment to haul due to space. Some very gracious family members came to visit and brought us the vacuum, which we bought from Costco. It has been a total game changer in cleaning! Let me try to prove to you why its worth the investment of money and luggage space if it’s possible for you to bring.
#1) The Dyson will save you a ton of cleaning time. Consider the fact that many countries just aren’t quite as clean as the States. Dust accumulates inside a lot faster and the windows don’t seal very well allowing dust to sneak indoors. Instead of sweeping the whole house, you can vacuum the whole house in half the time.
#2) It picks up more dirt than sweeping. Let’s just say that I picked up an infinitely lesser amount of dirt with the mop after vacuuming than sweeping. Due to this, it reduces mopping time as well.
#3) Vacuuming becomes fun. I have never, in my life, enjoyed vacuuming until now. I find something to vacuum every day. It comes with attachments so you can clean small spaces. I’ve vacuumed closet floors, sawdust left in our house, cobwebs, spiders, and of course crumbs.
#4) If you ever get a nasty parasite in your house, a quality vacuum will save the day. We couldn’t get ride of the fleas in our house for 3.5 months basically because we, and others around us, didn’t have a powerful enough vacuum. Vacuuming is really the only thing that gets ride of them and we were pretty much out of luck.
- luggage space: a lot
- price: $290 at Costco. it’s an investment –eek but so worth it
- worth the money? : absolutely. Can’t say enough about it. It has truly transformed the cleanliness of our house and the time it takes to clean.
travel
#4 foldable travel chairs
We love camping and we love the beach. If you don’t foresee yourself spending time doing these things then maybe this one isn’t for you but we are so glad we brought our REI camping chairs.
When we go on a beach vacation, we don’t have to worry about there being enough chairs or renting a beach chair.
When we are on our balcony/ porch or camping nearby, these are also super convenient, lightweight, and easy to bring with us.
- luggage space: a little
- price: $65 at REI or similar chair for $35
- worth the money? : yes. We are really glad we brought them.
kitchen
oh, the kitchen! I love kitchen gadgets and anything that helps make life in the kitchen easier, especially since you’ll probably be cooking all or mostly from scratch.
#5 A good knife set
I honesty don’t know how expats do life without good knives. You cut veggies, fruit, cake, meat… whatever it is, every. single. day. This is a must! If you have flimsy knives, you are more likely to cut yourself and be frustrated that your knife is so dull you can’t even cut an apple with it.
I brought this Henckels knife set that was a wedding gift. It came with steak knives and we moved to a country that doesn’t even eat steak so I left those in storage. I packed them by laying two knives sandwiched together, blades facing each other, and taping them together with masking tape. I think I used a little cardboard too, for added protection with a few of them.
I ended up inheriting a knife holder from someone else when I moved overseas. But, I would have ordered a smaller knife holder like this magnetic one or this universal knife block and brought this with me.
- luggage space: some but lots of weight (knives are heavy)
- price: $70 on Amazon
- worth the money? : yes. You will use this every single day you cook at home!
#6-10 cake decorating tools and things
Some areas of the world have amazing western desserts and cakes. If you are moving to a place that has different desserts than what you are used to or a different quality than you are accustomed to for birthdays and celebrations, bring a few items for making cakes.
Before I moved overseas, I don’t remember ever making a cake by myself from scratch. Now, if I have a sweet tooth, I make the sweet. If there is a reason to celebrate, I make the cake.
I recommend bringing
- reusable piping pastry bags
- metal icing tips
- sprinkles that make you happy (I wasn’t really a sprinkle person until I moved overseas and it make cakes look so much more fun)
- reusable baking cups (check the country you are moving to first. Many times these are available)
- food coloring (before I had the right food coloring, my 4th of July cake turned out red, white, and purple. hahah)
- (other cake making items you like)
- luggage space: a little
- price: 1) $11 2) $5 3) $3 4) $13 5) $12 = $44
- worth the money? : yes. I use them for almost all special occasions and holidays. The reusable cups are great for homemade Reese’s pb cups & muffins too.
#11 Reusable bags for produce + grocery shopping
Some shops don’t have bags or they are they are made out of newspaper so it you buy a lot, the bag rips and your belongings tumble out.
Think blue Ikea bags (big or small) and other packable reusable bags that fold into a pocket. I take 4 medium sized reusable bags when we go shopping for groceries and veggies and they are pretty much all full by the time we are done.
- luggage space: a little
- price: IKEA $1.29 per medium bag
- worth the money? : yes. I use them every time I go grocery shopping.
#12 Reusable silicone ziplock bags
A friend sent reusable silicone sandwich & snack bags over and ever since I have been recommending them to everyone. I normally use Ziplocks but I have to reuse them and inevitably they break. One time, meat was thawing in the fridge and I realized the ziplock back I froze it in had a hole in it. gross. leakage! (I learned my lesson and put frozen ziplocked meat in a container to thaw now).
Reusable bags are way more durable, easier to clean and obviously last a lot longer.
- luggage space: a little
- price: 12 pack (6 small. 6 large) for $16
- worth the money? : yes. They are great for storing snacks, freezing meat and cooked lentils, or other food items.
other
#13 printed photo albums (Chatbooks, Parabo…)
Moving overseas is difficult and you’ll want a secure place where you can keep your favorite photos. We use Chatbooks and buy the 6 inch hard cover books. We made sure to order a book full of all our family and friends before we left so we could take it with us. Our national friends love to learn about our culture and families so it has been a great resource for sharing our life with others.
- luggage space: a little
- price: 6 X 6 in. hard cover. $15 for first 30 pages
- worth the money? : yes. It’s fun to look back through our seasons of life and people who have loved us, encouraged us, shaped us to into who we are today.