# Taking the plunge to move - selling my stuff



## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

I'm taking the first big plunge in moving to Spain. I've given my boarder notice to vacate my apartment on June 1, and I'm moving out on July 1. Before July 1, I'll be selling all my stuff. It's really scary and sad to let go. I've never been without stuff.  Does anyone have any tips on this stage of the move, please?


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

*Know how you feel*




AllHeart said:


> I'm taking the first big plunge in moving to Spain. I've given my boarder notice to vacate my apartment on June 1, and I'm moving out on July 1. Before July 1, I'll be selling all my stuff. It's really scary and sad to let go. I've never been without stuff.  Does anyone have any tips on this stage of the move, please?


We are hoping to move next month, we are having to sell everything, only personal effects are coming with us,what with the bushies and blockies out for a drive ,popping in for a mooch,and then the professionals trying to rip you off, then the real nasty ones saying they will come round on the handover day and pick the stuff off the street for nuffin, but we just go with the flow, telephone orders only accepted through paypal, we have people just having breakfast with us they have driven 500kms through the bush to pick up their order,genuine folk like thatyou don't mind being hospitable,so have fun:thumb:


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Nignoy said:


> We are hoping to move next month, we are having to sell everything, only personal effects are coming with us,what with the bushies and blockies out for a drive ,popping in for a mooch,and then the professionals trying to rip you off, then the real nasty ones saying they will come round on the handover day and pick the stuff off the street for nuffin, but we just go with the flow, telephone orders only accepted through paypal, we have people just having breakfast with us they have driven 500kms through the bush to pick up their order,genuine folk like thatyou don't mind being hospitable,so have fun:thumb:


Nignoy!  I got you to "....only the personal effects are coming with us." What the what is the rest?! LOL!


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

AllHeart said:


> Nignoy!  I got you to "....only the personal effects are coming with us." What the what is the rest?! LOL!


all the furniture ,white goods, car, crockery, bedding ,tools, plants ,garden implements , at least 10 fishing rods,golfclubs and much more, we are moving a cross the world not across the channel


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

This is probably why we'll never be rich, but when we were moving we found trying to sell stuff was more trouble than it was worth in monetary terms, tbh.

I sent some antique pieces to auction, we did a car boot sale which turned out to be the hardest work for the smallest reward I'd ever done in my life as it involved getting up at 5 am on a Sunday morning, and we made countless trips to the local waste disposal site. Otherwise, we sold the house complete with all the furniture, pots, pans, etc. and one of my OH's sisters bought the car (and drove us to the airport to catch our flight out here, which was convenient!).

We brought what we were thinking of as "personal effects" - my 2 large dolls' houses and all their contents, hi fi equipment, books, records, tools, a couple of small pieces of furniture, ornaments and clothes - and it still filled 63 boxes.

Good luck, this is the time when you wonder how and why you've accumulated so much stuff (some of which you may have forgotten you ever had).


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Nignoy said:


> all the furniture ,white goods, car, crockery, bedding ,tools, plants ,garden implements , at least 10 fishing rods,golfclubs and much more, we are moving a cross the world not across the channel


I think she's just trying to say she doesn't speak Australian.  Thank God you said nothing about plastic thongs.


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

AllHeart, just think of it this way. Spanish houses are WAY smaller, so you're doing the right thing. I have lived here for six years and my first house was as big as my bedroom in the States. It might stink to sell your stuff, but it's more expensive to bring it over AND you can find just about anything you want here if you look hard enough.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Nignoy said:


> all the furniture ,white goods, car, crockery, bedding ,tools, plants ,garden implements , at least 10 fishing rods,golfclubs and much more, we are moving a cross the world not across the channel


John I will be in Spain for 19th days from June 25th xx


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

AllHeart said:


> I'm taking the first big plunge in moving to Spain. I've given my boarder notice to vacate my apartment on June 1, and I'm moving out on July 1. Before July 1, I'll be selling all my stuff. It's really scary and sad to let go. I've never been without stuff.  Does anyone have any tips on this stage of the move, please?


Yes it is a little scary. We only moved from UK to Spain and from a 1BR flat to a house on 5 levels so you'd think "no probs" right? Wrong! First off to sell the flat we had to "de-clutter" and thus began the "Do we need this?" and the "do we really have to take that?". While we were getting rid of these old books that I have had for maybe thirty or more years, can we also get rid of those. Those nice display cabinets for all the ornaments make the lounge look too crowded..., this dining table takes up a lot of space..., so do those easy chairs..., and so on.

Now we are here, we need shelves for the books and bookcases and display cabinets, etc. etc.

We had a 2BR villa in Florida that we had bought for the out-laws to live in that only had furniture from second-hand/charity places so that was no problems but there were stacks of paintings and personal effects plus loads of china, etc. that had to be cleared out. Some went to charity shops, a few bits to a tip, the rest was packed up and shipped here.

Fortunately we have plenty of wall space that isn't limitless and there are still about 20 pictures up in the attic awaiting hanging space. We have been here 5½ years and we are still getting sorted. Following having the house re-roofed last year, we have now had the attic cleaned up and insulated and so that it is usable living space and we can fully utilise its storage potential. 

The guy who bought our flat, was quite happy to take whatever we didn't want which was a little annoying but we have had the delight of being able to update ourselves now that we are here and now embrace a few new appliances for which there was never room in the flat (breadmaker, slow-cooker, halogen oven, etc.)

Look upon it as the start of a new adventure, which is what we did, even down to renting a LWB van and moving ourselves - took two trips from UK to where we are in Spain, hard work but the beginning of a new life!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Stuff is a millstone round your neck. You have to find room for it and look after it and worry about it getting damaged or stolen, and that can distract you from real life.

A bit of advice re mementos of lost loved ones. Keep just ONE thing that reminds you of them, ideally something you use every day. Suitcases full of old photos and letters is just more stuff. Scan them if you like, but don't cart them round with you for the rest of your life.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Nignoy said:


> all the furniture ,white goods, car, crockery, bedding ,tools, plants ,garden implements , at least 10 fishing rods,golfclubs and much more, we are moving a cross the world not across the channel


Thanks for your clarification, Nignoy.  Yes, taking those things across the channel is quite different than across the world. So we're in the same boat of having to let go of our stuff. Is it tearing you up? If not, why not?



Lynn R said:


> This is probably why we'll never be rich, but when we were moving we found trying to sell stuff was more trouble than it was worth in monetary terms, tbh.
> 
> I sent some antique pieces to auction, we did a car boot sale which turned out to be the hardest work for the smallest reward I'd ever done in my life as it involved getting up at 5 am on a Sunday morning, and we made countless trips to the local waste disposal site. Otherwise, we sold the house complete with all the furniture, pots, pans, etc. and one of my OH's sisters bought the car (and drove us to the airport to catch our flight out here, which was convenient!).
> 
> ...


Hi Lynn. Thanks for your graphic story. You pared down to 63 boxes?! Wow. You had a LOT more stuff than I have. I just have my 2-bedroom apartment contents at this point. I've already sold my car. How did you manage to let go of all of that? Were you so miffed at the problem of selling the stuff that you came to resent the stuff?



elenetxu said:


> AllHeart, just think of it this way. Spanish houses are WAY smaller, so you're doing the right thing. I have lived here for six years and my first house was as big as my bedroom in the States. It might stink to sell your stuff, but it's more expensive to bring it over AND you can find just about anything you want here if you look hard enough.


Hi Elenetxu. Yes, I was pleased to learn how small apartments are there, so I'll fill my place up quickly. You're right that it's ridiculously expensive to bring my stuff over, which is one of the reasons I'm selling. The other reason is I don't know where I'll be staying in the long run, so I can't be lugging my stuff around. So your advice is to focus on the idea that everything is replaceable in Spain?



MaidenScotland said:


> John I will be in Spain for 19th days from June 25th xx


Maiden, are you moving to Spain or just visiting?


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

baldilocks said:


> Yes it is a little scary. We only moved from UK to Spain and from a 1BR flat to a house on 5 levels so you'd think "no probs" right? Wrong! First off to sell the flat we had to "de-clutter" and thus began the "Do we need this?" and the "do we really have to take that?". While we were getting rid of these old books that I have had for maybe thirty or more years, can we also get rid of those. Those nice display cabinets for all the ornaments make the lounge look too crowded..., this dining table takes up a lot of space..., so do those easy chairs..., and so on.
> 
> Now we are here, we need shelves for the books and bookcases and display cabinets, etc. etc.
> 
> ...


Hi Baldilocks. Thanks for your story. I love what you say in your last paragraph.... The start of a new adventure and the beginning of a new life. This is the focus of my move to Spain, and you're right that letting go of my stuff here in Canada is the perfect way to start that adventure. Thank you.



Alcalaina said:


> Stuff is a millstone round your neck. You have to find room for it and look after it and worry about it getting damaged or stolen, and that can distract you from real life.
> 
> A bit of advice re mementos of lost loved ones. Keep just ONE thing that reminds you of them, ideally something you use every day. Suitcases full of old photos and letters is just more stuff. Scan them if you like, but don't cart them round with you for the rest of your life.


Hi Alcalaina. Yes, a millstone around my neck indeed. You're so right about how much energy every item takes to protect and maintain. Like Lynn said, I'm surprised how much stuff I have accumulated. I've always said I'm a minimalist. However, upon taking inventory, I've come to realize that I've been in denial my whole life.  I like your practical advice of scanning photos and letters. My goal is to get all my belongings down to two suitcases plus a carry-on. Looking around me, this is a mighty lofty goal! :confused2:


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

AllHeart said:


> Hi Baldilocks. Thanks for your story. I love what you say in your last paragraph.... The start of a new adventure and the beginning of a new life. This is the focus of my move to Spain, and you're right that letting go of my stuff here in Canada is the perfect way to start that adventure. Thank you.
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Alcalaina. Yes, a millstone around my neck indeed. You're so right about how much energy every item takes to protect and maintain. Like Lynn said, I'm surprised how much stuff I have accumulated. I've always said I'm a minimalist. However, upon taking inventory, I've come to realize that I've been in denial my whole life.  I like your practical advice of scanning photos and letters. My goal is to get all my belongings down to two suitcases plus a carry-on. Looking around me, this is a mighty lofty goal! :confused2:


There are some things that I will not part with such as early photographs. I don't agree with scanning them in and getting rid of hard copies - very unwise having had a couple of hard drives go belly up. Keep the hard copies in a hermetically sealed container and just use scans for when you want to look at them.. There were a number of books that I could NOT get rid of but they were about 150 years old and virtually irreplaceable although I did give up my bound volumes of Punch volumes 1-10 (from 1841) plus the book from which I first learned to read (the King's English Dictionary from 1910)


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> Stuff is a millstone round your neck. You have to find room for it and look after it and worry about it getting damaged or stolen, and that can distract you from real life.
> 
> A bit of advice re mementos of lost loved ones. Keep just ONE thing that reminds you of them, ideally something you use every day. Suitcases full of old photos and letters is just more stuff. Scan them if you like, but don't cart them round with you for the rest of your life.


believe you me, I am a bit old fashioned I have 1000,s of black and white photo,s of my time in the military, many of which have been used to helpset up Sqn or troop websites, or have been used as photoghraphic evidence in procuring a pension entitlement for a veteran permanently injured on a deniable operation,and most of all when we visit old friends among the the hill tribes on the eastern thai,Laos and Khmer borders,we are able to show them grandparents and other long lost relatives, my real photo collections are a photo history of my life with exotic animals, our nursery photo,s of tiger,cheetahs and ocelots, of our life among wild tigers in Thailand, the zoo,s I have helped design and stock, I could go on and on, all this is a millstone I will gladly carry in the hope that my greatgrandchildren will help to pass it on to zookeepers and wildlife carers of the future


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

AllHeart said:


> Hi Lynn. Thanks for your graphic story. You pared down to 63 boxes?! Wow. You had a LOT more stuff than I have. I just have my 2-bedroom apartment contents at this point. I've already sold my car. How did you manage to let go of all of that? Were you so miffed at the problem of selling the stuff that you came to resent the stuff?


I didn't really resent the stuff, more the cheapskate attitude of people wanting to offer ridiculously small amounts for good quality things (at least I thought so) and I had neither the time nor the inclination to haggle with them. We were both working full time right up until we left so didn't have time to be putting stuff on ebay or advertising it privately, then dealing with lots of individual sales.

We didn't find it hard to let go of things (drawers and drawers full of photographs mainly from our travels, for example, because we realised that after they'd been put into the drawers we'd never once taken them out and looked at them). We just took a very few of the best ones and dumped the rest. There was lots of stuff (left over wallpaper, old sheets kept as dust sheets, and so on) we'd just bunged into the loft space, and all that just had to be cleared out. I was quite happy to take lots of suits that I wore for work to the charity shop, because it meant I was leaving that part of my life behind!

Selling the house fully furnished and equipped was a useful selling aid in what wasn't a particularly brilliant market at the time, and we didn't need it over here as we'd already had our Spanish house for almost 4 years and furnished it already. When we sold we had just 5 weeks between accepting the offer and the completion date so it was just as well we'd spent 3 or 4 months paring everything beforehand.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

When we left the UK for Prague, we got rid of the obvious junk but packed up almost everything - or rather the removal company did: furniture, glassware, china,linen, clothes, books. We had 'good' furniture, OK not Chippendale but stuff we'd had for years. As we were intending to rent we thought it would help us settle, having familiar things around us. 
We moved three times before finally settling in our house here. Each time we discarded more things we didn't really want or need. We have spent a fair bit having our stuff carted around Europe but for us it was worth it.
It's all down to personal taste.
William Morris wrote that one should have nothing in one's house that was neither beautiful or useful. Not sure if we've reached that state yet..I'm firmly esconced in it.. But moving has helped us towards getting to that happy state.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

baldilocks said:


> There are some things that I will not part with such as early photographs. I don't agree with scanning them in and getting rid of hard copies - very unwise having had a couple of hard drives go belly up. Keep the hard copies in a hermetically sealed container and just use scans for when you want to look at them.. There were a number of books that I could NOT get rid of but they were about 150 years old and virtually irreplaceable although I did give up my bound volumes of Punch volumes 1-10 (from 1841) plus the book from which I first learned to read (the King's English Dictionary from 1910)


Good point about corruption of electronic data. And, ah, the books. There are some books that make my heart bleed to let go of - like you, the children's books that I learned to read from. I'm thinking what I might do is set aside a box of some of these things and leave the box with one of my friends, then have it shipped over once I've settled in. Then there are some documents I have to keep, like tax documents for 7 years have to be kept. Maybe I'll leave them with a friend, but not ship them over. I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm thinking....



Nignoy said:


> believe you me, I am a bit old fashioned I have 1000,s of black and white photo,s of my time in the military, many of which have been used to helpset up Sqn or troop websites, or have been used as photoghraphic evidence in procuring a pension entitlement for a veteran permanently injured on a deniable operation,and most of all when we visit old friends among the the hill tribes on the eastern thai,Laos and Khmer borders,we are able to show them grandparents and other long lost relatives, my real photo collections are a photo history of my life with exotic animals, our nursery photo,s of tiger,cheetahs and ocelots, of our life among wild tigers in Thailand, the zoo,s I have helped design and stock, I could go on and on, all this is a millstone I will gladly carry in the hope that my greatgrandchildren will help to pass it on to zookeepers and wildlife carers of the future


Wow. I hope we can get together in Spain, because I would love to see your pictures. 



Lynn R said:


> I didn't really resent the stuff, more the cheapskate attitude of people wanting to offer ridiculously small amounts for good quality things (at least I thought so) and I had neither the time nor the inclination to haggle with them. We were both working full time right up until we left so didn't have time to be putting stuff on ebay or advertising it privately, then dealing with lots of individual sales.
> 
> We didn't find it hard to let go of things (drawers and drawers full of photographs mainly from our travels, for example, because we realised that after they'd been put into the drawers we'd never once taken them out and looked at them). We just took a very few of the best ones and dumped the rest. There was lots of stuff (left over wallpaper, old sheets kept as dust sheets, and so on) we'd just bunged into the loft space, and all that just had to be cleared out. I was quite happy to take lots of suits that I wore for work to the charity shop, because it meant I was leaving that part of my life behind!
> 
> Selling the house fully furnished and equipped was a useful selling aid in what wasn't a particularly brilliant market at the time, and we didn't need it over here as we'd already had our Spanish house for almost 4 years and furnished it already. When we sold we had just 5 weeks between accepting the offer and the completion date so it was just as well we'd spent 3 or 4 months paring everything beforehand.


Yes, I'm familiar with selling and it's offensive how people want to wrestle you to the ground when it comes to price. I'm a tough business lady, though, so I can stand up to them. I'm thinking on doing a series of what is called 'contents sales.' I'll have items with prices listed for every room. By starting now, that will give me time to have a few of them before vacating on July 1. It sounds like a nightmare to me what you had to go through to move. It's comforting to hear someone else had it worse than me. 



mrypg9 said:


> When we left the UK for Prague, we got rid of the obvious junk but packed up almost everything - or rather the removal company did: furniture, glassware, china,linen, clothes, books. We had 'good' furniture, OK not Chippendale but stuff we'd had for years. As we were intending to rent we thought it would help us settle, having familiar things around us.
> We moved three times before finally settling in our house here. Each time we discarded more things we didn't really want or need. We have spent a fair bit having our stuff carted around Europe but for us it was worth it.
> It's all down to personal taste.
> William Morris wrote that one should have nothing in one's house that was neither beautiful or useful. Not sure if we've reached that state yet..I'm firmly esconced in it.. But moving has helped us towards getting to that happy state.


Hi Mary. So, perhaps if you & OH had started out your journey without all the stuff, you would have been happier sooner? 

Neither beautiful or useful? As in no practical or emotional ties to your stuff. I like that. That's exactly what I'm letting go of. That helps me frame what I'm letting go of. Thank you.

Chippendale? Do you know what images that conjures up where I come from?


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

When we moved over it was the end of a long story. We sold up 4 years before we moved and lived in a wonderful rented place. 6 weeks before the move and with a new baby, we started the process of boxing everything up and hiring a van for a temporary stay with my parents. We threw away more than half of our possessions including most of my university stuff (which I regret hugely) and ended up with some furniture and 124 large boxes. It took 4 trips in the hire van and 6 trips in the car to transport this lot to my parents garage. It was obvious we still had to reduce this by at least 50% before we could load up the van for Spain. This meant opening every box and discovering that our fool proof system of recording what was in each box had been designed by fools as it turned out to be grossly inaccurate. We cut the number of boxes from 124 to 61. We picked up the removal van and started the process of loading it up. We still had way too much so we opened up the boxes and disposed of yet more stuff (the local charity shop had nominated us for CBEs). Finally we managed to load everything left onto the van plus, in the morning of departure, 4 very confused cats (one of them died en-route, sadly). The drive from Southampton to Dover was uneventful, boring even. But the drive through France was quite different. We had a major blow out just south of Le Mans. We discovered that the jack provided might have lifted a Reliant Robin but a 5 tonne truck was quite beyond it. A large flatbed finally arrived (the third breakdown man) arrived and loaded us up and took us north of Le Mans (a backward step we felt) and spent 5 hours replacing the wheel with the spare. It transpired that the wheel had shattered so all we had left was the spare and that had an inner tube. That meant we had a top speed of 50 kph and a maximum distance to travel of 200 kms. I called the hire company and they said they would find a replacement wheel somewhere near us so we could pick it up and have it swapped with the spare. An hour later we were told that the nearest wheel was in Milan. But the good news was that the inner tube was of racing quality so we could proceed at speed. We did and arrived in southern Spain with an hour to spare.

If that doesn't put you off, nothing will...


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

AllHeart;
Hi Mary. So said:


> No. Our stuff is important because of the memories and associations it has accumulated over thirty plus years. We did start out with almost nothing all those years ago and carefully selected, over the years, things that are an important part of our shared home. If we had left the UK with nothing we would have left behind so many memories. We couldn't settle in a house with things that had no 'past'.
> I am very traditional and small 'c' conservative with a strong belief in the importance of roots and history.
> But not everyone shares that view, I know.
> Chippendale..yes, I know the current reference....but he was an eighteenth- century cabinet maker, designer of beautiful- and valuable - furniture.
> We have some cherished old pieces....but nothing like that, sadly


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

thrax said:


> When we moved over it was the end of a long story. We sold up 4 years before we moved and lived in a wonderful rented place. 6 weeks before the move and with a new baby, we started the process of boxing everything up and hiring a van for a temporary stay with my parents. We threw away more than half of our possessions including most of my university stuff (which I regret hugely) and ended up with some furniture and 124 large boxes. It took 4 trips in the hire van and 6 trips in the car to transport this lot to my parents garage. It was obvious we still had to reduce this by at least 50% before we could load up the van for Spain. This meant opening every box and discovering that our fool proof system of recording what was in each box had been designed by fools as it turned out to be grossly inaccurate. We cut the number of boxes from 124 to 61. We picked up the removal van and started the process of loading it up. We still had way too much so we opened up the boxes and disposed of yet more stuff (the local charity shop had nominated us for CBEs). Finally we managed to load everything left onto the van plus, in the morning of departure, 4 very confused cats (one of them died en-route, sadly). The drive from Southampton to Dover was uneventful, boring even. But the drive through France was quite different. We had a major blow out just south of Le Mans. We discovered that the jack provided might have lifted a Reliant Robin but a 5 tonne truck was quite beyond it. A large flatbed finally arrived (the third breakdown man) arrived and loaded us up and took us north of Le Mans (a backward step we felt) and spent 5 hours replacing the wheel with the spare. It transpired that the wheel had shattered so all we had left was the spare and that had an inner tube. That meant we had a top speed of 50 kph and a maximum distance to travel of 200 kms. I called the hire company and they said they would find a replacement wheel somewhere near us so we could pick it up and have it swapped with the spare. An hour later we were told that the nearest wheel was in Milan. But the good news was that the inner tube was of racing quality so we could proceed at speed. We did and arrived in southern Spain with an hour to spare.
> 
> If that doesn't put you off, nothing will...


We used Pickfords and AGS for our moves. We thought about getting one of our employees to drive us to Prague with our stuff in one of our big trucks but I am an over- cautious soul and fretted about the kind of things you just described happening en route.
So we gritted our teeth and forked out for professional movers who did everything forus, packing everything....and unpacking, putting our furniture in situ and taking away the packaging at the other end.
Worth every penny.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> William Morris wrote that one should have nothing in one's house that was neither beautiful or useful.


Can I legitimately use that to get rid of the m-i-l? 

Cherished old piece? - that's me!


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

mrypg9 said:


> We used Pickfords and AGS for our moves. We thought about getting one of our employees to drive us to Prague with our stuff in one of our big trucks but I am an over- cautious soul and fretted about the kind of things you just described happening en route.
> So we gritted our teeth and forked out for professional movers who did everything forus, packing everything....and unpacking, putting our furniture in situ and taking away the packaging at the other end.
> Worth every penny.


Maybe, but my move was every bit an adventure and I will never forget it nor ever do it again....


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

thrax said:


> Maybe, but my move was every bit an adventure and I will never forget it nor ever do it again....


We had our adventure when we drove from Prague to Andalucia...driving through four countries and temperature changes that went from ice and snow in Czech Republic and Germany to warm sun in Southern France to snow in the Sierra Nevada to a walk on thebeach, still warm at six o'clock in December, when we reached our final destination.

Meanwhile, a big truck with all our goods and chattels was also making its way south-west across Europe....


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

thrax said:


> When we moved over it was the end of a long story. We sold up 4 years before we moved and lived in a wonderful rented place. 6 weeks before the move and with a new baby, we started the process of boxing everything up and hiring a van for a temporary stay with my parents. We threw away more than half of our possessions including most of my university stuff (which I regret hugely) and ended up with some furniture and 124 large boxes. It took 4 trips in the hire van and 6 trips in the car to transport this lot to my parents garage. It was obvious we still had to reduce this by at least 50% before we could load up the van for Spain. This meant opening every box and discovering that our fool proof system of recording what was in each box had been designed by fools as it turned out to be grossly inaccurate. We cut the number of boxes from 124 to 61. We picked up the removal van and started the process of loading it up. We still had way too much so we opened up the boxes and disposed of yet more stuff (the local charity shop had nominated us for CBEs). Finally we managed to load everything left onto the van plus, in the morning of departure, 4 very confused cats (one of them died en-route, sadly). The drive from Southampton to Dover was uneventful, boring even. But the drive through France was quite different. We had a major blow out just south of Le Mans. We discovered that the jack provided might have lifted a Reliant Robin but a 5 tonne truck was quite beyond it. A large flatbed finally arrived (the third breakdown man) arrived and loaded us up and took us north of Le Mans (a backward step we felt) and spent 5 hours replacing the wheel with the spare. It transpired that the wheel had shattered so all we had left was the spare and that had an inner tube. That meant we had a top speed of 50 kph and a maximum distance to travel of 200 kms. I called the hire company and they said they would find a replacement wheel somewhere near us so we could pick it up and have it swapped with the spare. An hour later we were told that the nearest wheel was in Milan. But the good news was that the inner tube was of racing quality so we could proceed at speed. We did and arrived in southern Spain with an hour to spare.
> 
> If that doesn't put you off, nothing will...


Hi Thrax. That's an absolute nightmare of an adventure! I place you tied with Lynn. I love the moral to your story in the last line. 



mrypg9 said:


> No. Our stuff is important because of the memories and associations it has accumulated over thirty plus years. We did start out with almost nothing all those years ago and carefully selected, over the years, things that are an important part of our shared home. If we had left the UK with nothing we would have left behind so many memories. We couldn't settle in a house with things that had no 'past'.
> I am very traditional and small 'c' conservative with a strong belief in the importance of roots and history.
> But not everyone shares that view, I know.
> Chippendale..yes, I know the current reference....but he was an eighteenth- century cabinet maker, designer of beautiful- and valuable - furniture.
> We have some cherished old pieces....but nothing like that, sadly


Chippendale... LOL!

Sorry, I misunderstood you, thinking that you were saying that as you let go of your things you became happier. The associations and memories with my stuff are indeed the hardest to part with. I'm coming up with a list in my mind of the reasons why particular items are difficult to part with, which may help in letting go. I'm thinking of compiling that list before selling, so that I'm good and ready to let go before selling. 



baldilocks said:


> Cherished old piece? - that's me!


Agreed.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

We did consider hiring or even buying a van (and disposing of it later) and moving ourselves, but it was the thought of possible experiences like Thrax's that put us off!

We booked a part load of a removal van, packed all our things ourselves (I numbered and listed every box with a brief description of what was in it, and ticked each box off the list as they were carried into the house), and had them collected from our UK house the day before we left. Delivered to the door in Spain 3 days later, nothing lost or broken, so it was a doddle, really.

The only things that have never been unpacked are two pictures which are still in their bubble-wrap packing, they don't "go" in this house but I didn't want to part with them. Otherwise everything was unpacked and put away within 24 hours of it getting here.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

baldilocks said:


> Can I legitimately use that to get rid of the m-i-l?
> 
> Cherished old piece? - that's me!


And no doubt a thing of beauty and a joy forever, as Keats said about the old Greek pot...


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

get ready mrypg I will probably be breaking the law again, we have a beautiful handblown hourglass in a waldshut tiengen carved to order stand that travels everywhere with us,and is a great favourite with children of all ages and sizes, they love giving it a shake, it contains the Witches ashes (my 2nd wife)who was a great torment and cause of pain to one and all,at last now she moves occasionally and performs a minor task which she never did when she was alive!!


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Nignoy said:


> get ready mrypg I will probably be breaking the law again, we have a beautiful handblown hourglass in a waldshut tiengen carved to order stand that travels everywhere with us,and is a great favourite with children of all ages and sizes, they love giving it a shake, it contains the Witches ashes (my 2nd wife)who was a great torment and cause of pain to one and all,at last now she moves occasionally and performs a minor task which she never did when she was alive!!


LMAO! That's so macabre! Where do you come up with this stuff?!


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

You guys are so amazing for your guidance. Thank you so much. Well, I've done it - I'm packed now in my head, and ready to let go. I surveyed all my belongings, and have been able to pare everything down to two suitcases, a carry-on bag and one or two boxes which I'll have sent to me in Spain. I was talking to a friend today who emigrated from Serbia, and he told me that I can send things through ocean freight without having to rent the whole crate, which I didn't know. That drops the shipping price drastically. I spoke with a friend of mine today who said he'd store my box(ex) until I'm settled, then ship them to me. Here's the website for the company I'll use, in case anyone else is interested: A1 Freight Forwarding – Canada, United States & International Shipping, Logistics & Courier Services

So this is my list of your tips (some things overlap in different categories):
*-Replaceable:* Ex. electronics, kitchen appliances, linens, some furniture, some clothing.
*-Millstone: *Ex. All large furniture, bed, fragiles.
*-Beautiful: *There will be beautiful things in Spain, so this is in fact a subcategory of 'replaceable.'  I will take pictures of these things.
*-One reminder of loved ones: *Some of my loved ones have given me more than one gift, so I will pick the smallest and least fragile gift for each person.
*-Too sentimental to let go of: *These go with me. 
*-Practical: *Some of these are replaceable, so also go into a subcategory of 'replaceable.' Some will go with me - especially some of my beloved cooking tools.
*-Good memories and associations: *Some I'll take pictures of. Some will go with me.

So I'm packed in my head in a day, thanks to you guys. Thank you!


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

*its just me*



AllHeart said:


> LMAO! That's so macabre! Where do you come up with this stuff?!


my 2nd wife was obviously looking for a meal ticket, I was caught on the rebound 11months after having my first marriage politically annulled, and then a very close contact with a culvert bomb in NI, put me in intensive care, for weeks just hanging on to life and then 18months being rebuilt and learning to walk,move and function as a human being again,amid allthis along comes a beautiful caring nurse she put out the bait and I was trapped, I should have realised when I met her mother,what I had let myself infor!!by then it was to late , 14 days after the wedding the honeymoon and married life stopped and the demands started,divorce was not a question ,under german law ,she could legally bleed me dry, so I paid her demands,she lived her life and I lived mine, but every so often she would get bored and cause trouble at work, you have to understand her mother and father had passed on ,and her own family from her first marriage would have nothing to do with her,she was a very lonely and vindictive women, maybe to some extent I was to blame, through my job I travelled a lot ,in the early years I always tried to get her to travel with me,but sometimes on these trips there were no towns or shopping malls, so she could not spend so she would cause trouble,I never played around but I did start to stay at work, of course it was not long before the OMO packet stood regularly in the front window,for all you young and innocent readers OMO stands for Old Mans Out, which was pretty common in BAOR at the time, I had to return to UK to help in a family crisis, even with her plentiful allowance car and house she run up 10,s of 1000,s of marks debt, she had just walked away from a huge argument with a neighbour ,when she sat down and died, my personal and mental problems were over, but not the financial ones which took years tsort out, but thems the breaks,I ad her cremated and put in the hourglass so it least in death she would be of some use, because in life she was nothing but hate and bitterness amongst all this anger and grief ,0n a winters morning in1989 in surrey I really did bump into a lady in Camberley whose face was familiar, It was veronica a childhood sweetheart who I had been engaged to when I was 16 our parents split us up and we went our different ways!!there we were 30 years later her on a visit from Australia ,me just popped over from Switzerland for a regimental reunion ,so we had a cup of coffee and a few hours chat, we realised this was meant to be the circle had closed,she went back to aus packed her things and we moved in together we married in 92 and that was where my story really starts with vron we traced my first family, we built a new life from scratch, so I keep a witch in a Glass!!if at the time I could have got a large enough binbag she would have gone in the Bin!!


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Nignoy said:


> my 2nd wife was obviously looking for a meal ticket, I was caught on the rebound 11months after having my first marriage politically annulled, and then a very close contact with a culvert bomb in NI, put me in intensive care, for weeks just hanging on to life and then 18months being rebuilt and learning to walk,move and function as a human being again,amid allthis along comes a beautiful caring nurse she put out the bait and I was trapped, I should have realised when I met her mother,what I had let myself infor!!by then it was to late , 14 days after the wedding the honeymoon and married life stopped and the demands started,divorce was not a question ,under german law ,she could legally bleed me dry, so I paid her demands,she lived her life and I lived mine, but every so often she would get bored and cause trouble at work, you have to understand her mother and father had passed on ,and her own family from her first marriage would have nothing to do with her,she was a very lonely and vindictive women, maybe to some extent I was to blame, through my job I travelled a lot ,in the early years I always tried to get her to travel with me,but sometimes on these trips there were no towns or shopping malls, so she could not spend so she would cause trouble,I never played around but I did start to stay at work, of course it was not long before the OMO packet stood regularly in the front window,for all you young and innocent readers OMO stands for Old Mans Out, which was pretty common in BAOR at the time, I had to return to UK to help in a family crisis, even with her plentiful allowance car and house she run up 10,s of 1000,s of marks debt, she had just walked away from a huge argument with a neighbour ,when she sat down and died, my personal and mental problems were over, but not the financial ones which took years tsort out, but thems the breaks,I ad her cremated and put in the hourglass so it least in death she would be of some use, because in life she was nothing but hate and bitterness amongst all this anger and grief ,0n a winters morning in1989 in surrey I really did bump into a lady in Camberley whose face was familiar, It was veronica a childhood sweetheart who I had been engaged to when I was 16 our parents split us up and we went our different ways!!there we were 30 years later her on a visit from Australia ,me just popped over from Switzerland for a regimental reunion ,so we had a cup of coffee and a few hours chat, we realised this was meant to be the circle had closed,she went back to aus packed her things and we moved in together we married in 92 and that was where my story really starts with vron we traced my first family, we built a new life from scratch, so I keep a witch in a Glass!!if at the time I could have got a large enough binbag she would have gone in the Bin!!


Wow, what an emotionally laden story. Trapped without love for so many years, then gifted pure love from childhood... You have such incredible stories of your life, and you're so good at telling them. You make me think of one my favourite songs...


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

I forgot to say that the quotes on the A1 Freight Forwarding sites are just getting to the destination. They say, "*Quote includes all charges up to the cargo’s arrival at the destination Airport. Rates do not include destination charges, customs clearance, duties and taxes."*

For example, to ship from Toronto to Malaga by ocean freight, the rate is $7 USD per cubic foot, with a maximum weight of 333 Kg per CBM. There is a minimum charge of 35.32 cubic feet - which is a LOT! But then I have to pay destination charges, customs clearance, duties and taxes in Malaga upon pickup.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

AllHeart said:


> I forgot to say that the quotes on the A1 Freight Forwarding sites are just getting to the destination. They say, "*Quote includes all charges up to the cargo’s arrival at the destination Airport. Rates do not include destination charges, customs clearance, duties and taxes."*
> 
> For example, to ship from Toronto to Malaga by ocean freight, the rate is $7 USD per cubic foot, with a maximum weight of 333 Kg per CBM. There is a minimum charge of 35.32 cubic feet - which is a LOT! But then I have to pay destination charges, customs clearance, duties and taxes in Malaga upon pickup.


How much have you got? Weight/cu ft? Thought you were getting things down to a couple of suitcases.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

baldilocks said:


> How much have you got? Weight/cu ft? Thought you were getting things down to a couple of suitcases.


Yes, I'm still aiming for two suitcases and one carry-on for the plane. However, I'm now allowing myself the luxury of the possibility of one or two boxes. I spoke to a friend of mine yesterday, who said he would keep them and then ship to me in Malaga, once I've settled in. 

It's quite cheap to send a couple of boxes by ocean freight, which I didn't know was possible until I spoke with my friend yesterday. Before speaking with him, I thought you had to rent a whole container to use ocean freight. That is very expensive and definitely not the volume I'm sending. 

Does that make more sense?


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

AllHeart said:


> Yes, I'm still aiming for two suitcases and one carry-on for the plane. However, I'm now allowing myself the luxury of the possibility of one or two boxes. I spoke to a friend of mine yesterday, who said he would keep them and then ship to me in Malaga, once I've settled in.
> 
> It's quite cheap to send a couple of boxes by ocean freight, which I didn't know was possible until I spoke with my friend yesterday. Before speaking with him, I thought you had to rent a whole container to use ocean freight. That is very expensive and definitely not the volume I'm sending.
> 
> Does that make more sense?


That's better. So we can ignore all the scaremongering in Post 32?


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

If I can avoid shipping those two boxes, my answer is yes.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

AllHeart said:


> If I can avoid shipping those two boxes, my answer is yes.


What is the airline's baggage allowance? How much for excess baggage? Can you do a better deal with a different airline? or with a slightly different ticket can you do a better deal with your first choice airline?


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

The airline pricing is pretty much across the board the same, which is the cost of the ticket includes one carry-on and one suitcase. The second suitcase is typically $100. I'm very pleased with that. 

The weight of the suitcases is also pretty standard amongst airlines. What varies very slightly between airlines are the specific dimensions of the suitcase and carry-on. So I'll wait until I buy my ticket before buying the suitcases to match the airline.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

AllHeart said:


> The airline pricing is pretty much across the board the same, which is the cost of the ticket includes one carry-on and one suitcase. The second suitcase is typically $100. I'm very pleased with that.
> 
> The weight of the suitcases is also pretty standard amongst airlines. What varies very slightly between airlines are the specific dimensions of the suitcase and carry-on. So I'll wait until I buy my ticket before buying the suitcases to match the airline.


Check British Airways | Book Worldwide Flights & Holidays for their baggage - regular baggage is TWO suitcases but they will allow up to 10 suitcases. Look at flights where BA is the carrier for the long over the atlantic leg becasue that determines whose rules apply


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

baldilocks said:


> Check British Airways | Book Worldwide Flights & Holidays for their baggage - regular baggage is TWO suitcases but they will allow up to 10 suitcases. Look at flights where BA is the carrier for the long over the atlantic leg becasue that determines whose rules apply


Thank you so much for that info. You're most kind. I see I wasn't clear on the suitcase logic either. Here we go...

It's not too expensive for me for the suitcases by airline. The third suitcase (and each other additional) is typically only $250. However, I want to be portable in Spain, and I only have 2 hands. So my carry-on will be a back-pack. Then I have two hands for two suitcases. 

So the thinking behind sending boxes is that once I'm settled in, I can have the boxes sent. I previously looked into prices of shipping different ways (not ocean freight), and the best cost for just one tiny box is about $300 - without fees at the other end - which is ridiculous. However, yesterday I learned that ocean freight is about $300 for a minimum of many, many big boxes - without fees at the other end. So that's why I'm toying with the idea now of bringing boxes on top of my suitcases. I've got the contact info of the people in Spain to inform me about the costs at the other end, which I will look into if I cannot manage with just two suitcases and one carry-on.

I hope that makes more sense and that I didn't bore you to death with the tedious details of my luggage logic.


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