Our friends Allison and Andrew Redmon are  about to move to Saudi Arabia in a couple of months and asked for some packing tips! (You can follow their adventure here.) I felt a little silly when Allison asked for advice but I realized after 5 moves in 5 1/2 yrs it’s probably legit to give some ideas. When she asked I couldn’t even think clearly with my house full of packers. But now the dust has settled, quite literally.  After this bit I am going to take a long break from even thinking about packing.  {I broke this into 3 posts so you don’t fall asleep while reading}

I sat down today to think through what I would even recommend and I thought I would share it with all of you as well….

*Big disclaimer, many of you have done this a million more times than us. I don’t in any way feel like an expert so feel free to chime in. I think we all find our packing groove and what works for our families but I always love new ideas to make it easier. And…obviously these recs are assuming you have a shipping allowance and that you aren’t just taking the essentials in suitcases. Coming from a missionary family background I am stunned every time our stuff gets moved around the world. It is no doubt a perk of the job, but not one we take for granted.  So, if you have some space and weight and need some ideas, read on. If not, make friends with an Embassy family and beg them to share their peanut butter on occasion!*

Here’s kind of our system when we approach packout:

~START EARLY, if you work gradually the days before packing won’t feel so stressful! Our first move we were both up until 2 AM the night before finishing getting everything sorted into “DC”, “Storage”, “Overseas”, “UAB”, etc. It was so much work but we should have started earlier (the fact that we had a month to pack and be gone while working our last weeks gave us a time crunch too)

~Give stuff away!! Go through your house with an empty laundry basket or box and fill it with all of the things you don’t use or don’t need. You will accumulate a lot and it makes it so much easier to do a quick purge before you begin thinking about packing.

~Pick a room for each category “UAB”, Storage, Suitcases, etc. That way you aren’t have to keep track constantly and the packers know exactly where everything goes. Each time you see something that goes in that category drop it off in the designated room. I find this saves time in the end scrambling for what shouldn’t be packed where.

~Wrap all linens, clothes, pillows, etc in plastic bags!  You will need Ziplock bags!!! Like a million of them. A few moves back we discovered that ziplock makes giant bags. *ziplock isn’t paying me to advertise for them, we just wanted to recommend them based on our own experience*. The giant bags have been perfect for linens, clothes…you name it, it will fit. We also use the small bags to double wrap toiletries, pantry items and other loose things. When you arrive then you also have your supply of bags to use. If your stuff is just put into boxes it will arrive smelling like cardboard. And some things like quilts and bedding are tough to get smelling really fresh again, assuming your things are going by boat like ours, that is 2 months or so of box smell!

~Categorize! We typically gather all of the linens to pack together, all of the bathroom stuff, etc.  I find we rarely go somewhere with the same number of rooms, etc so it is easier having everything together instead of getting 4 boxes of towels, linens.

~Double bag spices and pantry items. Put the first bag in upside down so that the opening faces the bottom of the first bag. That way if it pops open it is much harder to makes its way up to the opening.

~Take pictures of each room to get a visual list of your belongings for insurance purposes if needed.

~On packing day pick up donuts for the packers!! Or something to inspire them! It never hurts. This time around Seth took around ice cream bars in the afternoon to perk everyone up. And on another day Jackson and I had made some cookies so he took those around and offered them to the packers.

~Realize that things are just things and that passing each and every of your earthly belongings to men tossing boxes can be a bit unnerving. (I often find though that when the truck drives away I am so relieved to no longer be responsible!)

~Lock your kids in the atrium to keep them safe during the loading…

kidding, even when they are with their dad and given snacks and capri suns they will realize your intent to keep them out and will bang and shriek on the glass forcing you to let them in. Never hurts to try!

~Go out for dinner to celebrate surviving!! Or at least have a fun drink.

You probably think this is going to be a deep post on thankfulness for neighbors. Sorry to disappoint! It is actually about the freebies we have gotten from our neighbors. It is common in the Spring for people to get rid of things and to put them out on the curb. They don’t really do garage sales as we all learned and most don’t have big cars to drive stuff away to donation locations so they often put things out for people to take.

Last year we scored this guy below. It is an old free standing kitchen cabinet with a counter top.  At the time I was in need of a higher changing table for Owen. We were using a dresser and not only was it getting scratched but it was breaking our backs. So I painted it a cheerful blue and made it nice and distressed and we have been using it ever since.   It is perfect because the counter top can just be wiped off and sanitized unlike the dresser.  I am thinking it may go in the laundry room of the new house or I may be on the hunt for a butcher block to replace the top and some fresh paint so I can use it in the kitchen as an island (shhh, Seth doesn’t need to hear all of my ideas just yet).

A couple of months ago I spotted this armoire up the hill on our neighbors sidewalk with a big old “gratis” sign. Seth wasn’t too thrilled because it is huge and required help but I think he is learning that my freebies are often worth it!

I actually didn’t mind the green but it needed to be freshened up. I couldn’t decide where to use it but then decided with the boys sharing a room that they could use some storage space for books, toys, etc.  So, we, I mean Seth, sanded it, removed the doors and the hanging rod and added shelves to maximize the storage. We painted it a bright barn red on the outside and refreshed the cream on the inside. I cut up maps of the places we have lived and pressed them into the back boards with mod podge. We love how it turned out! Here is a picture of it without the shelving.

(the map panels are of Bogota, Virginia, Texas and Bern. I think this piece will be a fun memory  with the maps as well as really practical!  It will house the boys toys in their *maybe* share room)

We also scored a coffee table but I forgot to snag a picture before it got packed!

In a place where things cost WAY TOO MUCH we have been so thankful to score some things for free! Thanks, neighbors!   And thanks Seth for humoring me with my freebie projects!

But for a real neighbor thank you, thank you to the neighbor that planted the poppies down the road, we have been enjoying them so much! I had to include this picture for my sister-in-law Claire! I know she loves poppies!