What I did with my stuff

“All your house is is a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff”—George Carlin

I envy Abby Schiavello for her ability to pack all her belongings into a few large suitcases before moving abroad.  I was not able to do that.  I had accumulated far too much stuff.  I never liked moving, but I always assumed I could successfully move my stuff from point A to point B.  Theoretically, it’s possible for me to move all my belongings overseas, but it’s extremely expensive.  Most quotes I got on this from moving companies like Mayflower started at $2500 or $3000.  Of course, I also don’t have a place to keep all that stuff in the UK.  I am living in a small studio, basically a dorm room with private bathroom, at King’s Ely.  So, I needed to whittle down my belongings to the most important, most shippable, and most difficult to replace.  A Google search brought me to homeshipping.com, and it gave me a good set of guidelines for how much I could easily ship.  They use Home Depot’s boxes as their standard sizes: small 12” cube, medium 18” cube, and large 18” x 18” x 24”.  There are several combinations (20 small boxes or 10 medium boxes or 3 large boxes and 5 medium boxes, etc.) that can be shipped at a standard rate of about $400.  I already had lots of boxes, as I kept all the boxes from the last move 3 years ago.  I also kept the boxes of any electronics I have bought since then.  So, I ended up choosing 6 large boxes and two medium boxes.  Anything more than that, and the cost would essentially quadruple.  So, I needed a smaller version of my stuff.  Essentially, it means my entire wardrobe, 3 coats, my computer system, and assorted sentimental items. 

Though homeshipping.com gave me good specs from which to start, I didn’t ultimately use them.  They could come pick up my boxes from my house for about $200, but to deliver them to Ely, it was an extra $800.  So, I discovered uship.com, which is essentially an online version of shipping wars.  I put up a description of my shipment, where I wanted it to go, and what time frame I was looking for.  From there, companies bid on the right to ship my stuff.  Most were based in the USA and had the same problem as homeshipping.com when it came to delivery on the other end.  I found one company, EB Cargo, that was based in the UK.  If I could get the boxes to Baltimore myself, they could get them on a ship and deliver them directly to the school in Ely for about $600 all in.  I read lots of reviews on them, and I decided they were worth a shot.  Lucky for me, I have an amazing friend in Billy Sammons, who was willing to help me load my boxes on his truck, and haul them to Baltimore.  As I write, they are on the ocean.  Hopefully, I will write again later about how they came through safe and sound. 

So, what do I do with everything I couldn’t ship?  Store it, sell it, or donate it?  Well, let’s store it, because who knows if this will all work out?  Storage costs money, though.  Again, I found out just how wonderful the people are around me.  Jeff offered me free use of his warehouse.  He would hold onto the stuff for a year, and if I don’t return, he’ll sell it and split the proceeds.  In addition, he’d help me on moving day, as would Eric.  These are just wonderful people.  Carey and Jimmy joined me along with Billy (I’ve never had a day of need that Billy didn’t help out with).  Let me just say this, though, Jimmy needs to be involved in all my future moves.  The man counts as a crew of at least 4 or 5.  Anyone who shows up on moving day is a true friend, I find.

I also got to discover the joy of giving away anything I thought might help a friend.  My parents have always loved my TV, so there you go.  Tommy and Colleen needed a GPS, so there you go.  Carey needed a queen size bed for her new house, so there you go.  While helping move my lamps, Carey asked, “Should I take out the light bulbs and store them separately?”  I responded, “Take them out and take them with you.  They’re energy efficient, and they won’t do any good in storage.”  I absolutely loved the look on people’s faces when I gave them stuff.  While talking to Tommy on the phone, I was struck by a thought and said, “By the way, do you want my surround sound system?”  He said, “Ummm, yes.”  It made me understand just a little bit why people occasionally give away all their Earthly possessions.  It feels awesome. 

Lastly, my car.  I am so torn about my car.  I love that Sentra and the MAKITSO license plate.  I drove that puppy from Annapolis to Seattle to LA and back.  I also had to replace the alternator a week and a half before I left the USA, but at 200,000 miles these things happen.  I am looking very forward to being able to live without a car in Ely, but I wasn’t able to fully part from my Nissan just yet.  I gave it to my parents to hold onto for a year.  To cancel the insurance, I have to turn in the license plates to the MVA, and that does make me sad.  If everything falls flat in a year, I can return to Calvert County (I took a leave of absence instead of resigning, just in case), still have my car, and still have most of my stuff.  No reason to jump without a parachute, after all.

The moral of the story is, if you want to move overseas, don’t expect to take much stuff with you.  And if you’re not using your stuff now, give it away.  It feels freaking awesome.