While it might be a romantic idea to leave everything behind and arrive in Australia ready to start your new life with only a backpack, in reality, bringing your possessions with you can help you adjust to your new life. There is something comforting about having your treasures from home.
There are several options when considering shipping your goods. You can bring the entire contents of your house or instead bring only your personal effects such as books, bedding, kitchen equipment and homewares.
Choose your freight forwarder wisely
Reputable freight forwarders and moving companies are happy to visit you and provide you with a range of quotes for different options to give you an idea of costs. Take time to select a company you feel comfortable with.
Moving house can be incredibly stressful, so selecting a good company can help make the process much more straightforward.
If you decide to pack some of your belongings yourself, you can ask the moving company to supply you with boxes. However, if you are planning to bring your entire home contents, it may be easier to let them take over completely.
Use the opportunity for a spring clean
Moving house is a perfect time to get rid of any extra clutter. Take time well before the move to sort through your belongings – selling, giving away or throwing out anything you don’t want to bring.
Ask friends to help with packing and sorting. Sometimes another person’s eyes can help identify treasures from junk.
Talk to a rubbish removal company about options to cart away large amounts of clutter, and investigate if any local charities offer a pick-up service for donated goods.
Closer to moving time, consider hiring a cleaner to help clean the house once the movers have completed packing. The less you do closer to your departure time the less stress you will experience.
Be meticulous
If you are packing some or all of the goods yourself, make sure you keep a careful note of what you packed where. Label the boxes, indicating which room the goods are from, or make more detailed lists for each box.
Make sure you pack breakables with plenty of paper and don’t overfill the boxes. There is nothing more heart-rending than opening a box that was over-packed to find everything broken inside.
If you are planning to sell your furniture and purchase new items once you arrive, first check out the costs of buying new or second-hand furniture in Australia.
Besides retail stores, you could look for different second-hand goods on eBay. If you have an abundance of antiques it will probably be easier to bring these with you, as it is unlikely you will be able to replace them with something similar in Australia.
Before you sell everything you own and go out to buy a haversack, take time to obtain free information from relocation and moving companies.
Shipping belongings can easily be worth the expense in return for the pleasure of having a wee bit of home with you.
Image Copyright: Paige Falk, dreamstime.com