Help me! I have to pack up & store an entire house

[ForMashGetSmash]

DH, myself and the two DC's are leaving for Oz in January...he has a contract which will last for 2 years....then we're coming back (me and the kids may return sooner)

This house is rented...and we will buy our own when we return...but in the meantime I have to pack up ALL out things....linen, kitchen stuff, clothes, toys....ornaments...we are sending some toys and clothes on to Oz and travelling very light....we will be using a storage company for the furnture and white goods and ther things.

Can anyone help me with tips on where to begin? Do I go room by room? Should I buy good cardbard storage boxes and some of those plastic storage bags which yu suck the air out of for the linen?

What to dump? I am very attached to things here...I am a hoarder...this move is VERY scary for me...but have decided to go for it as the oldest DC is only just turned 6 and her head has assured me there will be a place at school for her when we return (indepndant prep)

I think/hope it will be a great exerience for the DC's and us all (though I hate the heat)

All of you orgnised folk...can you help me please? DH is already over thre and he will not return till Christmas...and we go in early Jan.

work out the amount that storage is going to cost over this time, then work out whether what you want to keep is cheaper to replace.

for me, things lik old kettles toasters, crockery with chips, odd wine glasses would not be worth it.

a good quality suite, beds in good order, new t.v etc may be worth it.

remember that when you return in two years, having had new stuff in oz, your storage items may just look old and grotty. you will also forgotten most of what you have stored.

Just returned home after three years overseas. Had lots and lots of things - furniture, clothes - stored, ended up donating most of them to charity. So throw out everything you can - if in doubt, throw it out. Fashion changes, tastes change, you accumulate new stuff in your new home.

I've moved around a lot recently and what I should do is start really early, go room by room. There is never enough time and I hate going through my old stuff.

Are you paying for the storage or is DH's company paying?

We are paying for storage....I know what you are saying about chucking things away...but I have moved SO much ver the last ten years...and I have lst so many treasures possesions that I am determined not to chuch too much.

Also we wont be having all new things in Oz...we have to save ever last penny....so what we have will be very basic...in order t get our savings right up.

We will use basic things...and buy second hand...planning on renting a furnished property too.

I think I will go up to the storage place and work out how much space we will need..good idea!

I absolutely agree with nightshade. When it comes to white goods, electricals, lampshades and so on you will regret paying for storage when you could buy new. Do the sums before you start. And don't forget those years could turn into three, or four -- storage is a hell of a bind. We stored nothing except in a shed and a loft and our three years turned into ten and I am STILL throwing stored stuff out despite having kept so little.

Compare with shipping prices. You might be better off shipping stuff there and not shipping back -- saving the money you'd spend furnishing your house in Oz for new stuff when you come back and settle.

Can't stress this enough. Beg, borrow, steal, loft and shed space and if you can get away without paying for any storage -- do so.

Again nightshade is right when she talks about throwing away broken stuff. Do it.

In terms of packing up: sometimes if you pay someone to do it, there's insurance included.

Room by room for binning things. Clothes, in particular. Make piles of the children's "impossible to throw away" baby clothes. Halve it and halve it again. But DO make sure you keep a little of hyper special stuff "first shoes" and so on studies have shown that expat children feel a loss of not having that kind of thing, that would normally be kept in a non-moving around family. For the same reason I would advise you to ration your sentimentality EXCEPT when it comes to the kids drawings, school books etc.

For everything else: now is the time to ebay unwanted wedding presents and throw away souvenirs from Menorca. Throw throw throw.

Have fun in Oz! Bet you don't come back in two years. Bet you

Is the company paying for shipping?

Ok I have moved/shipped/stored numerous times and you absolutely must work out how much this is going to cost in real terms.

Eg. when I last shipped it cost about £140 per box (as part of an enormous load) so I calculated whether the contents were worth significantly more or of great sentimental value? If the answers yes go for it ship or store but if not bin/recycle/give away/ whatever.

There is nothing more depressing than being in my sisters position she has paid £40pcm to store a sofa for 4 bloody years. It only cost half that to buy new.

Also I'd seriously consider getting professional packers in - many storage facilities offer that service and it is worth its weight although you do have to have done your sorting out beforehand.

Get rid of big things, sofa, beds, white goods unless they were very expensive (when we did similar we got rid of our white goods and sofas but kept our four poster bed because it was expensive and we love it).

Get rid of any toys you aren't shipping - the kids won't be interested in them when you get back.

I would also get rid of unsentimental knick knacks - candles and things like that.

Photos, pictures, stuff that is truly sentimental. Anything that is v expensive, like Plumm's bed. Anything else is not worth keeping and should be chucked/recycled etc. I'd personally aim to get my life down to a maximum of 3 large boxes per person plus decent pictures (we are not talking cheap prints here, they are replaceable) and hope you can store it all in someone's loft.

Storage works out to be hideously expensive over the years. It's around £40-60pcm which is £400-£700 per year. It's just not worth it for anything else. And a lot of white goods don't take kindly to being stored out of use.

Bin it. Honestly, when (or if) you come back you won't want it anyway.