We survived pack out. Not without a few hiccups along the way. While this is only my 2nd move abroad, this is one of many many moves we have made. You can plan and organize and list yourself to death, but there is always some wrenches thrown your way in the last hour. We had some paperwork delays, so we are currently in limbo, out of our home but not yet on our way. It happens and I’m grateful for family that let us stay and bring the pets too.

I will say we feel that we were the most prepared this time around, it may have something to do with the major offloading of most of our possessions and therefore much less stuff to organize for the actual move. I usually start a master checklist many months in advance and I keep it through the entire process to stay on track. The next step is to thoughtfully sort your belongings at least a few times over. Regardless, it still requires a fair amount of brainpower to manage your personal items, air shipments, storage and sea goods. Here are a few snapshots of what it looks like on day 1 of pack out. Lots of piles all over your house. Not pictured, the numerous open suitcases where I was frantically jamming last minute items.

We will eventually get there and so will our stuff…. the next step is getting pets on flights and hoping for the best. Stay tuned.