Container size decision

[Delta_Cephei]

Having read on the forum about taking as much as we can in a 40' container (and selling if necessary in NZ) I have now had our first quote which said our container would be 40' but 75% full (that is with everything).

So- thus means (I think) that- leaving out some of the items would mean a 20' and we could use the money saved to buy some of the items when we arrive.

For example- our sofa is worse for wear- we were going to replace anyway: it takes room and would not fetch much, the fridge and freezer are old (and we would need to get something in the meantime anyway as we will probably be renting unfurnished.

Likewise- we have some gym equipment we don't use: we were taking solely to sell (rower and an electric thingy).

So- would this be the right decision? The 40' comes in at £6500 and I reckon the 20' would be around £3500- so the extra 'junk' would be replaced by new...

Ta,

Eliot

[doreysc]

Whiteware and furniture are not cheap here. Entry level whiteware is much more expensive than in the UK and the quality of cheaper furniture is very poor from what I've seen. The exception possibly being wooden furniture, I never really considered it in the UK as the price seemed prohibitive but I've seen some nice stuff here at what I thought were reasonable prices.
You are talking about leaving essentials and still bringing a full 20ft - I know everyone's circumstances are different but perhaps you should have a look at what you are bringing in case there are things you really don't need and would just sit in boxes for ever. We packed pretty much everything for four adults from a 3 bed semi into 20ft but we were completely ruthless in clearing out before we came over.

Simon

[Delta_Cephei]

That is really what I'm getting at- our sofa was cheap from Dfs 5 years ago and we'd already said in the past that we'd buy a new one every few years: so extra cost in NZ would be worth it.

The fridge and freezer- yes are useful: but being without for a couple of months seems not a good idea: although more expensive, we wold probably buy over there.

We really do need to cull a lot of stuff, however. We have so many children's toys and books... And stuff just in boxes!

So my aim is to try to get down to 20' with stuff we need and use savings from the 40' to 20' to buy a new suite (seen one nice ones online) which we can get as soon as we get there.

Clutter is definitely something we'd like to reduce....

Ta,

Eliot

[Dave in NZ]

A warning about old fridges and freezers. friends of ours bought their old fridge and freezer over and first off had to pay maf because they had gone rusty underneath and had to pay for them to be thoroughly cleaned etc. then to add to that when they plugged them in neither would work having lost the gas on the way over. So if I was you I would buy over here, alternatively if you find you are going to need a bigger container after all buy new in UK and use them then bring them over, same applies to the sofa. We brought ours over but they were only a couple of years old and worked fine here and still do.If your intentions are to replace sofas etc then it would not be worth bringing over. having said that 25% is a lot to lose and a fridge and freezer, sofa and gym gear is no where near25%. You also need to find out exactly the difference between a 40ft and a 20ft because you still have to pay for the mens time, the collection of your container etc so you may not be saving 3000 gbp

[Delta_Cephei]

Thanks- the fridge and freezer we have would definitely would have problems with maf...

That helps re: that the stuff I mentioned would not represent 25%.

I have another co. visiting for a quote tomorrow (my wife did the other) so I will be able to ask more details about what needs to be culled to get down to a more manageable size...

Ta,

Eliot

[Rmn58]

I don't have a date or even a job offer yet.....but I'm preparing.......
I've sold the majority of my cd's ( uploaded to laptop and iPod), books are being sold slowly via a website. I've the same dilemma with furniture. I'm now replacing my cheap sofa and two chairs with better quality second hand, that can be dismantled to save space on move. I'm going to do the same with my bed, which I don't like anyway. All those clothes that haven't been worn for months, books that won't be read again, junk that has stayed in boxes for months anyway.....car boot sale! By the sounds of it......life in NZ is far more about getting out there and doing/living it....so kids won't probably need all those toys anyway and you can be outside exercising so won't need the gym equipment either! Isn't there a saying about if you haven't worn it, read it, looked at, seen it or used it in the last year.........you are not likely to next year either!

Thanks for the comment about fridge.....I never thought of that! So the sale of all my junk will either a) buy me one over there or b) buy a new one here....but then if there's a possibility of damage , probably just wait till I get there. Ebay is my friend here, think trademe will be my friend over there :-)

Just my thoughts.......

[mikeandcaroline]

books that won't be read again

We're preparing too.

We are short on filling a 20ft container so the one thing we are going to take is books as they are very expensive out there and you can get a good price in the second hand book shops for good quality books. You can pay the same for a second hand paperback as you would for a new one here.

The other thing we are doing at the moment is scanning all that mountain of paperwork that you think you need to keep but takes up so much space. We downsized house 3 years ago and had to cull a lot then but it is amazing how much stuff we still have that isn't really needed.

[Rmn58]

Oh, some books I'm keeping....bit of bibliophile! But for your average paperback fiction, thought I'd just change to kindle......I'm assuming if you can access internet then you can access kindle over there?!!!!! This may be the deciding factor for me.........a life without books??? Unthinkable???!!!! Eeek

[Delta_Cephei]

PSS today said with sofas that we were 20% above a 20'. He suggested not taking the beds (as they take up a lot of room). Possibly a good idea...

However- I now have a better one. I have amassed a large DVD / Bluray collection. Discs are in a wallet system and the cases are in about 6 v large boxes in garage. I will throw the cases after taking the inserts out and buy the empty cases in NZ (I've checked and they are available and cheap). The boxes are easily the same volume as my suite!

Ta,

Eliot

[adotie]

Have you considered going groupage? we filled probably 75% of a 40 foot, but only paid for the space we used. The rest was filled with another consignment. It did mean a slight delay in leaving port, but the saving for us was certainly worth it.