What you shipped over and wish you hadn't

[sittall]

Thanks Carey, wish I'd known that before I threw out the video containing my 'acting' career. (I was an extra in Shadow of Doubt, a Hallmark TV movie.) I did save some other videos and will try preserving them using your method.

Another tip, don't store anything long term in cardboard boxes, the cockroaches love 'em.

[jade]

Don't pack anything pressboard.

I wish I had brought more furniture. I thought I could just shop there. Not alot of options for a reasonable price here.

If you are packing and space is an issue don't buy anything you can get at Walmart or Ross.

There seems to be more things that I didn't bring than did. If you are packing a container just remember to pack in every available space. In dressers, cabinets, nightstands, anywhere there is a hole fill it.

My husband wished he had lined the bottom of the container with wood. Prices/availability has come down though.

I brought to many business type clothing/shoes. Mostly everyone dresses casual here.

If you are moving into a new house I would order online at Home depot or Sears a new fridge. It takes two weeks for them to bring them from Honolulu (which means eating out a lot). I would not bring a bbq. I would pick one up here. They are reasonably priced. Would not get a fancy one. Cheeper to replace.

[asly]

What do folks end up spending on containers? We wouldn't buy, just rent.

[StillHope]

quote:

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Originally posted by EightFingers

if you have room in your container, why not fill it?

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There is a bigger picture - if you really have extra money and don't depend on the job to pay bills -then definitely do.
But if it is not the case,I'd save money for the rainy day.
It often rains here...[]

[EightFingers]

StillHope, true, but wouldn't it be saving money buying something cheaper (as well as saving on shipping cost) on the mainland? We aern't buying stuff just for the sake of spending money - we will only buy stuff we will use.

[StillHope]

If you have enough money to afford not working for 2-3 months or work for a fracture you were paid on the mainland (20-30 h a week,much less pay rate), pay medical out of the pocket,then yes.

Otherwise it's better not to have even useful and important things until you settle down here.

[David M]

Early on in the process made a spreadsheet. We don't have particularly great stuff as far as monetary value. If we didn't bring it, but would need it, what might it cost to replace. Additionally, there were a few things that we'd ship somehow, therefore a cost. Once the total to replace exceeded the cost to ship it only made sense to go the container route. We then concentrated on buying much of the stuff we needed to build and would have to purchase anyway - fans, sinks, plumbing fixtures, range hood etc, but all bought at a fraction of their full cost. We saved way more than the cost to ship. With our "fill the container" mentality we did bring too much. Should have gotten rid of more clothes for sure. Brought almost all my tools. We still have stuff yet unpacked, but that's my fault because its place isn't finished yet - like drawers, cabinets, shelves. Some might say these are excess items and probably so, but they are also part of US and may offer a warm memory or two in our dotage. We did opt to buy mattresses here instead of shipping the old ones. Didn't bring some electric things because we are off grid, every now and then I regret that and have gotten a local replacement.

Biggest regret is not having good storage for some items (costco tent) and we lost some of them (DVD"s definitely don't like moisture), some items we recovered but lots of elbow grease. Also learned that "original packaging" is not always best way to keep things stored.

Off topic: Stillhope are you contemplating changing your login to "Losthope" seems you're posts have gotten a mite cynical lately (hope not).

David

Ninole Resident

[Devany]

We brought a 45' container and do not regret bringing anything. When they opened it we had 6 extra feet of space in it. We were not there when they packed it as we had to have a shuttle because we lived on a mountain. Because we thought we would be tight on space I gave away my Caja China (Cuban Pig Roaster) and many very large scale ceramic pots. I was sad when they opened the container and there was still room for them.

While I do not regret bringing them, we have several very expensive polished stainless steel lamps which are showing signs of rust after one year... and things like the springs on desk lamps and a few other items are also getting rust spots. Wes got rid of half of his suits, but kept the really expensive ones. They are going on e-bay as I have the "one year rule" if you have not worn it in a year, toss it.

We also got rid of many of our yard tools and equipment. We should have kept the shop vac & chain saw.

We bought two Danish leather recliners here and they are fine in this climate. We don't do anything to them other than wipe them down once in a while.

We got rid of 80% of our books and 50% of Christmas decorations. Don't really miss any of them. Hilo has a fantastic library. None of the books that we did keep are having any mold problems.

FYI, most plastic tubs are not air tight and actually can increase mildew. If you are packing in them find the ones that seal better.

Some of our antique wood pieces do get powdery mildew on them, so we have to clean them much more often than we ever did before.

Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany

www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.eastbaypotters.blogspot.com

[oink]

I'm thinking I will rent for 6 months and then make a list of what I want to bring when I build. But I might not build. It looks like it might be cheaper to buy than to build on the property I already own.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[Iju]

Just like Ed Smay's, brought too many mainland clothes. But I am so glad I didn't bring the Breadmachine. My hand-kneaded bread tastes so much better.