Getting Rid of Everything I Own to Teach Abroad

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Getting Rid of Everything I Own to Teach Abroad

(10 posts) (8 voices)

Started 1 year ago by eapwest
Latest reply from Greyghost
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eapwest
Member

I was recently accepted for a program to teach in Japan next year.

I leave July 25th, but the lease for my apartment is up June 15th and so I need to get rid of almost everything I own before then. I will stay with my boyfriend (wherever he moves to) in the month lapse before I leave. He will hang on to a few things for me but it is very hard to make decisions because he does not have his living/job situation figured out (about to graduate college).

Storage is not really an option because I don't want to be stuck with the monthly payment.

Take with me
- Clothes
- Laptop & Netbook
- ???

Things for boyfriend
- TV
- bookshelves/entertainment center
- Box of Keepsakes

Things to Sell/Donate/Trash
- everything else

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have started making lists, but get bogged down in the details. I am clueless as to how best to get rid of stuff (other than taking everything to goodwill in one fell swoop). I would like to sell the things of value. I would prefer to donate than trash because I would rather have something being used instead of in a landfill.

I don't have any ideas for where to start or how to maintain a process for getting rid of stuff without getting absorbed in the details. I am trying to do more than unclutter... literally get rid of 90% of what I own...

Thanks.
-Elaine

Posted 1 year ago #
susanintexas
Member

A friend of mine did this as well -- she's teaching English in Korea. She sold most of everything on Craigslist.

The first thing I would do is make a timeline -- two months is really not a whole lot of time and you probably have other things going on in your life. So, for example, you might want to try to sell things that you think can be sold, but establish a cutoff by, say, mid-May, after which everything remaining gets donated or trashed.

Posted 1 year ago #
luxcat
Member

How exciting!!

I went through this when I had to move from my (newly furnished) apartment into my boyfriend (now husband)'s newly furnished condo. His stuff was of much better quality and was, thankfully, to my taste as well. I sold individual items (microwave, new couch, etc) on Craigslist and gave some to neighbors. For the remainder (including some large items of furniture) I made a special appointment with a local charity to come with two men and a truck and move it all out.

One little tip that worked well too- I got rid of the dining set and a couple lamps this way- if you are renting and the landlord is showing the unit, ask him to tell the prospective renters that the furniture is for sale. You could even put notes on the items you want to get rid of... The guy who ended up renting my place ended up buying quite a bit of my furniture. Having the house clean and well-staged helps with this too... And last but not least be sure to allow yourself a couple days to clean the house after your stuff is gone, you want to get your deposit back! Nothing is worse than scrubbing down the kitchen at midnight when you have to be out the next day.

Posted 1 year ago #
Alice522
Member

Hi, I moved a lot of times, across the country and across the sea! Here what I would do:
1. Write down what to keep with you to bring: clothes, bags, shoes, personal toiletries (hair stuff, lotion, perfume, etc.) Start putting these in your luggage when it is possible. This way you can see whether your stuff fits and can do revision as needed.
2. There are stuff from no.1 that you would still need from now until then. Put these aside too. These are going to trash/donate when it's time to leave.
3. ALL others - sell/donate, get it out of your apt. Make a list of stuff that you would like to sell, furnitures, kitchen gadgets, bags, shoes, books. Pictures are great. Send this list via email to friends and start putting things on craigslist.
4. Keep sorting and paring down your stuff to keep while waiting for buyers.

When you can't decide on something, leave it or put it in an undecided box until later and move on. DO decide about it though, the sooner the better, because you don't want to have boxes of undecided stuff at the last minute. Let go of things that are not worth that much and definitely not worth your time. Have a timeline, on the last 2 weeks, if they don't sell, donate them all, it's not worth it to stress out over stuff that could easily be replaced. Your last 2 weeks should be spent with people you love!

Agree with luxcat, if your furniture are pretty great, sell them as a whole to the next renter. My husband did this and made money with no effort.

Good luck and have fun!

Posted 1 year ago #
eapwest
Member

Thanks for all the ideas so far! Keep em coming!

susanintexas - good point. I have some idea of a timeline obviously, but being more specific with it in my planning will help me not feel so overwhelmed.

luxcat - I wish I could do that, but I don't think that will work with my apartment complex. However, I do have a custom-made loft bed frame that works perfectly for the 14ft ceilings industrial-loft apartments I'm in. My hope is an ad by the mailboxes will have some jump on this perfect item. Other than that, most will have to go on craigslist.

Alice - I want to start packing because I'm excited, but I was worried this might be premature and make my place look messy (but does it matter?). It's a good idea to separate toiletries, pack some and use others till I move, then toss them. Toiletries are part of the bigger problem since I have too many perfumes and lotions (inherited a lot from my sister), I was planning on giving them away to girlfriends. Since most donation places won't take them.

Posted 1 year ago #
lottielot
Member

do you have car boot sales/jumble sales there? When I moved countries I pretty much gave everything away to friends/house mates and the rest I just dragged off to the charity shop. I wouldn't stress too much about the little stuff TBH, maybe you could have a party for your friends to come over and pick out the stuff they would like of yours, and the rest can go straight to the charity shop or the recycling/rubbish? Be as ruthless as you can be, if you're going to be backpacking around the world then you want to travel really light!

Posted 1 year ago #
Sky
Member

eapwest....congratulations!

My brother and SIL taught school in Saudi Arabia from 1992 to 2003. They officially worked for the Saudia Airline so part of their benefits included free airfare anywhere. They traveled extensively all over the world.

When they were getting ready to go, they didn't get rid of anything they just closed up their house and hired a neighbor to check on it and cut the grass. Luckily, they never had any problems with it and they came home every summer.

They took way too much stuff. SIL even took her sterling silverware! It wasn't necessary because they were provided with a furnished apartment with everything they needed. They bought so much stuff while they were there and when they traveled, brought loads home every summer and when they came home permanently, they shipped another huge load. They generously gave things to everyone in the family (I have rolled up carpets under my guest room bed that I need to deal with) and really filled up their house. Even hung carpets on the walls! Everything was so inexpensive and tempting but their house looks like an import store.

I think their example is what not to do!! I'm so glad I've decluttered.

Posted 1 year ago #
Another Deb
Member

Wow, Sky! I would love to hear the stories of that teaching experience and the travels they got to do with their free airfare over the years. Do they write about it at all?

Posted 1 year ago #
Sky
Member

Another Deb....Not really. They are retired now and missing traveling. They should write a book, they had some great adventures.

Posted 1 year ago #
Greyghost
Member

Hi eapwest,

Sounds like you're in the JET program. It's a great experience. I went over for 2 years with a dispatch company as an ALT, and had a great time.
Things to remember about Japan: 1) your living quarters will almost certainly be smaller that anything you're use to, unless you're use to boats (this was my saving factor.) Take your summer clothing, have your boyfriend ship you your winter clothing in October or so. July, August and September are HOT anywhere from Tokyo south.
2) For your electronics, if they have a 3-prong plug, you need an adapter. If you know where you're going, check whether you need 50 or 60 cycle, and get the proper three to 2 prong adapter (Japan uses most a two prong plug system.) (This cycle difference is causing a big problem in Japan at the moment, TEPCO runs on 60 Cycle, many other utilities run on 50 cycle, and as a result can't help take up the slack since TEPCO has a Nuclear Reactor problem, and is producing less electricity than usual.)
3) I'd seriously advise you to ditch any perfumes. Many schools won't allow them (allergies) and once you decide what you need for outside school use, the local department store will be happy to sell it to you. Dito things like nail polish, etc.
4) Have friends who have admire stuff? Offer to sell/trade/give it to them.
5) Burn your CDs to MP3s, and sell them.
6) not uncluttering but useful for food allergies or if you're a vegetarian: http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/kondos/vangetarianspage.htm (Kondo-sensei was my japanese teacher, so I'm happy to refer you to her webpage.)
Let me know if you have specific questions.

Posted 1 year ago #

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