5 Things Not Worth Storing When Moving Abroad

So you are moving abroad. Most likely you will not take everything you own. As one can imagine, process of moving abroad has many steps. One of the steps you’ll have to go through is to figure out what to ship and what to get rid of. If your company or organization offers to pay for storage, you’ll have to think about what to send to a storage unit as well.

Here I will list 5 items that I believe it’s worth either shipping to your new home abroad, selling or donating instead of sending to a storage unit for the duration of your time overseas. I hope this will help you make decisions on what to do with some of your belongings.

1. ELECTRONICS

Many electronics including TV’s these days are available with dual voltage that can accept both 110-120V and 220-240V. Therefore, you should be able to use your electronics in different countries. If you think that you can’t use your current TV in your posting overseas, it’s better to get rid of it now than later. Technologies on electronics change quickly these days. You may be able to sell your TV now, but you may not be able to sell it several years from now. In many years from now, if no one wants to take it even for free, it will turn into hazardous waste. You will have to take it to the designated hazardous waste dumpster which could be far from where you live.

2. CRIB & BABY GEAR

If you are moving abroad and thinking about sending your baby gear to storage, you should sell or give away your baby gear instead. It has become a common knowledge that used baby gear means that one could purchase something that has been recalled. The longer you wait, the harder to sell or give away any baby gear. Some thrift stores may not even accept your donation of old baby gear. You’re better off getting rid of your baby gear earlier than later.

You can read more about the risk in “Understand the risks of secondhand baby gear”.

3. WHITE FURNITURE

White furniture will most likely turn yellow after many years of being stored in storage. Even the fabric of white couches will turn yellow. If you have an IKEA couch that comes with an inexpensive slipcovers, that will allow you to refresh the look. Otherwise, you may be disappointed when your white couch comes out of storage. you’re better off selling white furniture before moving overseas.

That being said, I have sent a few pieces of white furniture to our storage. We have a loft bed, a bunk bed, and a shelf. Now I am a bit worried about them.

4. UNWANTED CLOTHES

You might be moving from a country with the winter season to a country with a hot temperature all year round. Or vice versa. Whatever the changes you may experience, I recommend that you bring all of your favorite clothes regardless of the seasons with you.

You might have ski outfits that you don’t know if you use them when you live in a tropical weather. It might be tempting to send them to the storage for several years because you don’t have to deal with them. However, if you don’t think you will make a ski trip for a long time, you should make an effort to find a new home for your ski outfits rather than let them hibernate for years. You may not like them any more by the time you get them back.

Expensive leather clothes won’t do well in a humid climate. Sending leather items to a storage unit may not be a bad idea. However, there is no guarantee that your leather items will be in a good condition by the time you receive your boxes after many years in storage.

If there are any clothing items that you keep for sentimental values and can’t decide if you want to get rid of them or not, I understand that you want to send them to storage.

5. CAR

It is better to sell your car than sending it to storage. Car depreciation is the rate at which a vehicle lose its value every year. You will lose the value of your car even if you don’t drive and store it for years. You can read about depreciation of your car here.

If your car is parked for a long time without being driven, many issues with the car arise. You can read about that in “Dangers of parking your car for long”.

ADDITIONAL FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Art pieces can go either to storage or to overseas with you.

Valuable art work may be better off in a climate controlled storage unit back home for you. If you are considering whether you want to to send your art decor and paintings to storage or your posting overseas, you may want to think about the following.

1. Could it get discolored or damaged in the process of shipment? Shipping boxes during the summer can be exposed to humidity and heat, which may cause some items to discolor. White canvases and plastic, for example, can turn yellow in the heat.

2. People’s taste change constantly. What if you won’t like the art piece any more when you get it back after many years? What will it mean to you?

Your favorite artwork to decorate your home with can evoke the feeling of your “home”. You may want to take some with you so that you can appreciate them while you live abroad.

If a painting or art piece is something that holds a high value and you don’t want to risk shipping it overseas, it may be safer to send it tp a storage unit.

We bring all of our valuable Japanese decorations for the Girls Day and Boys Day in Japan with us. I don’t see the point of owning them if we don’t see them over many years. I do worry about their condition. Our Japanese Hina Dolls (Girl’s Day Dolls) are stored in boxes in our closet. I hope the condition of the dolls are okay.