You Haven’t Started Packing Yet? (Article#5) 5/25/2006

So we finally packed our first 9 boxes last week, essentially emptying the basement bookshelves from seforim and books. Although we move in just 6 weeks, we haven’t yet gotten that sense of urgency that the move is upon us and we have to get packing.

The whole process of moving our house is totally different from what we are used to. In our 16 years as a family, we have moved twice. Once to Far Rockaway from our initial apartment in Chicago (as a married couple of almost one year with a 5 week old baby), and the second time to our current house in Woodmere 7 years ago.

In both of those moves, we packed everything ourselves, taking all of our belongings from one place to the next in a matter of hours or days. We paid for the move based on the amount of stuff we had and the weight of our shipment.

Moving overseas is a whole different story. There are a whole host of issues to consider. Do we sell all our furniture and buy new things there to save the cost of shipping? Are we emotionally tied to our things and will the comfort of our “stuff” make our adjustment easier? How much can I take and have it fit within our new home that may have limited closet space and require a different style of furniture? And many other issues as well.

Shipping to Israel is not a weight based calculation. It is solely a function of space. Essentially, you purchase a certain amount of space in a container being sent by boat to Israel. You are then entitled to cram as much as you possibly can into that container (well, the movers actually pack the container – but you get my point).

In order to determine how much space you need, the shippers send an estimator who walks through your house with you. He calculates how much space each item that you plan on taking will use and then adds a certain amount for additional items you plan on shipping (see appliances below).

In order to ensure that everything is still in one piece when it arrives at our new home, the shippers told us that we are only responsible to pack all the “soft” goods like clothes and books. They will come to our home on the day we pack the lift and will professionally pack our breakable items such as dishes, paintings, etc.

There are many different shipping companies who ship to Israel and they all have pluses and minuses. We chose our shipper not only based on favorable recommendations from the Nefesh Bnefesh website, but more importantly on the fact that my brother had informed me that this particular shipper was also an appliance wholesaler who would beat any price on any item we needed to purchase for our new home.

We are essentially saying goodbye to almost every appliance we own. My shaver might work on 220 voltage. The computer too. But the microwave, toaster, fridge, cd/stereo, DVD player, hairdryers, alarm clocks and a whole host of other appliances simply won’t work in Israel. Interestingly, in Israel, the fridge, washer/dryer and oven are not left behind by the previous residents. So we need to add these items to our list as well.

There are several stores in the NY region that specialize in 220 volt appliances. This week, we visited one to select the various items that we will need in Israel. Initially, I felt uncomfortable shopping in a store and taking the salesman’s time when I knew we wouldn’t actually be buying there. My brother knows the salesman, though, and told me to tell the guy exactly what we were doing. There are many small appliances like a toaster that aren’t available through our shipper, for those we are using this specific store.

Two weeks ago, there was a special seminar held in New York specifically dealing with 220 appliances and what Olim should be looking for in appliances. Of course, Goldie and I had just gotten back from Israel and were still chasing down our rental home, so we did not make the time to attend. I have heard from those who attended that the seminar was very informative, but we had to rely upon our salesman for the same advice.

It seems that for major appliances, the Israeli/European options only come in small sizes with minimal capacities. So most people recommend buying American appliances, which can be imported import duty free with Aliyah Zechuyot (rights). Since we are initially renting our home, we aren’t sure what kind of oven/refrigerator we will need long term. So we decided to just get something simple and large. As far as washer/dryers go – everybody says get maytag (they are the most dependable).

These appliances are delivered directly to the shippers to be placed in our container for shipment. When our lift is packed, these items will already be included in the cargo container. Since we plan on shipping almost all our furniture, we will need almost an entire container for our things.

A side benefit of needing close to the entire container is that we will have room for additional things like aluminum foil, paper goods, giant buckets of advil, cases of Diet Dr. Pepper, etc. in the lift, since we get to use every inch of space for whatever we want. We made a significant dent in COSTCO’s inventory last Sunday as we loaded up on these items to pack them in boxes.

Which brings us back to packing boxes. Since we are only packing our non-breakables, we won’t have that much to pack. We might have about 100 boxes to pack all together and everything else will be done by the shippers. Another added benefit is that all the international shippers give you free boxes in which to pack your things. They ship them via UPS directly to your home.

So we had no problems arranging for brand new boxes to hold all our things. They include packing tape and magic markers in our box shipments, so we really had everything we needed when we began to pack. And it was also a very tangible reminder that we are really on our way. Next week: Visas – no not the charge card

On a personal note, we want to thank the many people who have given us so much encouragement these past few weeks. Knowing that we are fulfilling a dream that many of us share, it is truly heartwarming to hear your kind words and warm wishes. We look forward to the time when all of us will have the zchus of achieving this dream and live together B’Achdus in Artzeinu Hakedosha.