Our Life in Bags…Again
If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ll know that when we started this life, one of my first blog posts was called Our Life in Bags. It was only fitting that at the start of this new journey, I would start with the same topic, with some tips and tricks I’ve learned. As a disclaimer, some of the links in this blog may be affiliate links… but I promise I love all the items I’m recommending and personally own them myself!
The first set of movers came, and they took 1,000 pounds of our UAB (Unaccompanied Baggage or air shipment). If you’re unfamiliar with the terminology, this shipment is “supposed” to arrive quickly and sometimes beats you to your house (best case). Below you’ll find everything I packed in our UAB. *Please note I did not pack our kitchen as Tyler and I have been married ten years and have owned the same kitchen stuff our entire marriage. So I put 90% in storage for use when we come back stateside, and HEY, there’s an IKEA right up the road from my new home.
Basic UAB Packing List
- Kitchen
- Blankets
- Sheets (I use everymore as an opportunity to do a bedding refresh)
- Crockpot/ Instant Pot
- Towels
- Pillows
- Storage Containers
- Bicycles
UAB Packing List With Babies
- Portable highchair
- Stroller
- Breast Pump
- Pack N Play
- Extra Diapers
- Extra Formula
- Baby Toys
UAB Packing List With Older Children
- Tv
- Video Games
- Bicycles
- Helmets
- Board Games
Packing Hack #1
I purchased 20 of these IKEA storage bags from IKEA and packed all our sheets, blankets, soft toys, pillows, clothes, jackets anything that would fold up and fit in a bag I put in one of these bags! The movers commented that it was one of the most straightforward moves because they had to pick up the bag and put it in a box. I also made sure to put a fabric softener sheet in each of the bags to keep everything smelling fresh. I went a step further, weighed every single bag, and placed duck tape on it so I knew EXACTLY my UAB’s weight, and it matched perfectly to the movers’ weight. The movers weighed every box on a scale for our UAB shipment.
Packing Hack #2
I also purchased these bags for items that I knew we didn’t need immediately. I wanted to be able to put them in a closet and not have to unpack them immediately. I thought these were great because they were a little bit more decorative than the clean IKEA bags but still served the same purpose.
Packing Hack #3
One thing that I knew we needed in our new home was plastic storage bins, our new house has a TON of storage! We aren’t bringing a ton of stuff however we have kids and have a bunch of random little stuff here and there. So what I did was pack all the toys in their own plastic containers. I made sure that they were all sorted and that all the toys I packed sparked joy (thanks Maria Kondo) I wanted to start fresh and make sure that everything we packed WE NEEDED! I weighed each of the containers and marked it with duck tape with the exact weight too.
Packing Hack #4
I just recently started using Ziplock vacuum bags (hello 2024). Why haven’t I been using these awesome bags my entire expat life?! I had no idea how much room they really save you. This should be on everyone’s list that’s moving!
Lets Talk Airline Bags
Now let’s talk about our airlines’ bags… I’m not going to lie I get all nerdy… talking about packing and it secretly makes me really really happy to get new packing supplies.
This was my first move with a baby… OMG, I didn’t realize half the crap you “think” you need for a baby… I kept thinking to myself people had babies way before the pack n play, baby bath, bouncy seats, etc were EVER around! So why do I have a million things packed for Dean?! Let me just say after about three whole days of packing unpacking repacking I got him down to ONE BAG!!! Nolan and Heath this time around were a walk in the park and I got them both in ONE BAG, and I packed myself in ONE BAG too! To be honest that one bag is pretty HUGE it’s 120 L and I’ll talk all about it below! Tyler on the other hand… he had two bags but he has lots of different types of clothing to pack so I let him slide!
Must Have Clear Bags
The one thing that really helped me pack Dean’s bag was buying these clear makeup bags. These bags were perfect to put paci, paci clips, diaper rash cream, travel shampoo, baby toys, nail clippers, baby brush, etc If you have a baby, kids, or just yourself I suggest investing. These clear bags also worked really well on the airplane too! It was so easy to spot what I needed and grab it!
Packing Cubes
Packing cubes if you’re a packing rookie you might not know what these are…and that’s okay because I once had NO CLUE! However, I’ve come a LONG way and you NEED these! I color-coded everyone in the family to make getting dressed while on the road a little bit easier.
Color Coordinating Bags
One question I get all the time is what bags do you guys use to pack in? Do you use rolling suitcases, hard shell, duffle bags? The simple answer is we use duffle bags because it’s so much easier to fit into cars when traveling and so easy to store after the traveling is done! Our last move and about 30 trips we have used these duffle bags and WE LOVE THEM!! We have had ZERO and I mean ZERO issues with these bags and I can speak nothing but WONDERFUL things about them. I LOVE the color, I LOVE that they fold up into basically nothing, and I LOVE that they are easy to throw into a car and go! We own 15 of these bags and I think they are GREAT! (They come in about 20 fun colors) The colors make it super easy to find them at the airport!
Final Notes About UAB
I have known many friends to receive their UAB after their household goods had already been delivered. Please keep this in mind too when packing your UAB.
Good luck with you move and if you have any questions, drop a comment below.