To Ship or Not To Ship
✅ Scour the internet for the best methods of moving ones life from Point A to Point B
✅ Decide between door-to-door shipping or paying for extra baggage
Join us on our quest to find the most efficient way to get our belongings from here to there.
We are baby steps closer to moving. Baby steps are better than being at a stand still though, right? RIGHT?!
*Deep Breath*
“control what I can, and don’t stress about the things that I can’t” (I mutter to myself while visibly stressing about every little thing that is out of my control.)
ANYWAY…like I said, baby steps. Apparently there is still hope that we are on track to move in April. I have my (very reasonable) doubts and am preparing for a timeline extension to prevent myself any future frustration, but I am glad to hear that a modicum of hope exists. However unlikely it seems that we’ll stay on schedule, I still need to continue on with preparations as if we will be moving in a matter of weeks. Unfortunately, without any hard dates I still can’t order plane tickets, give the management company for our current apartment a move out date, or coordinate with our daycare, etc… *DEEP BREATH*
While the timeline is still, very much so, out of my control. I can, however, work to nail down a game plan for getting our stuff abroad. I have spent an absurd amount of time finding all potential options for moving our belongings and then narrowing the field down to the two that are the best fit for us; door-to-door bag shipping with a service provider like sendmybags.com, or bringing our luggage on the plane with us and paying for extra baggage.
I have developed what I would consider to be a moderate level of self awareness in the last 34 years and knowing what I know about myself as a person I am leaning heavily toward the latter option. Would it be easier to have a company pick up all of our stuff, and then deliver it to our apartment in Italy a week later? Potentially. Am I going to be stressed about where those things are and then end up wicked grumpy if things go south and the ~6% chance (according to the internet) that my stuff arrives damaged or doesn’t arrive at all comes to fruition? Oh, for sure. Another entry on the “cons” side of the “reasons for and against shipping” T-graph is the uncertainty of our situation. Seemingly, once we land a lease, everything is going to shift into overdrive. That’s not going to give me much time to get shipping scheduled and to figure out where exactly I am supposed to have it delivered in Italy. Add in the fact that Italy’s postal services are notoriously unreliable and the customs process for receiving packages can be a nightmare to navigate, and I’m finding myself more and more wary of shipping.
The more I analyze this the more it seems that bringing our things via check bag may be the best choice for us. My, admittedly rudimentary, plan (and I fully welcome alternate insights btw) regarding how to make that choice work involves booking a nonstop red-eye out of NY to Milan and using our allocated two-checked-bags-per-person to schlep our stuff over with us.
Emirates flies out of JFK every night at 10:20 P.M. We have enough experience under our parental belts to know that, for our family, when it comes to long-haul flights, an evening or red-eye is better than a morning flight because it ensures that our kids will sleep. Errrr…At least we hope that they will sleep *knocks on wood*… and by “hope” I obviously mean that we, like all parents who travel with young children, are desperately petitioning the universe to bequeath unto us two mild-mannered, drowsy toddlers on travel day. As I mentioned, Emirates allows for two checked bags for each passenger plus our carry-ons and small personal bags. There is the option of paying for extra baggage on some flights as well. This brings our total allowance (before paying for said extra luggage) to eight full sized suitcases plus carry-ons.
Do I own eight suitcases? No. Do I like having the option of bringing eight suitcases if I so desire? Yes, I most certainly do.
I have a month to figure out exactly which type of luggage I need, exactly how much of it I will need, and where I need to get it. Again, knowing what I know about myself, I will estimate realistically that I won’t have this particular aspect of planning figured out for at least another 3 weeks.
I am who I am, alright?!
Travel days with kid;
“…we, like all parents who travel with young children, are desperately petitioning the universe to bequeath unto us two mild-mannered drowsy toddlers on travel day.”
It goes without saying that this game plan will likely be tweaked and adjusted many times in the coming weeks - but as it stands now, the plan is simply to cull our belongings to fit into the least amount of checked luggage possible. Last year for Valentines day, I, positively brimming with romanticism, purchase the sexiest of gifts: his & hers PeakDesign 30L travel backpacks. I truly love them - they are the keystones to our day-of travel plans and will be tasked with housing our tablets, computers, photography equipment, and the seemingly infinite amount of supplies necessary for getting two small children to another continent without anyone losing their minds. The kids each have a JetKids by Stokke suitcase. For those who are unfamiliar - they are a rolling suitcase that the kids can sit on to be ferried through the airport. Once on the plane they open up to convert the airline seat into a lounge/bed for the kids. They will are a crucial part of my plan for making this as painless as possible for all involved. The remainder of our belongings will be vacuum sealed and organized into the checked bags to be unceremoniously tossed into the cargo hold only to emerge again when we arrive on Italian soil.
Finding kids travel accessories that work for your family’s travel style is, in my opinion, imperative for smooth travel days.
{Our Stokke Jetkids cases being used on our trip to Rhode Island}
The X-factor in all of this is getting the luggage to the airport in New York, and then getting it from the airport in Italy to our new home (which has still yet to be found BTW). I’ll be looking up porter and skycap services to try and make it easier to get our bags where they need to be going when we’re at the airports. I suspect that our two little humans will require us to have the use of both hands. As for getting to the airport, it seems like our best bet is to hire a van service or an Uber XL to get us to JFK. I know from experience that that is very do-able. However, I don’t know if it’s a possibility in Italy. What I do know is that there is absolutely no shot that we’ll be able to fit two car seats, two adults, eight checked bags, and our carry-on bags into any european rental vehicle. SOOO….down the google rabbit hole I go!
Ciao.
