Moving houses is a mammoth task, but when you take moving overseas into account, it can be quite daunting. Usually when international moving is concerned, you can opt for a number of shipping options. One would be to pack individual boxes and then choose LCL container shipping (which means your boxes will be included with other people’s shipment in a container. The other is to opt for FCL shipping where you choose either between a 20ft or 40ft container that is reserved only for your goods. If you have taken it on yourself to pack and load the container, your freight forwarder will bring over the container and park it close to your premises so you can load the cargo.
However, if you are looking for assistance, then you can also let us know and we’ll be more than eager to help you with packing and loading your household goods for your move overseas. In the event you want to do it all on your own, we have some packing tips on how to pack your household goods when moving overseas.
- Get a system in place. Get yourself a writing pad, and start assessing what you are keeping, what you are giving away, or leaving behind. Once you know which falls into which, start separating them early on, especially those that you are giving away because you will need to move those out before you start packing your personal effect and household goods.
- Don’t pack everything on the last day. Start packing your non-essentials early on. By starting to put things away in boxes that we supply you, you can start as early as 4 weeks ahead of when the container needs to be loaded if you opt for FCL or when the items will be picked up us!
- Choose the right shipping boxes/crates based on what you are packing. This is more common sense than anything else. At Transco Cargo, you are given the option of selecting between cardboard boxes and wooden chests especially when moving overseas, as there are lots of household goods and personal effects to be packed.
- Packing the cardboard boxes. When it comes to packing the cardboard boxes, you need to keep gravity and weight of the items in mind. Therefore, the following tips on packing cardboard boxes may be helpful to you.
- Pack heavier items in smaller boxes, not exceeding approximately 20kg. By packing heavier items such as books, heavy ornaments in smaller boxes you are ensuring that the boxes maintain their shape, as well as making it easy for you to carry it.
- Pack lighter items in bigger boxes
- Document everything. By listing down everything you pack as you go, you’re keeping track. Since you will be asked to include a packing list for shipping purposes, this is crucial. However, if you were to use Non-Carbon paper to make copies of what you’re writing, you are able have copies for your reference. That is, a copy for the freight forwarder, a copy for yourself (you should label the box and the list accordingly, eg: Books/LivingRoom, based on contents), a copy to be included on the inside flap of the box so you know what they are in the event you don’t have the list with you. While you may think this is a lot of work, it helps when you are unpacking so that you know what is inside the box without rummaging.
Stay tuned for the next segment of Packing and International Moving tips to be featured on the Transco Cargo blog!