Getting things from store after 4 years. Handy hints and tips?

[ThresholdMum]

Hello. We are moving back to UK after 4 years abroad, and I will be taking delivery of our stuff from storage on my own, in a day, before starting meetings for new job next day. I can see already this isn't the best plan! What are your tips for receiving stuff from storage - it was professionally packed and wrapped up, but should I anticipate its going to be very dusty/need washing/cleaning? How did you deal with sorting the stuff which was no longer relevant after four years absence? Advice?

[PointlessPost]

Get someone to help you! Pay someone if you have to.

Are you moving back into the same house? If so that will make it much easier.
Do you have a list of what you have in storage? Do you know where it will go? Can you assign all the big items to the correct rooms beforehand?

We moved back to the UK after 18 years and several children We had lived in roomy expat houses and it was, umm, interesting trying to fit our stuff back into a UK sized house. The removal guys were brilliant. I didn't have any other help and I think they took pity on me

One of the removal men gave me half his sandwich as I didn't have a moment to get any lunch. . I guess you could make yourself a packed lunch. (Maybe, you could plan to have takeout and a big bottle of wine for supper, you may need it )

I also listed big items (tables, sofas etc) that I realised I didn't want on freecycle as soon as they were taken out of the container. I marked them for immediate collection and we left them in the front garden until they were collected. Over the next few weeks I did a lot of trips to our local Oxfam store.

Do you have a garage? Can you try and leave that empty until your stuff arrives. With an area for rubbish, an area for charity an area for things to go in the loft etc.

Good luck.

[ThresholdMum]

Brilliant PointlessPost thank you. And thank you again. Think sandwich, takeout, wine, garage....

Yes we have got a scrabbly list of what we should have, and the preplanning idea of what goes where is great. Oh dear though, I thought this bit might be the easier bit.

Was your stuff dusty/dirty too though? I already have visions of reassembling flatpack bookcases into the night, but is it likely I'll need to wash everything down too?

[PointlessPost]

Not dusty at all! Everything was well wrapped up and surprisingly clean. However, I guess any type of moving in process is a bit messy and dirty.

I used to check the bottom of the boxes to see if they were dirty and, if they were, I would get the removal guys to put paper or cardboard on any carpeted floors before putting the boxes down.

(Once our stuff was moved in a lorry that had previously contained cars . )

I don't know what type of unpacking service you have but if you have a full unwrap service (which is more common with expat moves) then I used to make sure EVERY SINGLE BOX was fully unwrapped and the box and wrapping papers removed by the removal men.

You always hear stories of people having unpacked boxes sitting in spare rooms for years on end. I always thought it better to get everything out straight away, even if it did used to look like a bomb had hit the house.

I also wasn't shy to change my mind about where furniture went. I tried to never do it but invariably there were times when I grovelled to asked the removal men and got them to change where something was.

[soapnuts]

Ours was filthy after 5 years - and as professionally packed and stored etc - I was pretty cross tbh - if it were me I'd dump it all in one corner and deal with it box by box when you have time - after all if you haven't needed it for 4 years it's not going to be urgent is it! I'm sure you were much more discerning about what you kept but I was amazed what a load of crap I'd stored (except the furniture - that was nice) and also some things i didn't even recognise as ours (DH assures me they are but I simply don't recall them).

[LeMousquetaireAnonyme]

You need someone just to tick the boxes numbers as they appear out of the truck (very fast) to see if anything is missing in the end.

I agree with soapnuts dump in the garage in not to high piles (don't forget your walking space) and deal with it later.
put a few boxes inside that you can deal with straight away with your wine and take away

[specialsubject]

if it has been in a proper store (not containers) it shouldn't be dusty or dirty.

top tip - check through every single piece of packing material for small items. And don't dump the boxes, people on freecycle will fight for them as moving boxes are so expensive now.

shame if you have paid to store things for four years only to dispose of them!

[ThresholdMum]

Thank you all so much, great tips! Have already put ad out via local friend to hope to find a sidekick to help make cups of tea, wipe things down, tick off boxes etc, and to uncork that essential wine!

[ThresholdMum]

Just wanted to report back to you all what a difference your suggestions made. In fact they made it a manageable day, which I'm surrrrrreeeee it wouldn't have been without you.

Stuff thankfully wasn't dusty so not too much need to wipe down everything; preprepared a floorplan which made a big difference; hired a competent teenager who arrived with his own packed lunch and screwdrivers, and was a Godsend; remembered to buy jaycloths, rubbish bags, clipboard (to create aura of efficiency), screwdrivers in advance; boxes I couldn't face into the shed in manageable piles; tried not to feel too phased by the furniture I no longer recognised; got a readymeal and a large bottle of wine chilling; - and still had energy at the end of the day for a brief trip to IKEA. Thank you all!

[FlipertyJibbert]

I've namechanged but I was pointless post....

Glad to hear it went well. You must remember to update in several years time when you finally unpack that dreaded 'last' box.

Enjoy your new home