Tips For Dealing With Your Things When Living Abroad

Whether you’re living overseas for an extended period of time or you’re planning to travel around, you’ll soon find yourself building up ‘stuff’. From clothing to household items, there are a lot of essentials (and non-essentials!) you accumulate when you settle somewhere for more than a couple of weeks.

But if you plan on moving on, or you don’t want to bring it all home with you, what do you do with it? If you’ve ended up with a lot more baggage than you came with, the following tips can help you strip it back to help you move onto your next adventure.

List your must-haves

When you first set off on your travels or move somewhere new, it’s reasonable that you’ll want to take as little as possible with you. It’s a lot of effort to travel with a lot of things! But it’s understandable that once you settle down in one place, you start buying things and growing your possessions as you would at home. 

Keeping a list of your must-have items will help you keep things streamlined, should you ever decide to move or travel elsewhere. Items such as clothing, luggage, personal care and tech could be among your basics that you have to take with you no matter where you go. With this list to hand, you’ll be able to clearly distinguish between the ‘must takes’ and ‘leave behinds’. 

Donate, re-sell and buy used

If you’re moving and have more things than you anticipated, you should consider donating or selling your things to stop them from ending up in a landfill somewhere. You can sell clothes easily online and it should be pretty straightforward to find donation centres where you are.

If you need to get new things in your next destination, why not buy them used? This will save you money and helps you recycle someone’s unwanted goods too. 

Factor in storage and moving costs

Putting your things in storage is another option you can take when it comes to moving. If you’re only travelling for a short-period, or you know you’ll be settling somewhere soon, this can save you the hassle of having to buy everything all over again. Storage isn’t cheap, but if you can afford it, it’s worth getting.

Don’t forget to think about your moving costs too. If you can fit your belongings into a small vehicle, that’s great. But furniture and other large items will need transporting. Get a quote from Sydney Ute Van Hire for an idea of the cost. These last-minute costs have a habit of creeping up unexpectedly, so make sure you’re prepared by making plans as far ahead as you can.

Learn to live with less

One thing moving to a new place teaches you is that you usually have more stuff than you need. Could you learn to live with less? There are a lot of things people wish they knew before moving abroad, and many people will say that they packed too much. Everyone is different and will have different needs, but even those moving as a family can try babywearing while traveling to save on bringing strollers and other bulky items! If you can learn to live with less, you’ll be able to focus more on enjoying different experiences instead of constantly shopping and spending money on things you don’t really need!

Moving abroad is a chance for a fresh start, but it doesn’t have to mean taking the kitchen sink with you! Consider the different things you can do to strip back your things to save you money and hassle, ready to move again at the drop of a hat!

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