So my first port of call is what am I going to do with all my stuff I have stored since September 2010. By the time we come back for Christmas it would have been in a shipping container for over 2 years. I was saying to Shelly I didn’t even take a proper inventory, so I really have no idea on exactly what is in the container but at 300AUD a month, it is going to have to come out and something done with it. That 300AUD is enough to nearly covers a month’s rent in Addis. So in a perfect world I would love to have it all shipped to Ethiopia, I mean it is already in a shipping container. I had no idea on what to expect the cost to be to ship a container to Africa, but really, how much could it cost? If it was too much people wouldn’t do it. I had a figure of 5000-7000 in my head and I was prepared to pay that. So I started to make some calls to international movers and I am now waiting for the quotes to come in. But I did glean from one lady that I would be looking at approximately 10,000-15,000AUD for the amount I had based on 39 cubic meters. Yeah that is not going to happen. I am not sure all my stuff would be worth all that anyway? So it may just look like I will not get to take all my things and I will have to go through it all in December and decide what comes, what stays (small storage unit) and what I give/sell. I mean I have 60 bottles of vodka in that container (amazing what one remembers with the important stuff). Maybe I will just have to have a vodka party before we leave in January….. . It will take approximately 10-16 weeks for the container to be delivered into Addis and then would our new home be big enough to take all my ‘stuff’. Yeah, maybe I am better to go through it here. The only problem is getting to my container as it is in long term storage, so it costs 700AUD to access it. So once it is out, there is no putting it back in again. I would be happy to pay for a small self-access storage unit should there be things I don’t want to throw out and that I don’t need to go to Addis, but again this is something I will have to look at in December when I finally know what the hell I have in the container.
I am a hoarder from way back. I have report cards from primary school; thousands of photos, school work, posters from school doo’s, Christmas cards, birthday cards you name it I still have it. This is what I am going to find the most difficult to let go of. As Shelly says do you look at the stuff and the answer is no, so really it should be easy to throw it all out and I know I will have to be ruthless, but maybe I could just keep a few things for prosperity. It was my past after all and when I have kids I would want to show them some of my things. I guess I don’t need to keep 12 years of schooling stuff. But this is what I am going to have to deal with when I come back. I may need Shelly standing over my shoulder keeping an eye on my keep and throw piles….
Will I need all those ball gowns-no
Will I need 100 dresses-no
Will I need all those pairs of shoes-no
My Elmo’s will be donated
Do I need all the crap I have in there-probably no…..
Oh I can see you all smiling now, but doesn’t it sound like a daunting task?
So my next phone call was to a company I used to recommend to clients when I was in the travel industry. I have never used them and never heard any feedback but it is a company that sends your belongings as unaccompanied baggage. They pick it up from your home, weigh it, you pay for it and then they take care of everything else and deliver it to its destination, airport only. This far cheaper than excess baggage or doing it through the actual airline (according to them) so I gave Jetta Express a call (they have a Brisbane office) and I asked if they firstly delivered to Addis Ababa, yes, and how much would it cost? He came straight back with a price of 8.60 per kilo. WHAT!!!! How cheap is that. There is a minimum of 15kg and a maximum of 30kg per item, but for me I think this is the perfect solution to eventually getting all my gear to Ethiopia. Less the furniture of course, but even the Elmo’s will make the cut and then I can give them away once I am there and brighten over 300 little lives with a furry red guy. I don’t think they will even know who Elmo is, but to have something to call their own and super cute will be worth anything in the world. I rekon this maybe even cheaper than postage and a great way to get things, even eventually books, pencils etc….. Once I am established there and know exactly what is needed. This is a very good backup should my shipping come in too expensive. I had a few people mention back-loading, but I am guessing containers to Ethiopia from Australia would be few and far between, but I guess I should ask the question anyway.
This then leads me to ridding of my furniture. I have a lot of new stuff that Drew and I purchased for the new home that literally didn’t get used much. It’s not super expensive stuff but it is new and nice. I asked Drew if he wanted to sell it on EBay for me and take a cut of the proceeds which he didn’t seem too keen on, but he was more than happy to take my 60 bottles of vodka off me. Yeah join the queue pal….. So my next idea was to just publish it all on Facebook and take the first offer to just move the stuff quick and if all else fails it will go on the lawn and I am sure that would all get snapped up in a jiff. There is a lot of Ikea shelving in there, which I will miss and beds and couches and book cases and desks. But I guess it is stuff I can hopefully buy in Addis as we need. At the end of the day it is only furniture…right…… So stay tuned in December, if you need any new furniture watch this space…..
This week has been spent going through the closet and the 4 suitcases of clothes that I left behind at the Elkins. I have been ruthless and I have tried on every piece of clothing and anything that didn’t fit or I didn’t like the look of, or that I may not have use for in Africa has gone into bags for Vinnies. I now have 5 large bin bags of clothes to drop off and I think there may even be a further cull in December, but it’s a good start. I have also gone through what belongings I have and have tossed what I won’t use, given the god-daughters some stuff and will offer them some bags and purses that I have never even used. Once again I am just trying to cut down on all the gear I have here at the Elkins and try and get that under control before I leave. I have no need to buy any clothes, as I still have gear that I bought for my Odyssey that didn’t make the final pack, so even though that was 16 months ago, it is still new and some of the stuff still has tags on them. I feels like I have opened Pandora’s clothing chest and have a whole new wardrobe….
So the frustrating thing for me is I really can’t do too much more now till I come back in December, there are a lot of variables out there that I won’t know the answers too till I come back. But I have started the ball rolling and I am in a good place with where I stand will all my crap…..um I mean all my stuff. Wait till Zeme sees what I actually own-I think he wouldn’t have seen that much stuff ever in his whole life. I have a lot.
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