Our first Packout Experience

I can't believe that packout happened a week ago. I had no idea on what to expect, so my expectations were pretty low.

Day 1:
Our day started at 9 am when the movers came and knock on our door. It turned out to be 3 really nice Hispanic men, 2 Mexican brothers and 1 Peruvian guy. Immediatly they told me that the 1st day they were going to pack our UAB (Unaccompanied Baggage) and our HHE (Household Effects). I led them to the basement to show them where most of our HHE and UAB items were. While my dad supervised the movers packing the basement,  my mom packed and empytied our kitchen and my sister and I packed the suitecases that James and I will be traveling with us for the next month or so. By noon the Germany vs USA game started so I took a little break from packing to watch the game.

The movers continued packing until about 1pm when I asked them if they were hungry. They nod a big yes and my mom made all of us hotdogs. After lunch, everyone continued packing. The guys started bringing most of the boxes from the basement and we really thought they were done.

Boy, were we wrong!

The movers continued packing our stuff, seriously, where did all these things come from? I guess you really don't know how much stuff you really have until you pack your house!

By 5pm I was over it and we still had a long night ahead and the next day too. Needless to say the packers didn't leave until 9pm and they still had another job to go to!

Day 2:
On day2 things were a little different. The movers did not show up until 11am, and intead of 3 6 people showed up. Since they were moving our storage stuff, we knew that it would take less time. As soon as they got to our house, they all took a different floor and started packing. It took a while to packe James's office dur to the fact that we both had about 1,000 books to put into storage. Also, the basement took longer because that is where we had most of our  storage things were located. It took a long time to pack due to the fact that the movers have to wrapped everything, if you have articled in a box they take it out of your box an put it into their own boxes.

By 7pm, the movers were almost done and we were pretty happy about it nd so were the movers! Why, you ask? Well, we were excited that they were done and they were happy because they left our house with things that we did not need or want. They got towels, pillows, cleaning supplies and food! They were grateful to us for giving them so many things and I was humbled to be able to help them.

Overall it was a great experience and now we know how to deal with packout in the future.

Here are a couple of hints:

Dont put anything into boxes, because they have to take it out of the box and put it in their own boxes.
Try to have a designated areas in your house for HHE, UAB and storage so it is easier for the movers and you.
Don't leave the packing for the last minute.
Be organized and now what you want to take with you so you don't end up with things you don't need or things you need in storage.
Tip your movers and at least offer them water and food. They are here to help you in this process.


Now that pack out is over, its time to enjoy our last month in the states. Be on the lookout for our DC, Orlando, Puerto Rico and NYC adventures.

Nats