Kurt left on Tuesday night for our bins the States for the second storage emptying trip. It is a pretty monumental moment for The Brand Fam.
Background
We have been living out of bins for the past 10 years – Kurt traveling the country in an RV since 2006 and me moving all around the country and world. In 2012 we did our consolidation of all our stuff from Ohio to Pennsylvania to Massachusetts and moved everything into a storage unit in New York. Since our entire life’s belongings are there. We invested in Bins. Not just any bins, but the best bins out there that we tested to make sure they would hold our stuff and be able to move often. We have been everywhere with our bins. Even Iza has gotten into them! Literally.
Most Recently
Kurt went back in October of 2014 to collect the bare necessities, but at the time we didn’t know we were pregnant or that we would actually be staying. Now that we are settled, he is home to retrieve everything else except the art. From Dehydrators to Ice Cream Makers, Baby Clothes to our beloved stroller BOB, he is going to be back on Saturday with our material life in his hands. I CAN’T WAIT!
And Ta Dah!
A pretty special moment. We are here in Guatemala and settled. That doesn’t mean that we won’t travel, but it does mean that instead of our permanent residence being a mail house in Florida + a storage facility in New York, we will have a full life here in Guatemala with an address and a house in the same place.
Some Storage Tips
If you are the type to travel or move often you need a plan. Here are some of the things to do:
- Start with an assessment of your material value. Does it merit saving?
- Determine your storage location.
- Invest in a killer Bin. We will have 60 empty ones available if you are interested in getting them when we are back in December or you can buy one through our site.
- Have an end game.
Some Shipping Tips
On this trip we have spent quite a bit of time analyzing:
We found that the best way to ship was to limit ourselves to 10 bags and send through the airplane – totaling about $1400. Anything more than that started to weigh against the value of the goods, making it not equal. While we have enough for a container, it is roughly $7,500 + import taxes (which you find out at the border and is 12% off the top + 1-7% depending on the depreciated value of the goods inside). So it makes sense to give away the rest or store it for another 2 years and slowly take things back as needed.
Delta is the best deal all around to Guatemala, but it will depend on the airline in which you are flying. TransCargo is the best deal for container shipping.