Packing List: Moving to Wuxi With No Sea Shipment

Intrigued by the minimalist lifestyle, my husband and I were actually sort of excited to rid ourselves of the excess we had accumulated over the years. We held at least three garage sales prior to our move, and said goodbye to everything from vehicles to silverware.

To say we cleaned house was an understatement. 

We determined what we wanted to keep in storage by asking ourselves, "when we return in x years, would we buy this exact xyz, or would we choose something different?" . If the answer was that we would  buy the exact same piece of furniture, for example, then we kept it in storage. It's amazing how many things we were able to let go of. This allowed us to pack our entire 1200 sf house into a 10x20 storage unit. 



see ya in 3 years, stuff.

So, what were we left with?

Glad you asked.

Clothing

Shoes

Toiletries

Baby gear 

Five checked bags. One carry on. A car seat and a stroller.
 

Our life. Packed and ready to go.

That's six bags total and the inescapable baby paraphernalia.

Instead of boring you with exactly what we packed, I thought I'd share with you the items that I feel are need-to-packs: 

Shoes: 

BG has an average American mans shoe size, but it is considered large by Chinese standards--if your husband's foot is larger than a US size 10 don't count on finding shoes in China for him. Same goes for women. Any shoe size over a US women's 8 will be hard to find in Wuxi. We each brought two pair dress shoes, one pair flip flops, sneakers and our UGG boots. 

Underwear: 

A fellow expat bought her husband LARGE boxers here and her small ten-year-old daughter ended up wearing them. True story. Sizing here is not made for American men.  As for women's underwear, if granny panties aren't your thing, or if you're over a B cup, you'll wanna Give Victoria's Secret a holler before your move.

Clothing: 

As with underwear, if you're over 6 feet tall and 200 lbs, best bring your own clothing. I packed a few of my favorite outfits, and sold the rest. I figured I am close enough to the size of an average Chinese woman that I could find clothing here as needed. Can't say as much for BG. In addition, we each brought two winter "coats" (I use the term "coat" loosely, as we are learning just how Californian we are during our first winter here) and a couple of sweatshirts.

Toiletries: 

Hit up your local one-stop-shop (ahem, Target) to stock up on the following: 

• Shaving needs (razor, refills, gel)
• Deodorant
• OTC meds (allergy, pain reliever, cold/flu, anti-diarrheal, TUMS, pepto, vitamins)
• Basic first aid (band aids, ace wrap, elasticon tape, gauze pads, scissors)
• 6-12 mo. of your Prescription meds. We learned the hard way...as did Southern Belle.
• Toothpaste 
• Hair gel
• Tampons- I've recently seen OB tampons sold in Wuxi, but I'm convinced they're made for fairies..I mean, who uses those? Bring a stockpile of your favorites from home. We lined the entire bottom portion of a medium sized suitcase with tampons. My husband thought I was nuts, but for me--tampons are one of those things I don't want to run out of, ever. 

Electronics

• Unlocked smart phones
• Laptop computer 
• iPad 

Baby paraphernalia (for a 5 month old)

• Carseat carrier and snap and go stroller frame
• Boppy feeding pillow
• Infant meds (thermometer,gas drops, Tylenol, teething gel, saline, pedialyte powder)
• Infant grooming (qtips, Vaseline, butt paste)
• Diapers & wipes to get us through two weeks before having to find more
• Clothing for the next three sizes. 
• Crib sheet 
• Two blankets
• Baby books
• Handful of baby toys

Now that I sit here and look at my list-I'm even more amazed at my husband's packing skills. It's hard to believe all of that fit in our suitcases on one trip!

written by Elle Lay