In thinking about this major move for our family, I picture a bunch of plates spinning on poles and I’m frantically spinning each plate so that they won’t fall off the poles. In calculating our move overseas, it just seems like there are a lot of moving parts, but nothing to slow them down until we actually arrive. 
I can imagine how discouraging or daunting this may feel if a family is convicted about moving overseas to partake in the Lord’s harvest work. What I’m hoping to achieve in this blog post is to make people aware of what to consider when preparing a move overseas. Initially this was going to be one long blog post, but I decided to cut it up into smaller chunks. Hope this helps!
1) Your Stuff
A lot of our time and thoughts have been spent on figuring out where our stuff should go. Like most Americans, we’ve accumulated stuff over a period of time. Whether it be clothes, electronics, furniture, etc., it’s a serious task that needs serious thoughts.
So here’s some pointers based on what we did:
- Find the nearest donation center and donate the clothes that you haven’t worn in 3-10 years (I still have shirts from 10 years ago. Don’t judge). We donated to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and the OC Rescue Mission.
- Sell any of your fashionable items to consignment stores. In Irvine, there’s Crossroads Trading Co., but be mindful of the season, since the store can only take seasonal items.
- Another option is online consignment. You can mail your fashionable clothes to Thred Up and see how much they will pay. Jen found this website and it’s pretty cool. It’s an online consignment store and they’ll accept certain brands in good condition, regardless of the season.
- Have a Yard Sale (online or an actual one).
- Sell stuff on Craigslist, eBay, or Facebook. It can be time consuming having to take pictures, post, and write enticing ads, but it can be beneficial. Items in specific categories (like baby items) can sell quickly if you post them in the right group.