July 11, 2016

The Brown Boxes Unloaded

Category: Family life

2 months ago, I was stressing about having to pack when the brown boxes from the movers came in. Exactly a week later from that, they came, they raided, they packed and they hauled all 77 packed boxes to be shipped to the Netherlands. The journey would take about 8 weeks.

These monsters arrived at our doorstep almost 2 weeks ago, all 77 of them:

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It was a long-awaited arrival. I had flashbacks of the packing frenzy in Bangkok when I saw the boxes in the truck, waiting to be unloaded. While I was happy that our stuff finally arrived, I was also dying inside. Unpacking and trying to put them in the places of our home would be a bitch! My worst nightmare was about to be realised. 

One by one, the boxes came in filling in whatever little space there was. My heart palpitated at the same time as I was dreading and hating the thought of unpacking these monsters all over again. Within the hour, our home was looking like a bomb had exploded. I looked at the boxes and I wanted to cry;  it’ll be months before we can unpack and sort out everything! 

When the rest of the crew came in, they all got busy sorting the boxes in their respective places. They then ripped open the boxes soon enough and started unpacking. One by one, the items came out of the boxes with the very first items being my spices.

How convenient!


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What I did not realise was, my spices and baking ingredients alone had taken up 3 full boxes. Problem there! My kitchen has no bloody storage space left. Then, there was more stuff for the kitchen when more boxes were opened up…  

My pots and pans, our crockeries, baking equipment, glasses, mugs, coffee machine, knives, 6 water bottles and a dozen flasks enough for us to set up a shop…and more stuff which I have forgotten about.  I did not remember we had sooo many boxes for the kitchen! Where did they come from?!

The crew worked fast and again, I could barely catch up with them to put things in places when they were passed on to me. They all ended up on the floor and on the window sill and pretty much everywhere. It took the movers about 4-5 hours till they were done with the sorting, unpacking and clearing.

Even after they were done, we still have to house those items so to speak and re-sort the necessary. It was not a fun evening that day. We ended up sleeping close to 2 a.m just to clear out the kitchen and the bedrooms, clothes included (all hung and folded) ! We were exhausted but hey! not too shabby at all.

We still have about 8-10 boxes that remained unopened; with about 4 boxes filled with books.Nothing pressing. We probably will never open them till our next move. 

That said, I was actually quite surprised that the movers helped unpack most of our stuff. Impressive! Seems like My dreaded fear of unpacking lasting a lifetime was unfounded. But, what I did not realise was that in fact, Silver Bullet had requested and paid for that service. Smart! And silly me thought that they were being nice. Pffffft.

We are now whole again. We have our mattress back, my kitchen  is in full swing, the kids have their toys back and I’ve got my favourite lazy chair amongst other things.

What we don’t have is a proper storage area, but that will all be in due time.

One thing at a time. 

Those were the last from Bangkok. There’s nothing left there. Bangkok is now truly a thing of the past. Kind of surreal.  


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Comments
  1. WOW! 77 boxes! Good thinking on SB’s part to get them to help unpack it. Though, personally, I think I would rather have done it myself over a few days time. That’s what we did when we moved where we are now. We got a truck to get our stuff from storage. Then just unloaded it all in the living room. It was a lot, but we got everything where it needed to go and were able create some storage space along the way instead of getting it all done right then and there. That would be stressful indeed!

    • Yeah…77! And we didn’t even have furniture. I thought it was a lot too. So much crap. I love it they helped unpack…I can’t stand doing it. Would rather be done away with quickly. The kids must have a blast navigating the maze of boxes you had in your living room! ๐Ÿ˜‰ Moving is really a pain, you drove yourself and you unpack everything yourself, too! I shudder thinking about it. Hats off to you, Eric!

      • Yep, did it all ourselves. We had a few friends drop by throughout the day to help load some stuff, but otherwise it was all us. And 3 days driving a U-Haul!

        • yeah..I remember the U-Haul!
          Not just hats-off to you, you get a standing ovation and a red carpet for all that. I don’t think we can do that without losing our shit! LOL.

  2. Holly boxes, Batman! ๐Ÿ˜€
    Nice that you had help, but that would give me more anxiety, especially if I wasn’t prepared for it…I’d like to unpack on my own time and pace, like Eric said.
    Don’t say there’s nothing left in Bangkok…you’ve got memories, friends, and impressions you made on people there. And you got 77 boxes full of Bangkok with you. It will take a long time for all that to be a thing of the past. ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Holy, not holly….fat fingers, lol

    • With your obsession of unpacking, I bet it’d drive you crazy watching other people do it for you, Jas. For me, I loved it only because I’m lazy but it was still stressful.
      True that…77 is the magic number – boxes full or memories, friendship (and crap); although there are some parts of Bangkok which are best left forgotten. ;p

  3. When we moved, half, or even more, when to the Mrs.’s moms house. I have no clue what is there. I’m guessing we don’t need it since we managed to survive one year sans drek (crap)…hmm. What a nice purge that would be !

    • Half or more! That’s brilliant and it’s true what you said – that if after 1 year you don’t seem to look for it, they are probably best purged. We still threw away some stuff that we shouldn’t have brought with us in the first place. And we probably would have saved some $$. :/

  4. Great that they helped unpack a bit. Phew! That certainly reduces your stress. You never know how much stuff you have until you move house or migrate elsewhere. Having moved around quite bit, I honestly detest those boxes. Packing and unpacking is not fun.

    • I loved it they helped unpack. It’s crazy how much junk (or treasures) we accumulate over the years and then what you find in your boxes would sometimes surprise you. I’m with you on packing and unpacking is so not fun, Jackie. I’m glad that’s over now. ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. 77 boxes is a lot!! Wow!!

    So glad you all have everything back with you now. Finally you’ll be able to start back up again. I don’t know how you did it – I would be so stressing. Moving house was such a pain for me and I only moved somewhere that was a 10-15 mins drive away from my old place haha! ๐Ÿ™‚

    • I thought 77 was a lot too. But apparently, we were told that ours were pretty light-weight. We have heard friends who moved with more than 100+ boxes and 10x our volume. Scary, huh! I don’t know how we did it either, Manny. LOL. The whole thing just flew by us. We could have been dreaming.
      I think was long as you move, no matter the distance, the stress of packing and unpacking will still be there!

  6. Ohh goody! Finally! Your post made me laugh cuz I was in the same boat almost a month ago..Moving is always stressful at first but once you’re settled,everything falls into place .
    I feel the same about Kw,When I looked back its totally different from here in Germany,but the fond memories stays .
    How do you find living in Amsterdam?
    one thing though,Bread had exchanged the rice in our meals ๐Ÿ˜‚ and i didnt know how crazy it is to find a space in a nursery school here for my daughter.
    Wish you all the best in decorating your new home…I bet right now you also have a bike just like the local dutch do!:)

    • Well, technically we are not in Amsterdam and about an hour away. It’s a small, quiet neighbourhood and nothing like the hustle and bustle of the city. I’m still trying to get used to it. Is it really that hard to find a place for nursery in Germany too.
      Indeed, bread AND cheese consumption has risen, but we still like our rice and we hauled our rice cooker from Singapore, making sure we have the supply of rice handy as the kids ask for it too every once in a while. There’s no running away from the Asian blood. ;p
      Believe it or not, I still haven’t bought myself a bike. At min 500 Euro per bike, I’m kind of reluctant to spend such money when there are other priorities for the house.
      How was your move?

      • Yes its expensive, even the bakfiets! I would like to have one for my daughter..We’re thinking of getting a bike too for myself,maybe next month or sooner. It’s very handy here.We’re trying to fit in as much as possible.
        the move went smoothly , Just imagine travelling alone with a very active toddler for I think was eternity :(((
        It was really exhausting on my part.
        Our new place is nice, we have a garden & lots of green spaces for my girl to wiggle her ass around.
        The neighborhood is very charming & friendly, although the language is really a culture shock for me.
        My online study really helps but soon I’ll be attending a course.

        We found only 1 Asian store & I really struggle to find the right rice ( my daughter loves it). Unlike you, we sell almost all our stuff in Kw so I kinda regret not to get the spices & stuff I need. Its one thing I didn’t do since we spent a month travelling before we went to Germany.
        I felt glad I could relate so much with you right now.

        • Hehehhee! Definitely can relate to you on this one too.
          Travelling just alone with a toddler is a tough one. I had a friend who also moved from BKK to Holland recently and she had to travel alone with 2 toddlers! Imagine the stress! I don’t think I’ll b able to keep my sanity.
          I wonder how’s the immigration ruling in Germany is like? But I suppose once you are in EU, it’d be easier to settle in the Netherlands without having to go through all the motion (mine was painful!) How’s your German?
          The rice here is definitely different from Asia! But at least you can find rice. LOL. We sold our stuff as well before we moved and for us, we didn’t have furniture or whatsoever. Spices was the one I couldn’t let go – I made sure we stock them up! Can’t live without them! What do you need? I’ll some to you in the mail! ๐Ÿ˜€

        • Hehehhee! Definitely can relate to you on this one too.
          Travelling just alone with a toddler is a tough one. I had a friend who also moved from BKK to Holland recently and she had to travel alone with 2 toddlers! Imagine the stress! I don’t think I’ll b able to keep my sanity.
          I wonder how’s the immigration ruling in Germany is like? But I suppose once you are in EU, it’d be easier to settle in the Netherlands without having to go through all the motion (mine was painful!) How’s your German?
          The rice here is definitely different from Asia! But at least you can find rice. LOL. We sold our stuff as well before we moved and for us, we didn’t have furniture or whatsoever. Spices was the one I couldn’t let go – I made sure we stock them up! Can’t live without them! What do you need? I’ll some to you in the mail! ๐Ÿ˜€

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