Getting Five Years of Stuff Down to Two Suitcases

 After five years here, stuff starts to accumulate. I'm talking about books, souvenirs, memorabilia, and just anything else I've held onto over the years. So I've been sorting things lately and making one big pile of "donate" and the rest is being packed into boxes to be shipped across the ocean. I found it the cheapest to send via "surface" or by ship. But the weight limit for each box is 20kg or 44lbs. So trying to meet these requirements is a little tough.

This small pile pictured above is the stuff I am hoping to take with me along with my clothes in two suitcases. Speaking of clothes, I have a lot! Since Korea has four or really two seasons (hot and cold) I've accumulated quite the collection. However, I am going to let go of a lot and hold on to the essentials. Some of it's old and worn out anyway.

How does one get rid of their stuff here in Korea? Back home you would call up the Salvation Army and they would pick up anything if it's in boxes. They have the Salvation Army here in Korea, but I have yet to try it. So we will see if that works out. In the meantime I have a nice huge pile of clothes, books and stuff growing in my laundry room closet.

What's left besides my "stuff" is a lot of kitchen wares, items and also furniture throughout the house. For some reason I filled up my space here with 3 bookshelves, desk and chair, microwave stand and a large TV stand. All of which will need to go, as you can see by my previous post. Hopefully people will come and buy this stuff or it can be donated. The worse case scenario is just giving it up to the front of the building. Instead of donating it themselves they tear left over furniture apart and get rid of it that way.

I also notice I have a lot of art supplies including sketchbooks and other materials. Also I have my portfolio that I need to figure out how to get back home, either with me or by shipping.

Thankfully I have till February to liquidate it all and pack up my two suitcases for the move. Our school's Christmas vacation is coming up next week and so that will give me plenty of time to start squaring away these tasks.

Seeing and going through all my stuff made me realize how much I settled into living here in Korea. I'm sure if I had planned on just teaching a few years and moving back, I wouldn't have accumulated so much. Oh well! Time to head back home and start piling on more! ha ha

Luggage Storage

Thought I would follow up with that investigation I was making into whether I could store luggage at the SFO airport while I travel to Florida and back. The reason being is that I am stuck with the dilemma of whether to take one or two suitcases.

These days you have to worry about checked-baggage fees, and overweight charges. I don't truly plan on buying a ton of stuff, like I did last time. However, I know that I will want to buy things if I see it and need it, like jeans or shoes. Something tells me it would just be safe to bring an extra suitcase.

The airline carrier I am taking to Florida and back charges for checked baggage. Twenty-five dollars a piece, to be exact. That means that by the time I get back to California I will have spent $100 on my luggage. I know I won't need both pieces of luggage when I am in Florida and it is going to be a pain-in-the-ass to lug both of them around while I am there. This leads into why I am checking whether I can leave one behind at SFO while I travel.

A good old google search has proved helpful. At the SFO website:

Baggage storage is exclusively available at the Airport Travel Agency, located on the Departures/Ticketing Level of the International Terminal, near the entrance to Gates G91-G102. The Airport Travel Agency is open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. No reservations are required for baggage storage. All baggage is x-rayed prior to storage.
Rates are assessed per each 24 hour period that an article is in storage (articles in storage for less than 24 hours will be subject to the 24 hour rate), and vary according to the size of the object.
Please contact the Airport Travel Agency at 650.877.0422 or CF.Airport@gmail.com for additional information.

But how much??? I found this website that provides a good estimate.

It offers storage for $7 to $15 per day depending on the size of items you are storing.  There is no limit on how long you can leave them there and odd-shaped items, such as guitars, are accepted.

Let's do the math:

• Take both to Florida and back: $100
• Leave one Behind in storage: $50 (taking on plane) + $105 (7 days storage at max price) = $155

 Wow~ Looks like hauling both of them around for the whole trip will be the cheapest option. So much for that idea! I guess I should really think about the size of the suitcases I take and whether I really need two large-sized pieces.  

Flying Joy

To make sure I don't spend too much time through the security check point I am making sure that my carry-on bag doesn't contain any "no-no" items. The website TSA Travel Assistant tells me the following:

• All liquids, gels and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller containers. Larger containers that are half-full or toothpaste tubes rolled up are not allowed. Each container must be three ounces or smaller.

Ok I have some lotion in a once container...I better check whatever else it is I am taking.

• All liquids, gels and aerosols must be placed in a single, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag. Gallon size bags or bags that are not zip-top such as fold-over sandwich bags are not allowed. Each traveler can use only one, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag.

Only one! All right ziplock now is the time to prove your worth!

• Each traveler must remove their quart-sized plastic, zip-top bag from their carry-on and place it in a bin or on the conveyor belt for X-ray screening. X-raying separately will allow TSA security officers to more easily examine the declared items.

Hmmm I hope I remember to remove my ziplock bag for screening.

I think if most of my stuff isn't airline safe than I can just purchase some in flight necessities in the Duty Free area. For example I would like to have some toothpaste with me to keep myself fresh.

In addition to just the normal line of stuff someone carries with them on a plane I am also packing all my prescription meds (for my Crohn's) in my carry on. TSA has just a part of their site dedicated to this.

• You may bring all prescription and over-the-counter medications (liquids, gels, and aerosols) including KY jelly, eye drops, and saline solution for medical purposes.
• You are not limited in the amount or volume of these items you may bring in your carry-on baggage. BUT if the medically necessary items exceed 3 ounces or are not contained in a one-quart, zip-top plastic bag, you MUST declare to one of our Security Officers at the checkpoint for further inspection.

Hmmm red flag here. So far my meds are being kept in a Tupperware plastic container.

I will see if they all fit in a zippy.
Looks like they do but it is really ugly!

Okay, so I think that takes care of that. Now I am taking all my meds as carry on because I am too paranoid to let them fly under the plane. Now, I wonder if I can have one ziplock bag for my meds and one ziplock bag for liquids? I think the safe thing would to just have one ziplock bag and few liquids, and just rely on the Duty Free area for the rest.

Wait a minute I just read further that:

Non-liquid or gel medications of all kinds such as solid pills, or inhalers are allowed through the security checkpoint once they have been screened. We recommend, but do not require, that your medications be labeled to assist with the screening process.

Further more there is a section called Hidden Disabilities which highlights my condition. To sum up what is important to me here are the highlights:

• Medications must be labeled so they are identifiable. Check!
• Medications in daily dosage containers are allowed through the checkpoint once they been screened. Check!

Hmm I think just making sure everything is organized, labelled and able to be inspected clearly will work. I have feeling though that this may slow me down through check-in.

If I do get slowed down I hope that gives me enough time to find my gate and also do a little shopping for necessities before I go. :) Also I think I may need to find a seat to collect myself, as I know my emotions will be running high.

Packing is a Whore

Yes, that's right packing is a whore. Alright more like a chore. This is a picture of my premature packing stage today. I decided that I would pack all my clothes that I think I need to take with me to see just how much I am really trucking along.
It turns it to be too much, because I need room for all the stuff I am going to take. (Toiletries, folders, books, trinkets, mementos, shoes, external hard drive...you get the picture.) So after a session of going through it all and deciding what not to keep along with a trek to Ross for another suitcase the end results are thus: As you can see I have chosen to go with the squarish type luggage. These two vary in size. I kinda wish I had just gotten the smaller one at a bigger size, but after more consolidation I have room in both for more things. Here are some tips on packing:

• Get rid of as much clothing as possible. This one is obvious. For me the thought was that I could find it in Korea and if so I would be able to pick up on the latest fashions. There were a few clothing items I had a hard time saying no to because they have been with me for a while and had memories attached to them. But I said to myself, that this trip is about putting things in the past...and to the donate bin it went.

• Pack and repack that suitcase as much as possible. Curl up thin clothes into a kind of jelly roll fashion, so to squeeze it in there tight. Fold up jeans into square like fashion. I put my socks and undies in the zipper flap attached to the 'door' of the suitcase, so to save room in the box part. Shoes can be placed in a plastic bag and stuffed between clothing.

Those are my words of wisdom for packing.

During this process I created two piles, a giveaway and a store pile.

The Giveaway pile:

The Store pile:

Some of this stuff will actually make it to my bro's so that he has some things to use.

Well I still have the kitchen to go through and to clean up what is left hanging on the walls in my room.

Tomorrow's list:

• Pick up Korean Won from Bank.
• Clean up (see above mentioning)
• And whatever else.