The Road to Hawaii, or how we sold (almost) everything, quit our jobs and moved to Oahu, as told by one family who is experiencing it.
Today’s quote (thank you, Carla): “What did we do before Craigslist?”
Reducing a household into a dozen boxes is daunting. I’ll be the first to admit I’m a packrat. Making the decision to move to Hawaii has forced me to evaluate everything and take only the most important items with me (a tenth each of my fabric and books, the barest office supplies, my expensive pots and pans bought on impulse {beware of boat show demonstrations}, tax records and various other items too expensive to replace once we arrive).
Beside the importance of cardboard boxes and packing tape, don’t underestimate the simple Ziploc bag. I’ve used them to group together jewelry, sewing notions, photos, office supplies, toiletries and other small items that otherwise would jiggle around in a box and look for a mousehole to escape through and go on a Pixar-like adventure.
I want my stuff when I want my stuff, and it’s so easy to grab a Ziploc than hunt around in a box that’s jammed full.
It’s also good to pack like things together. A basic, I know, but I’ll know enough not to look for the Post-its in the fabric box. Also, label each box. Duh. You don’t have to use a Sharpie in big letters that reads, “My secret porn stash” or “Maps to where I’ve buried the bodies”, but “OF” for office and “BK” for books works. Because the timing of our closing (for which we still don’t have a date) is before “A” and “H” reach Oahu and secure a PO Box, we’re having someone else ship the boxes to us later. I’ve added 2-3-4 to the labels to indicate in which order to ship (2 for stuff we need right away, 4 for tax records. The “1” stuff is going with us).
So remember:
* use Ziploc
* label
* pack like stuff together
Now, I’m off to map out the Road to Hawaii. All I know at this point is “Go West, young man, go West.”





