Moving Day(s)

If you are going to pack yourselves, I advise you to check with the policy on reimbursement for damaged goods. In other words, if you choose to wrap and pack items inside boxes yourself instead of having the moving company do it with the layered humidity control paper, etc., are you allowed to file a claim on broken items after they arrive? Maybe it doesn't matter if you're simply prepping some items with bubble wrap for the movers to further wrap and pack, but I would look into it.

What we found helpful -- yet a bit too late in the process -- was to have the movers do their thing, but to stand right next to them when it came time to wrap and pack the more sensitive items. Also, if you are picky about the kinds of things that get lumped together in one box, you'll want to tell them and watch what they're doing. Otherwise, they may mix unrelated (and unclean items, like shoes) with things you wouldn't want them to, all in an effort to wedge items into boxes to keep things from shifting. Also, parts that go together, like legs or baggies of screws, can end up in entirely unrelated boxes if you don't insist otherwise.

We found the method of packing to be a complete disconnect from the extensive inventory sheets we completed in minutia. There was no way we could have figured out what really was inside the boxes when they were quickly unloaded off the truck in Dhahran and piled in each room of our Aramco house. As a result, we ended up signing off on a shipment that we didn't have the time or space to unpack in front of the movers. Items were packed in weird combinations in boxes labeled one general thing. We tried to unpack a few at first to check for damages, but gave up on that rather quickly. If you have more eyes available to shadow the movers in the first place, such as family or friends who can help on moving day, it would be a good idea. We had just the two of us (kids sent elsewhere, not safe during move) spread over three levels of home plus gae, trying to see what the movers were doing. As a result, we found all sorts of weird combos of stuff in the boxes later. No way to tell what anything is until you start unwrapping the humidity paper, and it takes hours, hence the reason we gave up trying to compare boxed contents with inventory sheets and checking for damage. It would have been better to stay right on top of the movers at the old house and make sure the items they were packing together in boxes made better sense. I mean, what did they care? They weren't going to have to unpack the stuff and reassemble and figure out what goes where later. We needed more hands on deck at the outset, and didn't realize this until later. Hindsight is always 20/20.

BTW, the damaged items were due largely to compression. No amount of bubble wrap or humidity paper would have saved them from this fate. The packing boxes were stacked into wooden crates, all jumbled and crushed looking when they arrived at our new home. Lots of dinged edges on things, and slightly or moderately crushed or bent household items, especially things made of plastic or lightweight metal.

One thing we did do that was helpful, and which our moving company complimented us on, is that we used a whole bunch of Rubbermaid totes, which fit into the moving boxes, giving them further strength. If you plan to do this, you should ask the mover about the dimensions of the boxes they use so you can buy the right size totes. They are very handy in our new home, and we'll use them again when we leave. If we had not used the totes, I'd hate to think how much more damaged our stuff would have been from the compression.

Thanks you Overland and Hadia(as always!!) for your incredibly helpful advice. We too will be packing up and moving to KSA at the end of the month. I will take up all the offers of help from friends for moving day supervision!!!