Packing, Selling, and Storing for a Big Move 🌍🧳

Looking for advice on which luggage to purchase for your overseas trip and what to pack or take with you? Read on, and hopefully, this article will give you loads of info to make the packing part of your adventure a lot easier and smoother!

We moved to Spain from South Africa in 2018 (you can read all about the reason for this here: Introduction to our big plan to move to Spain). The first things we had to do once we made the decision to move were pack, sell, and store our belongings. Oh my word, this part of the process was a nightmare 😣!

From the moment we decided to move to Spain with four kids (9, 7, 5, and 9 months), in the middle of summer, with a very small retrenchment package, no technology except for an old iPhone, no luggage, and no experience… well, people thought we were lunatics 🙃.

We had to pack up an entire house (with twelve years’ worth of stuff in it), decide what to store (at a very kind friend’s farm warehouse), what to take with us, what to sell, and what to give away—in just one month! It was incredibly stressful 😰. Oh, and let’s not forget our stealthy 8-month-old speed crawler, who was unpacking as we packed and generally causing destruction. It’s amazing how many dangerous items you suddenly notice lying around when you’re packing up a house 😮!

We had been trying to declutter, simplify, and minimize for years, but life (illness, pregnancies, moving, babies, toddlers, etc.) kept getting in the way. This move forced us into minimalism—whether we liked it or not!

What We Could Take:

• 1 check-in bag per person

• 1 cabin bag per person

• 1 backpack/day bag per person

We couldn’t afford to ship a container of our belongings later, so everything had to fit into these bags. Not an easy task!

We sold what we could to buy luggage, stored furniture and sentimental items, and gave away whatever we couldn’t take.

Our Advice About Luggage:

🛍 Check-in Bags:

• Get ones with four wheels (way easier to drag than two-wheeled bags!).

• Make sure they come with built-in locks and have cable ties handy for extra security.

• These bags get thrown around by airport staff, so they need to be hardy, tough, and durable.

• Don’t overpack the outside zip areas—it makes them unstable and prone to toppling over!

🛠 Packing Tips:

• We were told to roll clothes instead of folding them. This worked for cabin bags, but not for check-in bags. Instead, I packed shirts together, shorts together, long pants together, etc.—which made it easier to find things while living out of our bags!

• I placed books at the bottom of my check-in bag to create a little homeschool library in Spain.

• Toys in ziplock bags went at the bottom of each kid’s bag, with clothes on top.

👜 Cabin Bags:

• Hard material is better—it protects the contents from airport chaos!

• Stickers or bright labels make luggage easier to spot (and kids love decorating their bags!).

What to Pack:

🔌 Essentials:

• Travel adapter for Spain’s wall plugs (wish we had brought more!).

• Reusable Water bottles for everyone—Spain’s tap water isn’t safe to drink in some places.

• Sun hats—it gets crazy hot!

• Spanish dictionary/app (Google Translate is a lifesaver!).

• Lots of ziplock bags (for toiletries, toys, snacks, etc.).

🍽 Kitchen & Eating Essentials:

• Plastic cup, bowl, and plate per kid (avoid breaking Airbnb dishes!).

• Pegs to hang wet washing.

🪑 Linen & Towels:

• 1 fitted sheet, 1 light blanket, 1 throw sheet, 2 pillowcases per person.

• 1 bath towel & 1 swimming towel each.

🎭 Entertainment & Activities:

• Playing cards & Uno

• Colouring books & stationery

• Stickers & sticker books

• Blank notebooks & clipboards (to prevent kids from drawing on tables!)

• Reading books

• Lego & fuzzy felt sets

🔋 Tech & Convenience:

• Chargers (easy to forget!).

• Torch & headlamp (always handy!).

• Suntan lotion (expensive in Spain—store in fridge to prevent spoilage!).

🍜 Snacks & Essentials for Travel Days:

• Healthy snacks (airports & small villages have expensive food).

• Wipes (sticky hands & faces happen!).

• Tissues (each kid gets a pack for runny noses!).

• Blow-up travel pillows for plane and bus comfort.

• Noise-canceling/reduction headphones (a must for sensory-sensitive kids!).

🌐 Security & Travel Docs:

• Passport/money belt (easy access to passports, cash, and tickets).

First Aid Kit:

• Plasters/Bandaids

• Antiseptic ointment

• Cotton wool balls

• Burnshield (for burns)

• Thermometer & tweezers

• Cough medicine (your immune system drops in a new environment!).

• Saline nose spray

• Honey & lemon lozenges (for sore throats).

• Calpol/Panado (Spain’s pain meds are strong—use mild doses first!).

• Teething gel/powders (if you have a baby!).

• Vitamins & tissue salts (expensive in Spain—stock up!).

Vitamins are very expensive in Spain, so stock up before you leave and plan to buy online through Amazon—it’s a lifesaver, especially in smaller villages without big supermarkets.

Final Thoughts ✨

Do serious research before buying luggage and think carefully about what to pack. Dragging cumbersome bags is exhausting, and it’s frustrating to realize you packed the wrong things. Some essentials are hard to find (or pricey) in Spain, so bring them from home—like Rooibos tea, vitamins, and suntan lotion.

Moving overseas with kids is no joke. It was stressful, chaotic, and exhausting—but also an adventure we’ll never forget. If you’re planning a big move, I hope this guide helps make your journey a little smoother 🌟.

If you have any packing tips or moving experiences, share them in the comments—I’d love to hear them! 💜