I’m delighted to share that our computer situation has been resolved, which will make posting much easier! I’m so grateful that the public libraries have computer access, which is what I used for the last couple of weeks when my home computer was out of commission. Amazingly, I only needed to use the library computer three times in two weeks – for someone like me who uses the computer so much, that was pretty amazing!
I initially thought that the problem with the computer was the monitor, but it turns out that the entire computer is dead. And what’s really nice about that, is now I don’t have to use our precious limited luggage allotment to take our bulky desktop computer with us to Israel, and I don’t have any conflict about buying something else when what we have is usable !
We haven’t yet purchased our tickets to Israel (I hope we’ll be able to buy them this week), but assuming we fly with El Al airlines, we’ll be allowed three suitcases per person, with a 50 lb weight limit per suitcase. Of course we’ll be taking clothing, linens, and pots and pans, but other than that, I’m debating what’s worth bringing and what can easily be purchased at a reasonable price in Israel.
For example, my dishes are stoneware, so I’m not taking them (way too heavy and breakable); I was thinking of purchasing Corelle to take along, but then thought that maybe I can get something like that (actually, I prefer nice melanine because it’s more child-friendly) there that is comparably priced. My silverware has been steadily disappearing – of the service for 30 I bought, I now have five forks remaining. So should I buy more cheapo quality flatware at Walmart now or just get something there? Ditto with linens – most of our sheets are good quality sets that we’ve had for over 15 years so they’re still usable, but with the upcoming move, it seems a shame to take something that is at the end of its usable life. But would I be better off buying new linens here or there?
It’s hard to make these evaluations since I don’t know how much things cost in Israel. And the question isn’t just about price – I’m guessing that most items are available less expensively in the US – but is also taking into consideration the luggage space it will take up (so taking one thing means not taking something else), and the convenience of having what we need right away vs. the run around factor of having to find and buy something when we get there. Where we’re moving to in the north isn’t exactly the center of commerce, so I doubt bargain shopping is easily accomplished for items like these. Obviously, it would be easiest to take everything that we’ll need, but since we won’t be taking a lift (too expensive), we’re going to manage with what we can fit into our suitcases (so obviously big items will be purchased when we get there.) That means that there are a lot of decisions about what has priority in packing that we need to make.
As much as I’d like to take my canner, canning jars, and dehydrator, they won’t be coming along (though I think I’ll bring along a jar lifter). My grain grinder will, and I’m thinking that I’ll use the 40 lb capacity square buckets that I store bulk foods in to pack smaller items into, then place them within the larger box. They’re super convenient and it took me ages to aquire them here, and I’d think they’d be even harder to find in Israel.
I’d like to take our Pesach dishes – we’ve had them since we were first married and they’ve made the move across the ocean twice, across the US once, and within the cities we’ve lived in five times – and even though they’re heavy, I’m going to try to take them – they could easily be replaced, but it’s about the consistency of memories for our family; when those dishes come out every year, it feels like Pesach for everyone.
Only a small number of books, games, and homeschooling supplies will come along – we’ll have to find libraries there with English sections, and eventually the kids will be able to read well enough in Hebrew that we can access the Hebrew language literature there. I’d really like to take a few bottles of extra virgin olive oil, since it’s so expensive there, I still have a number of bottles left, and it’s something I use all the time – but weight-wise I’ll have to see if we can manage it. I plan to take along whatever xylitol we have left – dd16 took some to Israel and had some regularly throughout the year, and she was one of the only girls in her program that didn’t get lice, even though she was checking other girls for lice and then cleaning their hair out. (Thanks, Malkie, for sharing your experience with this when I wrote about xylitol!)
If you have an idea of what the most valuable things to take along would be (either because you live in Israel, have made a move like this, or are otherwise familiar with the issue at hand), please share your recommendations of what you found most valuable to take along!
Avivah
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