Page 5 - ChicagOlim Chronicles

Helpful Hint #4 When getting quotes from shippers, get at least two. Make sure that you get someone who
will physically come out to the house and do a walkthrough before giving you a quote. One of the companies
we contacted wanted us to itemize a list of items we thought we wanted to bring- this was not a great way for us
to get a quote and had we gone with that company, we’d have been way short on space. The mover that Sonigo
sent for a walkthrough, Oren from HK Worldwide was AMAZING. He pointed out many things that we
intended to take, but didn’t think about when trying to itemize for the other company (rugs, storage bins, sports
equipment in the garage, books etc). He actually saved us time and money by giving us a more accurate quote.

Chapter 5 Batyah describes Packing and Downsizing

You never realize how much “stuff” you actually have until it’s time to move. I think this is true whether you’re
moving across the country or across the street. When making Aliyah, I believe it’s safe to say that most people
are downsizing on some level. Even if you move into a place that has the same number of rooms, those rooms
are likely smaller, with less closet/storage space and overall, a smaller living area. The sooner in your Aliyah
process you can start unloading and cleaning out your US residence, the better. Right after last Sukkot, we sold
our sukkah. I started having the kids really go through toys, games, and books to try to sell some of it.
Remember that your stuff is only valuable to you - so you can try to sell off some of it, but be prepared that no
one may want to buy it and have a plan to donate or give away.

If you’re like us, you may have had a whole separate Pesach kitchen’s worth of kitchen gear. In Israel - rarely, if
ever, does someone have a Pesach kitchen or much space to store several bin of Pesach ware. Many people
kasher from Chametz to Pesach and so think about unloading most of your Pesach stuff prior to Aliyah.

Similarly with the shipping question - if you know where you’ll be living in Israel, you can gauge exactly how
much and what to bring. If you don’t know the space to which you’ll be moving, it’s more challenging, but I’d
strongly suggest getting rid of more. Storage in Israel is pricey and really, everything is available there. People
ask all the time about whether to bring beds, furniture, appliances, cars etc. - again, Facebook groups like
Making Aliyah This Year and Living Financially Smarter in Israel are great to search and see what others say.

For us, it came down to “what are we really attached to?” and “what might make this major transition a little bit
more comfortable if we had?”. We decided to bring our dining room table - it was the one piece of furniture I’m
attached to as we had it custom made. I realize we’ll have to find a place to store many of leaves, but for me,
this was something special. We also brought our American mattresses but gave away our master bedroom set as
it’s oversized and won’t fit. Again, everyone will have their own cheshbon. Most people regret bringing too
much.

Helpful Hint #5 Any important papers you will need for Aliyah and want to take with you on the plane -
original documents from your application, health records, passports, etc… put them in a safe place away from
anything else that is being packed. On moving day, you don’t want them to accidentally get packed.