Tetris with consumables!
It's a little more than three weeks until we arrive at our new home in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The time is going by faster than I expected, but most of things that need to be completed for pack out have been completed. Some things still have to wait- I can't get the health certificates for Nara or Elizabeth from Aphis until 10 days before our departure. Our car won't ship until later in the month. We'll be buying our consumables that ship to post this weekend, along with picking out what will be shipped from storage to post. And we will likely get our visas on arrival to our host country.
Yesterday we sent out three boxes in advance to post, with items we will need on arrival. The post's HRO has kindly offered to receive our incoming boxes before our arrival and arrange for them to be placed in our new home, which is very kind of him. Our initial pile o' stuff to be sent did not completely fill the boxes. Seeing the opportunity to jam all three boxes to the gills with stuff we will likely need (and want!) over there, I did a little bit of shopping.
If you have played Tetris, or Bejeweled or any one of those 'set up the blocks to clear a line' games then you have an idea as to what the packing process looked like. Because that's how I ended up packing things- save for the fact that I could remove something from the box and place it in a new spot at will. Did I really need to send some of the stuff I did? Well, maybe not, but the likelihood of finding Kettle Jalapeno chips in Ashgabat is slim to none. And having them there is better than not having them at all. For two years. In no particular order, here is the final list of stuff I packed up and sent to post.
2 packages of Oreo cookies
2 peanut butter sandwich cracker packages
1 box of Pop Tarts (Smores)
1 bag of Kettle Jalapeno potato chips
1 box Vindaloo (Archer Farms kit)
2 cans of chicken
1 box of Pancake mix
1 box of baking soda
1 box of cake mix (spice)
2 boxes of drink mix
2 New England Coffee (Hazelnut)
2 New England Coffee (French Vanilla)
3 New England Coffee (Blueberry)
1 Coffeemate dry creamer bottle
1 box of Splenda
2 boxes of Swiss Miss Marshmallow Lovers Hot Cocoa Mix
2 bars or Irish Spring soap
3 deodorant
4-pack of regular bath towels
4-pack of hand-towels
bath mat
1 box of sandwich bags
1 box of freezer bags
1 box of garbage bags
9 rolls of toilet paper
1 box of tissues
1 pair of latex gloves
1 box of Tide Free powder detergent
1 box of Tide Free dryer sheets
5 rolls of paper towel
8 kitchen towels
1 20lb bag of Purina Dog food (adult formula)
1 20lb bag of 9 Lives Plus Care
8 rawhide retriever rolls
2 boxes of Milkbone dog biscuits (medium)
2 bags of assorted treats
1 litter pan
1 40lb box Arm & Hammer cat litter
As you can see, I put a lot into those three boxes. I think I may also be forgetting some things that went in but for the most part that is the list of stuff we just sent. After I sent them off, I realized that there were a few things I forgot to add into the boxes. Like coffee filters. Powdered milk. Or kitty treats. Or more Oreos and Pop Tarts.
You know, the important stuff.
Yesterday we sent out three boxes in advance to post, with items we will need on arrival. The post's HRO has kindly offered to receive our incoming boxes before our arrival and arrange for them to be placed in our new home, which is very kind of him. Our initial pile o' stuff to be sent did not completely fill the boxes. Seeing the opportunity to jam all three boxes to the gills with stuff we will likely need (and want!) over there, I did a little bit of shopping.
If you have played Tetris, or Bejeweled or any one of those 'set up the blocks to clear a line' games then you have an idea as to what the packing process looked like. Because that's how I ended up packing things- save for the fact that I could remove something from the box and place it in a new spot at will. Did I really need to send some of the stuff I did? Well, maybe not, but the likelihood of finding Kettle Jalapeno chips in Ashgabat is slim to none. And having them there is better than not having them at all. For two years. In no particular order, here is the final list of stuff I packed up and sent to post.
2 packages of Oreo cookies
2 peanut butter sandwich cracker packages
1 box of Pop Tarts (Smores)
1 bag of Kettle Jalapeno potato chips
1 box Vindaloo (Archer Farms kit)
2 cans of chicken
1 box of Pancake mix
1 box of baking soda
1 box of cake mix (spice)
2 boxes of drink mix
2 New England Coffee (Hazelnut)
2 New England Coffee (French Vanilla)
3 New England Coffee (Blueberry)
1 Coffeemate dry creamer bottle
1 box of Splenda
2 boxes of Swiss Miss Marshmallow Lovers Hot Cocoa Mix
2 bars or Irish Spring soap
3 deodorant
4-pack of regular bath towels
4-pack of hand-towels
bath mat
1 box of sandwich bags
1 box of freezer bags
1 box of garbage bags
9 rolls of toilet paper
1 box of tissues
1 pair of latex gloves
1 box of Tide Free powder detergent
1 box of Tide Free dryer sheets
5 rolls of paper towel
8 kitchen towels
1 20lb bag of Purina Dog food (adult formula)
1 20lb bag of 9 Lives Plus Care
8 rawhide retriever rolls
2 boxes of Milkbone dog biscuits (medium)
2 bags of assorted treats
1 litter pan
1 40lb box Arm & Hammer cat litter
As you can see, I put a lot into those three boxes. I think I may also be forgetting some things that went in but for the most part that is the list of stuff we just sent. After I sent them off, I realized that there were a few things I forgot to add into the boxes. Like coffee filters. Powdered milk. Or kitty treats. Or more Oreos and Pop Tarts.
You know, the important stuff.
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