Note: Some of these items actually did come on my lift, others are items I have thought of as time went by.
Furniture (including that dining room set we sold)
The huge freezer
A self cleaning oven
A large capacity 220V food processor
Filing Cabinet.
or more than one. These are VERY hard to find in Israel. Israelis file things in labeled binders on shelves, so if you are partial to your old filing system, bring the cabinet and all the hanging file folders and manilla folders you can fill it with!
TERRO
ant baitRoach Pheromone Traps
Pantry Moth
pheromone trapsBaking Soda
in bulk (but not if you'll be near a place that sells it cheap, like in Yerushalyim) NOTE: this is now available almost everywhere in Israel. I'm leaving it here as a reminder that at first sometimes it's hard to source items on your own, so be sure to ask your new friends and neighbors (or me) for help!Borax
Diatomaceous Earth
Books
of courseVery warm blankets (something like this wool comforter
, or down blankets 
are great!)Towels and comforter covers, sheets if you are bringing beds from abroad (I got some good deals at TJMaxx and HomeGoods)
Clothing, including stuff for the kids to grow into (I shopped all the thrift stores on discount days for months)
Rain boots and shoes, including stuff for the kids to grow into (I found great deals at Marshall's, TJMaxx, and Famous Footwear - I did not want used shoes)
Kitchen Items
- like good stainless steel baking pans, pots, mixing bowlsThermal Carafe
(large capacity is great if you can find one. A good one will keep your water hot from before candle lighting thru Shabbat morning for coffee, and you won't need to run an electrical appliance for hours and hours!)Huge rolls of Aluminum Foil
Natural kitchen products in bulk: unbleached baking cups, unbleached parchment paper, unbleached coffee filters (I like If You Care
)Good sponges
(cheap sponges are abundantly available here, but "good" ones are hard to find)
Insulated bags
like tote bags, picnic bags, and lunch bags (reusable) - I'm always walking around with my insulated tote bag! So helpful when running errands on a warm (or hot) day!Good thermos
items like travel coffee cups and thermos bottles Specialty items specific to my needs like these bandages
Legos
, bought on sale, or at garage sales, thrift shops, etcWooden toys
, bought on sale, or at garage sales, thrift shops, etcFisher Price
toys, bought on sale, or at garage sales, thrift shops, etcPlaymobil
toys, bought on sale, or at garage sales, thrift shops, etcAnything your kids will play with that is well made
New toys to give as gifts (shop the sales!)
Books! We brought about 3000 books with us. But we're crazy bookworms.
Storage containers
to store your thingsDollar store items that are decent deals: toothbrushes, dental floss, hairbrushes, nail clippers, nail files, etc are also good to stock up on if you have extra space
Fabric Tablecloths
and cloth napkins are good deals when you can find a sale, so if you see some for a great price, those are good stock up items, and make great gifts here, too. Glue Gun (dual voltage)
I brought other items like coffee, laundry detergent, and shampoos as well, but I no longer feel that is essential, with Vitacost and iHerb shipping the natural products I love here!
I'm sure there is more to add to this list, so please let me know in the comments!
Other pre-aliyah items I highly recommend:
Very lightweight Duffle Bags
that meet airline regulations (I found these awesome duffle bags that weigh just one pound
and are EXACTLY the right size!)Wheeled Cooler
for one of your pieces of luggage (you will be so happy to have it, whether it's while you are waiting for a fridge to be delivered or when you are going on a tiyul, or just for getting ice cream home from the supermarket in summer, trust me!)Kindle
or a Tablet (I have found both very useful) 
btw - if you run sponges through the laundry once in a while, they get so much less stinky.
ReplyDeleteoh, i've been doing that for years. but certain sponges just don't cut it, in my opinion, and don't even hold up to laundering well!
DeleteI've been told that American furniture won't fit through Israeli doors and that the bedrooms are too small for American twin beds. Has anyone else found this to be true? I'm having such a hard time deciding if we should bring a lift or not.
ReplyDeleteWe brought a sleeper sofa (6'), queen sized bed, and my son's loft system (flat pack, unassembled till arrival). Nothing was hard to get through the doors. If you have good movers, they know how to maneuver things through doors, up stairs, around corners, etc.
DeleteWe bought 4 of these when we made aliyah for $15/each from Walmart. Worked great!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.walmart.com/ip/Protege-32-Expandable-Rolling-Duffel-Bag-Black/11069689
very helpful, thank you!
ReplyDelete