All Boxed Up

In a really fast 6 hours, everything we own (minus the stuff I bought last night at Ikea) is now boxed up and ready to be loaded. As I watched them, I though how I could never pack my own stuff again now that I see how easy it is to have someone else do it. Then he told me that if I’m happy with their work I should tip them (Duh!). So I asked how much and he told me $8/hr per man – Oh and their day starts 2 hours before they get to me!!

I literally asked him if I’m paying their salary or if they get paid by the moving company. I have no problem tipping, but I was shocked that that’s how much he gets. So I checked with the moving company and they said $6. So I guess he wasn’t pulling my chain too much.

I went to Ikea last night and spent $1,000 on closets and wardrobe units since closets don’t exist in Israel – kind o like our house pre-renovation. The guy in Ikea said I have 90 days to return the items. I asked him at any Ikea store and he said yes. I wanted to see how far I can take it. I said in another country and he said like Canada, sure! Let’s go farther. He actually said I can take it to any Ikea in the world and they’ll take it. Just bring the receipt. Hmm. That sounds like a nice indirect way to arbitrage currency exchange. Buy here and return in Israel. Due to the weak dollar, it’s around 30% more in shekels in Israel.

Gotta go get ready for the movers and buy some last minute things. Stay tuned.