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We haven't made the move yet, but there are a couple of good auction companies in our area, and we plan on using the service of one of them.  They'll come in advance, catalogue everything, advertise the more unique and pricey items, and then hold the auction on site one weekend.  A neighbor of ours did this -- completely emptied the house.  You may want to look for auctioneers in your area.

I suspect that we will ship very little, so few items that I imagine we will simply box them up and send them by mail.

Thank you for getting back with us. We have looked into an auction and will probably go that route. We are selling alot of the stuff ourselves so that a $500 item doesn’t go to the highest bid of $5. Are you doing the auction after you sell your residence? We thought the house would sell faster if it still had a "home" look.
We looked at a small shipping container  (7×8)
to ship a few personal items. Replacement cost justified the expense.
Your thoughts and input is appreciated.
R

We took four routes for sorting out our household.  We knew 6 months out we would be leaving the states.

Ebay: For very specific, htf buyers. Mostly this was darkroom/photography equipment.

Craigslist: Bulky or high value items like vehicles, furniture, computers, electronics, tools, etc.

Free: Items that friends didn't want were sorted out into boxes, a free sign was placed on them and set outside on the curb. Placed an ad on craigslist stating the address. Everything was gone by that night.

Storage: 15% of household (photos, irreplaceables, etc)

We packed 4 large suitcases and brought those here. Didn't need much once we got here since we found a furnished apartment.

Backstory: Two and a half years ago we moved to Argentina. Our plan was to stay in Argentina for 2 and 1/2 years then move to Maine. Things changed and we are now moving to PR instead.

We kept posting things for sale or for free on Craigslist. One of those things was even a 4x8 raised bed garden in which we bagged all the soil, took apart the frame and reassembled it a few towns over. I even re-planted the garlic I had growing.

We also gave stuff away to friends. A few IKEA dressers and bookcases. We donated a ton of books to the library.

We were planning on storing the stuff for a couple of years in a storage facility but my mother stepped up big-time and offered to store everything we wanted to take with us in her garage.

We are a month away from moving to PR now. We have been in touch with the shipping company Rosa de Monte and they will be shipping all our stuff, including a Ford Escape to the island in May.

better check the reviews on Rosa de Monte

Sitka wrote:

better check the reviews on Rosa de Monte

A poster here said he had been using them for years and highly recommended them. It's tough working out the logistics between Argentina-Boston-Puerto Rico. I just hope they come through.

I used them and had no problems but was nervous because of the reviews.