Essentials ?

If you get the ziploc bags and have a vacume hose...

Just seal the bag almost all the way, sneak the hose inside the last part of open space and turn the vacume on, once it's all sucked out just sneak the hose out and seal the bag really quick. I did this and it worked like a charm.

Good tip but you'd have to be careful you don't suck up anything small in there, like a sock. 

Add to the essentials... SHOES!

I didn't send over any boxes when I moved two months ago. My husband brought back two suitcases and I brought over two suitcases. I think I was good about which clothes to pack, but I didn't bring many shoes. I figured, shoes are cheap enough, I'd just get what I needed here and it would cost less than shipping.

Two problems with that.

First: When you convert my size, a US 9, you get a UK 6.5. I can't find half sizes at any of the local stores here. I've seen half sizes online, and one shoe store said that they offer shoe insoles that will make a shoe seem smaller).

Second: IMO, no offense anyone, but most of the shoes I have seen are horrid. Not my style or taste or anything. I miss my shoes the most I think.

I am a huge fan of the space bags as well. They were a life saver!

I knew about the pain meds in limited quantities, so I brought plenty, but I did not know about the lack of sleep aids. So I've got Nyquil on the way for the next time I get ill. They have something just like Dayquil/Nyquil here, but instead of a sleep aid for night, they just add caffeine for daytime. NOT the same thing! lol

I knew about the pain meds in limited quantities, so I brought plenty, but I did not know about the lack of sleep aids. So I've got Nyquil on the way for the next time I get ill. They have something just like Dayquil/Nyquil here, but instead of a sleep aid for night, they just add caffeine for daytime. NOT the same thing! lol

It depends what and where you buy - if you are talking about the drugs you find on the supermarket shelves, then yes, they just have caffeine added to the daytime tablets. This is because products with drowsy ingredients are not licenced for sale in supermarkets and so in order to buy something closer to Dayquil/Nyquil, you need to go to a pharmacy and ask for it from behind the counter. There are plenty of products with sleeping aids in them, but you can only buy them from a pharmacy.

I think the closest products you'll find to Dayquil/Nyquil are Day Nurse and Night Nurse - in terms of ingredients, they are almost the same:

Dayquil: Acetaminophen, Dextromethorphan and Phenylephrine.
Day Nurse: Paracetamol, Pholcodine and Psuedoephedrine
(In general, pholcodine is a slightly more effective cough suppressant than dextromethorphan and Dayquil used to contain psuedoephedrine until regulations of its sale were tightened in the US and it was replaced with phenylephrine)
 
Nyquil: Acetaminophen, Dextromethorphan and Doxylamine Succinate
Night Nurse: Paracetamol, Dextromethorphan, and Promethazine Hydrochloride
(Only difference is the type of drowsy antihistamine used in the product)

It depends what and where you buy - if you are talking about the drugs you find on the supermarket shelves, then yes, they just have caffeine added to the daytime tablets. This is because products with drowsy ingredients are not licenced for sale in supermarkets and so in order to buy something closer to Dayquil/Nyquil, you need to go to a pharmacy and ask for it from behind the counter. There are plenty of products with sleeping aids in them, but you can only buy them from a pharmacy.

I think the closest products you'll find to Dayquil/Nyquil are Day Nurse and Night Nurse - in terms of ingredients, they are almost the same:

Dayquil: Acetaminophen, Dextromethorphan and Phenylephrine.
Day Nurse: Paracetamol, Pholcodine and Psuedoephedrine
(In general, pholcodine is a slightly more effective cough suppressant than dextromethorphan and Dayquil used to contain psuedoephedrine until regulations of its sale were tightened in the US and it was replaced with phenylephrine)
 
Nyquil: Acetaminophen, Dextromethorphan and Doxylamine Succinate
Night Nurse: Paracetamol, Dextromethorphan, and Promethazine Hydrochloride
(Only difference is the type of drowsy antihistamine used in the product)

Wow, thank you so much. I was checking out the local Sainsbury's as it is the closest walk to our house. I'll ask the pharmacist for those other options. I remember now hearing on here that you could get things from behind the counter at the pharmacist, but I guess I forgot that. Plus, you don't know what they have until you ask I guess. Thanks so much!

Wow, thank you so much. I was checking out the local Sainsbury's as it is the closest walk to our house. I'll ask the pharmacist for those other options. I remember now hearing on here that you could get things from behind the counter at the pharmacist, but I guess I forgot that. Plus, you don't know what they have until you ask I guess. Thanks so much!

No problem . If you have any other questions about pharmacy medicines, don't hesitate to ask. I work behind the counter in a Pharmacy and sell these kinds of medicines to customers every day .

There are 3 different classifications of medicines here in the UK: GSL, P and POM.

- 'GSL' (General Sales Lines) are the medicines that are available on the shelves in the supermarket, such as the cough/cold products you saw in Sainsbury's, paracetamol/ibuprofen/aspirin (packs of 16 only), etc.

- 'P' (Pharmacy) lines can be bought over the counter without a prescription, but they are kept behind the pharmacy counter and you have to ask a pharmacist/pharmacy assistant for them - products like sleeping aids, larger packs of aspirin/paracetamol/ibuprofen, painkillers containing codeine/dihydrocodeine, pseudoephedrine decongestants, children's medicines, drowsy antihistamines, hydrocortisone creams etc. (i.e. a lot of the products that you can buy off the shelves in a US supermarket).

- 'POM' products are Prescription Only Medications and you can only obtain them with a prescription from the doctor.

It depends what and where you buy - if you are talking about the drugs you find on the supermarket shelves, then yes, they just have caffeine added to the daytime tablets. This is because products with drowsy ingredients are not licenced for sale in supermarkets and so in order to buy something closer to Dayquil/Nyquil, you need to go to a pharmacy and ask for it from behind the counter. There are plenty of products with sleeping aids in them, but you can only buy them from a pharmacy.

I think the closest products you'll find to Dayquil/Nyquil are Day Nurse and Night Nurse - in terms of ingredients, they are almost the same:

Dayquil: Acetaminophen, Dextromethorphan and Phenylephrine.
Day Nurse: Paracetamol, Pholcodine and Psuedoephedrine
(In general, pholcodine is a slightly more effective cough suppressant than dextromethorphan and Dayquil used to contain psuedoephedrine until regulations of its sale were tightened in the US and it was replaced with phenylephrine)
 
Nyquil: Acetaminophen, Dextromethorphan and Doxylamine Succinate
Night Nurse: Paracetamol, Dextromethorphan, and Promethazine Hydrochloride
(Only difference is the type of drowsy antihistamine used in the product)

Thanks for that.
I get pretty sick of hearing folk going on about the virtues of Nyquil/Dayquil over Night Nurse and Day Nurse, when in fact, there is very little difference at all.

I favor Nyquil over Night Nurse, and I know they are similar.  It's just a preference, I guess!   I think I "like" (to the extent that you can like the flavor of any of these things) the flavor of the Nyquil liquid better, and it's just a familiar comfort to have when I'm sick.  That said, Night Nurse did the job and it's not like I'm sending away for it.

What I did stock up on when I was home was Aleve.  I don't know if they have it here, and I'm sure there is something similar, but this is what ALWAYS helps my headaches/toothaches, general aches and pains. 

What I did stock up on when I was home was Aleve.  I don't know if they have it here, and I'm sure there is something similar, but this is what ALWAYS helps my headaches/toothaches, general aches and pains. 

I would say to stock up on Aleve (Naproxen) from the US as you can't really buy anything similar in the UK off prescription. The only UK OTC product containing Naproxen is the new Feminax Ultra, but it is only licenced to treat period pain so cannot be sold for any other types of pain - you'd have to get it on prescription for headaches etc.

  My mother once brought a large steak in her hand luggage (raw).  She thought we were dying for meat from their favorite butcher.   

Seriously?  A raw steak??  I wonder what the screening peoples' reactions were when they saw a raw steak in her bag. 

I used to bring frozen bacon and frozen tubes of Jimmy Dean country sausage. I confessed the first time, but they didn't care on account of it was packaged. The Customs dude told me they were looking for oozing parcels of raw monkey meat. That sort of thing. Although I didn't try it during the hoof and mouth era.

I can occasionally find Oscar Mayer bacon in the UK, but totally out of luck for country sausage. Not that they don't have some fantastic sausage, of course.

That is fabulous, traveling with meat would never cross my mind. 

When my parents came at Christmas she came with a dozen bagels from our local bagel store, and the contents of her fridge, what surprised me was that she bought 2 different kinds of salads, and a bag of tomatoes. She told them at customs and they let her through!

I guess if the flight is only 6-7 hours, that'd be okay, but I'd be so concerned about things staying fresh!

That said, mmmm, bagels.

I do have my family and friends send me coffee from Dunkin Donuts.  Rumor has it, there was one in central London, but I haven't seen it yet. 

I've only been back and forth a few times but I do bring chocolate chips with me.  The tiny packages found in the supermarket here are just not big enough for a real baking binge.  And nuts too.  I go to Wal-Mart and buy...
a 1lb. bag of pecans
chocolate/butterscotch/peanut butter chips
cornbread mix
assorted flavours of cake mix (butter pecan this time)
flavoured coffee creamer
pkg of individual drink mixes
a big bag of marshmallows for cooking
Cover Girl makeup

Some of these things might be found in other parts of the country but they're not on Sainsbury's shelves in Harrogate or Otley.  
I also miss a good Hallmark Gold Crown Store.  So many cards, ornaments, giftwrap, etc. to choose from.  I wish I'd stocked up on my last trip.  

I do have my family and friends send me coffee from Dunkin Donuts.  Rumor has it, there was one in central London, but I haven't seen it yet. 

There was one right in Piccadilly Circus, but it's been gone for at least 10 years, probably longer.