Another CDFN Life hack by Chris Stewart
If you ask just about any Canadian who’s been posted abroad for their #1 tip when going out, they’ll say “Don’t underestimate your inventory!”. There are many ways to make your inventory, from simple spreadsheets to complicated inventory software. My suggestion is work with whatever you’re comfortable with. How you make your inventory isn’t the tip, however, the real tip – UPDATE YOUR INVENTORY ALWAYS.
I do not know a single person posted abroad who would call this bad advice. Inventory is the thing that causes more stress, family arguments and general panic than any other item. (I could be pushing this a bit, but trust me, it’s horrible.) The thing about this valuable piece of advice, keeping your inventory updated every time you buy new things, is that it’s also the advice that most people do not follow. It took us 3 posts before we really implemented it ourselves. I will say, now that we’re heading off on post, and our inventory is up to date, it’s a lot off our minds.
So the first common question is about what to use to keep your inventory? Whatever you’re willing to open up once a month or so, and update. Maybe once a month doesn’t work for you. Maybe you should update your inventory every time you buy something you’re planning to take from post with you. Maybe you don’t buy much and every 3 months works. (That’s a little dangerous.) Think about what easily works for you and do it. In fact, why are you reading this right now? Go update your inventory!
Chris Stewart has been a Creative professional for over 20 years, photographer, video wizard, writer, illustrator, often juggling more than one hat at once. Chris is also an expert suitcase packer! He’s currently based in Myanmar, with previous adventures in Cambodia, Pakistan, Greece, and Japan. The ‘CDFN life hacks’ aims to provide quick tips to navigate the posting cycles.
Oh, and Chris draws all the illustrations for those CDFN Life hacks posts!
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