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| things I forgot to pack; :( | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 3 2010, 12:10:56 AM (1,225 Views) | |
| lileitak | Feb 3 2010, 12:10:56 AM Post #1 |
Anklebiter
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I must admit that after almost a year of "planning" this move, I didn't forget much. However, there are a few things I am at a loss to find or find substitutes for. I'm based in Melbourne, but online shopping is cool too. Old Spice High Endurance deodorant - yes, I know it's mens, but it works SO well. Go figure the one I brought was pretty much empty. I've accepted that I probably won't find it, but I am totally unfamiliar with the womens brands too (except Dove which I don't like). Any ideas?? Dryer sheets - I hear they have them at Costco, anywhere else? I have tram-phobia. (Also, is it just me or does the laundry detergent fade clothes quicker? I bought the eco-friendly brand and I swear a few shirts look years older after a wash or two.) Decent salad dressing... or am I stuck w/ balsamic & OO for the duration? Cheese that doesn't cost half a weeks salary? Ziploc-type bags? It took me several trips to Coles, Woolies, & the IGA, but I managed to find paper towels and cotton rounds Thank goodness because my nail polish needed to come off. thnx - k BTW - The target here infuriates me, lol. Obviously the Aussie who brought the idea back totally copied US target. I was in there buying hangers, and asked an employee where the laundry soap was. She looked at me with disgust, and said "We don't carry that here...". I don't get it. They carry 95% of the same product types - but not that? 
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| ~kate | |
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| crapola | Feb 3 2010, 11:21:33 AM Post #2 |
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True Blue Mate
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dryer sheets are as rare as hens teeth... we dont have them. we aussies much prefer to hang our washing out on the line, where the natural sunshine will dry the clothes for free. i know someone on here will whinge about wrinkles, but if you shake the clothing before hanging you will eliminate 99.99% of wrinkles. the lack of ziplock bags has driven me nuts since coming back here. i think i saw some in coles one day, but when i went back to find them, they had disappeared (might have been wishful thinking). can only find press-seal ones now. i only ever use mum deodorant... yes its a roll-on, but i could never stand the stick stuff you have in the states, and sprays set off asthma attacks. cant help you with salad dressings... i only eat naked salads. you'll just have to get used to our prices here. yes cheese is expensive compared to the states, but so is a lot of other stuff. |
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| blarg | Feb 3 2010, 11:30:11 AM Post #3 |
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True Blue Mate
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Honestly, we get our deodorant from the US, or from USA foods if we're out. The stuff here just doesn't cut it. As for ziplock bags, we get the Aldi brand ones and they work fine. You can get Paul Newman's Ranch at Woolies in NSW (it'd be Safeway in VIC). Not sure which ones you like, but there is a good selection. And laundry detergent comes from Aldi for me as well. :-) |
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| RachaelK | Feb 3 2010, 12:01:28 PM Post #4 |
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True Blue Mate
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For laundry I use Surf, which seems okay here (it's the brand I fell into using while I was in Ireland). I just throw some Napisan in with it, which seems to keep things a bit brighter. I've seen dryer sheets at Safeway or Coles, they're just expensive here and there is usually only one kind in one size. I like the Newman's line of dressings. You can get some different types at the deli area in some of the markets (Prahran has a good few, I think). I brought over some Hidden Valley mix and some Penzey's stuff to mix up dressings and dips. Oh - and a few Italian dressing packets! It'll all fall together soon enough - it just takes a while to figure out which places carry which items. I've noticed that it even changes between the same line of stores. One Safeway might carry something you can't find at the others. I just usually buy it when I find it to save myself having to find it again! I'll eep an eye out for some of those things and let you know where I see them. |
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| TerritorianTori | Feb 3 2010, 01:31:40 PM Post #5 |
Dance to disco
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Yeah, same here. Every time my parents visit, I have them bring me a Costco-sized pack of Secret.  In a pinch, I'll use Mum or that high-endurance Gillette gel stick. And I believe they still carry Lady Speed Stick in the stores. Dryer sheets - They do exist, I've used them (granted, in the distant past), and they suuuuuuck. A better alternative is to soak a dry sock in fabric softener and throw it in with your wet clothes. But as crapola mentioned, line drying is the rule whenever possible. Laundry detergent - I use Duo, because it's cheapest brand you can bulk-buy at Big W. No complaints here.Salad dressing - I like the Outback Spirit range (Lemon Myrtle or Wild Lime) and just about anything by Paul Newman's. I don't particularly care for his ranch dressing, but I'm such a Hidden Valley snob.  There's a good copycat recipe somewhere in this section - just do a search for "ranch dressing"!Cheese - My best advice is to watch the weekly specials. Sometimes you can hit upon a really good deal, and that's the time to 'bulk up'.  |
 South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys | |
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| CynicalCountess | Feb 3 2010, 09:22:20 PM Post #6 |
True Blue Mate
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Which is what I would do, but a) we have a small, small fridge and b) are living paycheck to paycheck right now. Tori - have you thought of ordering some of the Hidden Valley packets? I'm considering it! (It tastes SO MUCH BETTER doing it that way as opposed to the bottle off the shelf) I was bemoaning the lack of cheese availability (seriously. I've seen Tasty, Parmesan, Blue, and Camembert) when a friend told me about Bega's tangy cheese, which is an acceptable cheddar substitute. But oh, what I wouldn't do for some pepperjack. Edited by CynicalCountess, Feb 3 2010, 09:22:36 PM.
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| blarg | Feb 3 2010, 10:14:03 PM Post #7 |
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True Blue Mate
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I just have my family send me Hidden Valley packets whenever it's my birthday or xmas. They get me like 40 of them and mail it.  Best. Present. Ever. |
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| lileitak | Feb 3 2010, 10:18:47 PM Post #8 |
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Anklebiter
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Fantastic - thanks for the tips. I actually found Gruyere on sale today - w00t! I bought several chunks. Should last me a week or so. Crapola - same here! I swear I saw bags somewhere, and have been unable to find them. It was either IGA, or Coles... To be honest, I am pretty good about air drying & just using the dryer for a "fluff". The only things that hit the dryer are cottons - towels, t-shirts, tanks, sheets etc. I think it's the smell I miss more than the static-repellent. As for deodorant - I plan to stock up when I return to NA for my friends wedding in August. The thing I miss most is my dressing. Annie's Green Goddess... I would pay $20 a bottle if they had it here. No joke. Also - I am doing my best to adapt. Case in point that I've learned to use a french press for my morning coffee. I'm lucky that Melbourne is a coffee kinda town, but I like to have it when I watch the news. To be honest the transition hasn't been as bad as I braced for. Most people are very nice and helpful when I explain I'm "new" lol. Thanks again for all the help. One week down - 3 years & 8 moths to go! 
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| ~kate | |
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| Bindie | Feb 3 2010, 10:31:08 PM Post #9 |
True Blue Mate
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I've never had any trouble finding ziplock bags. They are in the aisle with the rest of the foil and stuff that says "Food Storage." I go to Woolies, though. Mebbe check there? |
 The future is no place/to place your better days, DMB Canberra, ACT since 2004 | |
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| TerritorianTori | Feb 4 2010, 10:10:09 AM Post #10 |
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Dance to disco
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Yeah, definitely get the HV packets if you can! I've had my parents send them over on occasion. There's also a place in Darwin that sells them (or at least, they did last time I checked), at approximately $5 per packet.   BTW, when you make ranch dressing with the packets, be sure to use either Hellman's or Best Foods mayo (made in either Canada or the UK). The Aussie mayo is full of cane sugar and tastes more like Miracle Whip/Salad Cream, which doesn't make a very nice ranch dressing.
I'm sure there's gotta be a copycat recipe out there somewhere. In fact, somewhere in the recesses of my PC there's a huge file of copycat recipes for all sorts of American foods... I'll have a look for ya. Experiment, what have ya got to lose? |
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South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys | |
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| natasha_alena | Feb 4 2010, 10:54:44 AM Post #11 |
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True Blue Mate
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I think there's a great range of salad dressings here! Maybe you need to just try a few other stores. Like lots of others already said, the Paul Newman line is great. If there is one you are missing in particular though, have you tried David Jones Food Hall? They have some speciality dressings - not in the American section, but in the salad dressing section. I found an awesome raspberry vinaigrette there once, from Vermont actually. Yum! I also have never had a problem finding ziploc bags (well, not that brand, of course, but perfectly acceptable substitutes). I totally agree though about towels, t-shirts, and sheets- they should go through the dryer with a dryer sheet! So much better. I don't have a dryer here. I do miss it, but I've learned to get over it. Someday, when I have dryer again, I'll just appreciate it all that much more!! |
| "You can plan a pretty picnic but you can't predict the weather" | |
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| RachaelK | Feb 4 2010, 11:07:24 AM Post #12 |
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True Blue Mate
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I haven't had the Annie's but when I read that I thought to look this up: http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysgreengodd.html It's really good and Penzey's does mail order. There's no dairy in it and they list the ingredients on the package, so it shouldn't be a problem with customs (I shipped a bunch of other things from there over with my stuff and no problems with customs). I don't know if they deliver internationally but if you really miss it you coould always have somebody mail it to you from home (like my amazing mom does!). Edited to note they DO have international shipping but I'm not sure how much it is. Edited by RachaelK, Feb 4 2010, 11:09:36 AM.
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| gpierce | Feb 4 2010, 01:08:21 PM Post #13 |
True Blue Mate
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Are you talking about the Bega block cheese that comes in a black striped package? |
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| gpierce | Feb 4 2010, 01:10:47 PM Post #14 |
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True Blue Mate
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depending on ingredient listed, they are concerned with the presence of it, but also the percentage present. indredient labels usually do not have this for meat and dairy, but if it has neither listed then it should be OK (much of the time:) |
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| suzn | Feb 19 2010, 01:34:48 PM Post #15 |
True Blue Mate
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"Dryer sheets - They do exist, I've used them (granted, in the distant past), and they suuuuuuck. A better alternative is to soak a dry sock in fabric softener and throw it in with your wet clothes. " What a great idea!!! Thanks. |
 Living in Oz since 2002 ~ Temp Residency granted Dec 2004 ~ Perm Residency granted Oct 2006 ~ Dual citizenship official May 2009 | |
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| CynicalCountess | Feb 26 2010, 08:37:32 PM Post #16 |
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True Blue Mate
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That's it! We go to Franklin's or FoodWorks, which both have pretty limited selections. |
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| shylady | Feb 26 2010, 09:19:05 PM Post #17 |
oldYank
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 I have NEVER seen such a selection of cheeses in my LIFE!!!  It's hard to imagine what y'all are complaining about. There's NOTHING I can't find over here in Perth  :shrugs: |
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| koalamama | Feb 27 2010, 09:55:01 AM Post #18 |
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True Blue Mate
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Not sure where you are in Melbourne, but Leo's (Heidelberg and Kew) have lots of different salad dressings above and beyond the standard brands.. pricey though. I make my own ranch, or use Newman's. As for the cheese selection, try looking near the deli section for additional types. I didn't really use dryer sheets in the US - but "we Americans" who live in places where it's freezing half the year, can't really line dry our clothes in the free sunshine. For stick deodorant, maybe try Mennan Speed Stick |
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| minx | Feb 27 2010, 12:06:06 PM Post #19 |
True Blue Mate
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Yeah, I know what you mean  
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