support thread for serious decluttering/moving? - Page 18

[indecisive75]

Hi everyone, I hope you dont mind me joining in. Two years aho, DH and I moved house, a distance of about 2km. Well, I panicked, decluttered some then, and we moved. But we moved from a 2 bedroom apartment (and a storage unit) to a 2 bedroom house with an extra living room and a garage. We lugged a lot of stuff over to the new house, and unfortunately filled the garage with boxes (some hardly opened in the past two years). We never parked either car in the garage

Now DH and I are about to move interstate, from Sydney (Australia) to Perth (on the other side of the country) in two months. Plan is to live there for a year or two, then move back. Every extra box we move or store will cost us $!! So its time to seriously declutter again. I think some accountability would help me do some decluttering everyday. We have a lot of junk, and a lot of stuff we havent gone through.
 

[worthy]

Gorgeous photos, Rebecca!  Nice job -- thanks so much for sharing visuals.  Must feel good to have such a tidy space.

Good luck, indecisive!  See this as an opportunity -- sometimes it's hard to declutter when there isn't an external motivator, so this is a great chance to feel strong about getting rid of stuff.

As for us, we are in the new house.  We moved with the help of friends and pickup trucks, and it took most of last weekend.  We also have a couple of small trips left to do today (my dad has a flatbed trailer and he's moving the rototiller and some other big things for me.

The new house is great.  I did a good job of downsizing our stuff before we moved.  But the shape of the new house is different (9' ceilings, small footprint Victorian) compared to the old house (split-level 1969 ranch...very wide and spread out).  It's so funny -- our furniture fit the old house well, but not this one so much.  So now comes the part of downsizing further.

We only moved 10 miles away, so I can drag out the process.  LOL.  I have some giveaway stuff on the porch already, plan to freecycle some stuff, and there is a furniture consignment shop up the street, so it's easy to unload whatever I decide not to keep.

I had a friend help me move the kitchen -- she came on Thurs night and we packed up the old kitchen (depressing!) and delivered the boxes to the new house, then she came again on Friday morning and we put the essentials in the new kitchen.  It turned out to be a very, very good way to do this, so if you have a friend or family member in your new place who can help with unpacking and organizing the kitchen all in one shot, consider it.  Then another friend came that evening and helped me go through the non-essentials.  Still have a ways to go, but I'm feeling good about this new post-move round of sifting and decluttering to get things to fit tidily in the new house.

We went from 2400sf to 1400sf.

One thing I splurged on was lidded bankers boxes for packing.  They are awesome and it makes me feel better about the fact that I can't get everything unpacked overnight -- they are tidy and stack neatly.

If only there were 2400 hours in a day!

Good luck, everyone.  I feel like the aftermath of my move is not over, and the post-move simplifying/decluttering continues, so I'm still posting.
 

[worthy]

Post-moving decluttering...in the past day I've gotten rid of a large basket, a modular shelving system, a lap desk, a computer chair, a 17" computer monitor, a box of packing materials, and a floor lamp.  Also eight milk crates and a bag of hand-me-down clothes.  And a large computer desk.  And an antique typewriter that didn't work.  (So there!)  Feels good.

I have two nice sleds that my kids won't use that I'm hoping two friends will want to take and re-gift to their kids.  We'll see.

There is a lot of "I-thought-this-was-essential-but-it-really-doesn't-fit-in-here" going on.  Secretly I am tickled that I still get to play the "cull-and-donate" game...though I guess it never ends, does it...

Settling in well to the new house.  I think I may get rid of a low cabinet that doesn't fit well here.  Still have some stuff on my porch with a "FREE" sign that I'm hoping will get taken; else I'll donate it at the dump next Saturday.
 

[LitMom]

Anybody still around here? The sale of our current home is finally progressing and we have a lease on a new one for Oct. 1. Everybody was sad tonight though, the kids were in tears about how much they'll miss our current place and it has me feeling sad and anxious. My heart is flip flopping like crazy, which always just stresses me out more. 

The thing is, we are moving to double the square footage we have now, and half or a third the commute to the kids schools. And better financially. It's a good thing, but somehow tonight it feels sad instead.

[erigeron]

We're still packing. Due to close on Friday and move a week from Saturday. I won't be sad to leave this place, because it's just too darn small for us now, but I'm sort of bummed about the other possibilities untaken. We could have bought a different style of house in a different part of the city or even moved to another city, but now we won't, so I think I can sympathize.

So much of our stuff is boxed in the basement and there's still more! Where does it all COME from? Ugh. I think I can get one more box packed tonight. 

[journeymom]

One thing I splurged on was lidded bankers boxes for packing.  They are awesome and it makes me feel better about the fact that I can't get everything unpacked overnight -- they are tidy and stack neatly.

Me too! Dh and I both wanted uniform sized boxes with handles, so we bought a bunch. I'm still amassing grocery store boxes, but so far it's nice to put our clothes in new, clean boxes. Other stuff can go in the used boxes. 

My heart is flip flopping like crazy, which always just stresses me out more.

 Oh golly, that's how I felt leading up to our court appearance for bankruptcy, yesterday.  So far the kids think moving will be a fun adventure.  Mostly I'm sure it will be a fun, novel adventure.  But no doubt we'll have our sad moments. It's bittersweet.
But the pros of moving far outweigh the cons.  I've got to keep reminding myself. 

[JamieCatheryn]

One week left for me now. We're going from 1500 sqft to another state with like a 700sqft apt for 6 weeks, then into a house there, possibly a 2000sqft one. The upsizing isn't my first choice but DH loves the house and I love the yard. Hope DH doesn't go crazy with furniture shopping, he's already looking and we haven't got a contract on the new house yet! Oh we do have the old one under contract, good news there, and they completed the inspection today.

I still have half the garage storage to pack up (a few tools, fishing gear, couple baby items not too much stuff), some things to throw out, and kitchen and 2 closets to pack.

[ShellieC]

Well it looks like it's time for me to join in!  We moved into our current home June 2011 and adore it but dh just can't handle the commute and huge amount of lawn & house maintenance involved with it.  Once we get a plan in place with our realtor & have everything ready to show, we'll be putting this place up for sale and renting in the city he works in (an hour away). He's super excited at the thought of being able to bike to work in under 1/2 hour, which is our limit when we look for rentals.  Also...no yard work, no house repairs and fix its and upkeep. More time to hang out with me and the kids, energy to exercise and have fun family days out...  I keep reminding myself of that whenever I feel sadness creeping in over how cute our old house is, and how gorgeous our 1/2 acre is in the fall.  I've been sick with the flu the past few days but still managed to do some decluttering.  Thankfully I've been indoctrinating myself with simplicity and minimalism blogs for a few years now and it's finally kicking in!  Today I put some loose food in glass jars, recycled a bunch of old coloring books, put a bags worth of old sheets and pillowcases in the van for goodwill, and filled another with old rags to give/chuck.  Now that I know we are actually doing this it's going to be easier!!

[journeymom]

Shellie, your situation is similar to ours.  The huge amount of yard and home maintenance is one major reason we didn't try harder to keep this house; dh and I can't keep up. Or, I could if I made it my full time job but I'm not interested in that, can't afford it. We're selling it and renting some place smaller.  Dh's commute averages 45 minutes, is frequently more than an hour long, and when our youngest graduates high school (currently in 8th grade) we'll be moving closer to the city.  Poor guy deserves it. 

I'm trying to be ruthless with books, and I've donated maybe 150 to the library. But the main book cabinet is still full! Partly because I emptied our bedside tables of books, put them in the cabinet.  Oh well, we're getting there. 

[StillMe]

I have enjoyed reading this whole thread from the beginning. Worthy, I hope you will keep posting as you settle into your new place and continue with your decluttering. And I would love to read updates from everyone.

As for myself, I am getting ready to move next September after my youngest daughter starts University. At the end of August, I helped my oldest daughter move to Ontario, Canada for her first year of University. She will be back home between April and September, but most of her stuff will remain in Canada. 

Two years ago we have moved from Seattle to Southern California, going from over 2000sq ft and an absurd amount of storage to 1100sq ft and no storage whatsoever... no pantry, no coat closets or linen closets. I am still dealing with trying to fit/organize everything in. The garage is packed full of boxes of stuff I am still using. It really is such a pain always shuffling boxes to get to the box I need,which always seems to be at the bottom of the pile. ;-)

I have been slowly getting rid of things we do not need anymore since we moved here, and my goal is to continue reducing our stuff before the big move next year, since again we will be going into a smaller place. Most likely an apartment, which means no garage to store the extra stuff. I am trying to keep track of my decluttering progress on my blog, but there are months I barely make any progress and some where I get a burst of energy and motivation to carry me through. I thought it might help me get motivated if I join you all here. :)

Leah

[ShellieC]

Originally Posted by journeymom 

So far the kids think moving will be a fun adventure.  Mostly I'm sure it will be a fun, novel adventure.  But no doubt we'll have our sad moments. It's bittersweet.

But the pros of moving far outweigh the cons.  I've got to keep reminding myself. 

This is how we feel, journeymom.  Our current home is so gorgeous in any season but it just seems a constant battle to keep it up.  I feel like I'm always asking dh to fix or deal with something, or am trying to just ignore it since I know he has limited evening time at home and wants to play with the kids and then decompress a bit from his long work day (he's up at 4:30am to head into the city). I'm looking forward to being in the city again, which is a surprise since I had dreamed of acreage living before we lived here. There are so many reasons to move... finances, family time, less maintenance & more. It's still hard though since this place is the perfect size for us (1200sqft bungalow & unfinished basement), and is such a cute old house, but I just wish I could move it into the city! I think it'll be easier once things are in motion and there is no going back.  dh meets with our realtor tomorrow to discuss options, so we'll have more of an idea by then. Rent this place out while we try to sell (it can take 6+mo in this area/market), subdivide our 1/2 acre to sell in two parcels (one with the house), or live here while we have it on the market.

In the meantime... we put our bowflex & treadmill up for sale!  I have more decluttering to do... better work on it while the baby is sleeping...

[erigeron]

Sold the microwave today. The new house has a built-in one. It'll be weird to not be able to nuke food for the next couple of days. 

I've learned that the difference between "This room is basically done" and "This room is DONE" is 3 or 4 boxes. Study is 99% done (all that remains is a few things that my husband still needs out), our room is maybe 75% done (not counting all the stuff which will stay in drawers, just counting the stuff that will actually get packed), living room is about 95% done, bathrooms maybe 40% done, kitchen barely touched. A friend is coming over Friday to help with packing the kitchen (read: to entertain my toddler and hers while I pack the kitchen). 

[journeymom]

We officially started the short sale Sunday and last night someone made a bid.     This is all so fast.  Dh really, REALLY didn't want strangers in the house, but the agent talked me into letting two couples see the house yesterday evening.  What showed up at the appointed time was almost 24 people.  I wasn't there most of the time; I took ds to get dinner and leave him at the library.  When I got home everyone was crowded outside talking. 

I had planned to be there and dh was supposed to be gone with ds, because frankly I'm concerned for dh's health.  He's taking this harder than I am.  But dh insisted on staying. 

Anyway, about an hour after the crowd left the agent called us to say we had a buyer, so he dropped by on his way home and we signed papers.  Gulp.  Of course it could fall through.  The mortgage company might reject the sale bid, and go ahead with the foreclosure/auction.  But that's unlikely, since they'll get more money from the short sale than the foreclosure and auction.  If the sale bid goes through we'll have about 4 more months here.  If it doesn't, we'll have as little as a month.  Either is fine, but I'd much prefer to be here for Christmas one more time. 

Sigh. 

[LitMom]

Movers coming Tuesday... Went to the new place today to choose a carpet color. That will go in on Monday. Kids got to look at their new rooms. We have some stuff in boxes, but there's a lot to go! How did we fit so much into our 600 square feet? We are going up to 1200 square feet, which will be awesome. 

DH ordered reusable packing boxes, which is great. They delivered them to us, we pack them, use them to move, and 3 weeks later, they come to the new address to pick 'em up. 

Then we just have to keep afloat financially paying for two places until we close. I wish they'd schedule the darn closing! Should only be a couple of weeks. [fingers crossed]

[erigeron]

I hope you can close soon! We had our closing delayed three times and it ended up being almost a week later than we thought. It was harder on the sellers than on us--they had movers arranged and had to cancel. 

Spent the better part of today at the new house shampooing the rugs and putting in baby gates. As the one who did the majority of the legwork for the mortgage and also most of the packing, so far this move consists of boring things I don't like, so I'm looking forward to the good parts of, y'know, getting to enjoy the house. 

[journeymom]

Our buyers withdrew their bid, said there's more work to do on the place than they'd like.  They're entirely right, there's more work to do than we can handle, too.  So it's back on the short-sale market and 3 more couples came through last night.  This time I stayed home and sent dh out with the kids.  Dh was greatly relieved.

So to cope with my nerves I packed more books while strangers wandered through my home.  Litmom, we bought some reusable boxes from U-Haul.  They're really nice: brand new and clean, extra strong, uniform sizes. We can't afford to move the whole household with new boxes though.  So I'll be hunting down grocery store boxes too. 

[LitMom]

Originally Posted by journeymom 

So to cope with my nerves I packed more books while strangers wandered through my home.  Litmom, we bought some reusable boxes from U-Haul.  They're really nice: brand new and clean, extra strong, uniform sizes. We can't afford to move the whole household with new boxes though.  So I'll be hunting down grocery store boxes too. 

I figured the same in terms of reusables, but DH found somewhere in our city that rents them specifically for moving. Crazy, huh?

[erigeron]

I work for a drugstore. Between the pharmacy (endless boxes that held drug vials and label paper) and the front store (boxes from food, paper towels, toys, anything you can think of), I have done almost our entire move in boxes from work. There's a variety of sizes. Of course, I started collecting them weeks ago... you're not going to get all you need for a move in one day. We also got a few from my husband's work, and some from friends and family. 

[beanma]

Just lurking on this thread and wanted to say that when I cleared out my mom and dad's house I used a bunch of boxes I got from the natural foods co-op where I volunteer. They buy from UNFI (big natural foods distributer) and they have a lot of uniformly sized UNFI boxes. They were great. Stacked nicely. Probably about 24 to 30 inches by 18 or 20 inches. Big, but not so big that you were tempted fill it all up with books and then be unable to lift it. 

We just had a yard sale. The kids were really the impetus. They wanted to sell some of their stuff to raise money to save the sea turtles. I was all for it. We did get rid of a bunch of junk and made some money, too, but we will donate it all. I just wanted the junk gone. 

I still have a bunch of stuff to get rid of (that is to say, trash), some more to donate, and then there's some family heirloom type stuff that came from my mom's house I'm really trying to pawn off on my cousins. That's the only stuff that I have much trouble parting with. I just can't keep it all, but it would be nice to keep it in the family if there's anyone else who wants it.

[erigeron]

Okay, ladies. Our move is TOMORROW! It's 11 PM and I am basically down to all the random annoying crap, which is harder than packing organized categories of items. IT'S CRUNCH TIME! Keep us in your thoughts.