For those who have ever moved.

bonnielu · ‎03-11-2010

I walked over to a neighbor's house the other day and went into their add on computer room. Great idea and brand new, and there were shelves everywhere to store things. Already it looked stuffed and crowded. I then went home and saw areas of my home that I too had "stored" things and areas that just had normal furniture that we had bought or collected over 40 years. It got me to thinking. IF I HAD TO MOVE HOW IT THE WORLD COULD I EVER DO IT. MY DAUGHTERS WANT NOTHING AND THE OLDER WE GET CLEARING OUT WOULD BE A NIGHTMARE. Our daughters want us to move near them, each in a different state, imagine how that would work. But in time what might be an approach we could and should take to clean out? Do we dump everything and start over? Do we take everything and probably pay big bucks to move it and not have space for it.

What have you all done? Any help might get me an early start. Looking at five years tops to go SOMEWHERE.

Still Raining · ‎03-30-2014

After seeing what happened after other family member's deaths, I realized that if I did not take care of my own junk it would fall on my DDs shoulders. And who would do that to someone they love? Really clarified by thoughts and got me off my butt. It is actually refreshing when it is all over and your life is simple again like it was at the start of the journey.

misspammie · ‎03-14-2010

stillraining, "refreshing" is a good description. I've downsized from a three story brick to a "mother-in-law" suite. It's really quite nice, more than a MilS, I think. When I was downsizing, which was horribly rough, I'm a 'keeper NOT a hoarder, my neighbors , "az well az" my family took note and have begun their plight already. I'm very emotionally attached to everything,,everything has a story behind it. I'm now pretty well settled in and still miss a few things (especially places to store stuff!!), but it's all made sense to me. I'd given away tons of things, donated, tried to sell, and here I am now. It's a huge jolt to your system, but it's necessary for some. After family and neighbors witnessed the turmoil I went thru, they've begun to 'get rid of, unload, dump" things. It's nice starting anew and refreshed. Keep your 'favs' if possible, and rebuild with what you have. Best of luck. Remember, it has to be done, you can do it, and it's well worth it and 'refreshing' in the end.

Nevadablue · ‎03-09-2010

bonnielu start as early as possible if you're sure moving is in your future. We are moving from Missouri (well nicknamed misery) to Pennsylvania almost 25 years marriage accumelated stuff, we have sorted through it all donated TONS of stuff we are keeping enough furniture to start new life, our personal items, household items and tools thats in need pile, we still got 2 storage lockers filled with "keepers" it takes time to sort through and once you start liquidating unnessary things it gets easy now I'm the one who's saying get rid of it all the time. But do yourself a big favor and start early. Actually I'm looking forward to replacing new things in our new life, if only we could get this stupid house to sell we are ready!

PinkyPetunia · ‎03-09-2010

I've moved 7 times in 40 years (not counting the times we moved ourselves without a professional mover). Two were long-distance moves. Longest I've stayed in one place is 16 years.

You have to be ruthless and determined when you move or want to declutter. "stuff" is How do you know what to throw out? If you haven't looked at it or used it in years, get rid of it. Believe me, you won't even miss it. Don't keep lots of sentimental items. Keep your kitchen items to a minimum. You do not need 16 juice glasses and 20 coffee mugs. One or 2 sets of dishes are plenty. Same goes for cookware. One good set plus a few add-ons like extra skillets will do the job.

When I move I get rid of as much as I can. It costs a lot to hire movers. Get rid of old bulky heavy TV's and mattresses and buy new ones at the new destination. Don't drag the 25 year old living room set. Give it away and buy a new one at your new home,

Beccaboone2 · ‎03-03-2014

I am an experienced mover, both long distance and local. I'm preparing for a long distance move right now (this weekend actually!).

The longest I have lived in one place was 12 years, where the bulk of my son's childhood was spent. Moving from there was awful - my worst move ever - and a real eye opener. I don't keep everything, I am organized, neat, etc., but I found I STILL had way too much "stuff" after 12 years. I donated a ton of stuff to Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, etc., I also rented a large dumpster and I was pretty ruthless. Every move since then I have purged and shed more stuff...it is a lot of work - A LOT!!! - but you may be surprised to find it brings a feeling of relief in a sense.

When my son was growing up, I had one of those plastic flip-top bins for every year of school for him, and I saved EVERYTHING. Before my last move, I went through every single bin (took hours a week for several weeks) and heavily purged. I saved a few things from each school year, awards, certificates, etc. and put it all together in one large bin. ONE. There is no way my son would have wanted EVERYTHING I had saved, and this way he still has important stuff to share with his kids someday. That was hard but cathartic at the same time.

I've also become much better about getting rid of shoes, clothes, etc. that don't fit well or are uncomfortable. My advice is to start now...it's a big job but you will be happy you start now, and your children will be happy you did it, too. I just didn't want my "stuff" to become my son's nightmare at some point, as I see all too often. Good Luck.

MarthaStewardess · ‎03-09-2010

I've moved a lot, both as a child with a father in the military and as an adult. Last time was almost seven years ago. I am one for keeping things of sentimental value, although I am not a hoarder by any means. There are many things I will not ever be able to bear to part with. I don't really agree with just getting rid of stuff and then turning around to buy new stuff, especially when there's nothing wrong with the old. I remember once as a teenager when things got really bad between my parents and my mom and I finally left. We basically took what we could get on a neighbor's pick up truck in half an hour and that was it. We had hardly anything for a very long time, so I guess I have a different outlook to some here.

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

A few years ago, we downsized from a huge 9 room colonial with a basement an an attic to a brand new mid sized two bedroom condo. We started organizing and throwing out stuff a year before we moved. Actually we started a before clearing out before we even found our new house. My girls had graduated from college and were off on their own but they still had stuff all over the house. We took it room by room. We started with the girl's rooms and the upstairs closets. You just have to be motivated to do it and then you do it. We had a dumpster in our yard for all the stuff we disposed of. Everyone has their own method. I went into a room and put things in piles. My keep pile, my throw it away pile and my questionable pile. We were selling our house, so we did have the added incentive of sprucing up the house for potential buyers.

DoneTryin · ‎03-09-2010

Do yourself & your children a big favor & start getting rid of stuff now. My late mother spent many thousands of $$ to move all her kwap (you know what word I mean) to live closer to a couple of her kids. She went from a 3 bdrm house to a small, 2 bdrm condo that was stuffed to the max. When she passed, we kids kept a few items that were special to us, but the bulk of that stuff went to ARC & Goodwill. It was a huge ordeal cleaning all that stuff out of her condo.

Pare down your cooking equipment & utensils. Nobody needs 12 knives, 8 big spoons for mixing/stirring, 3 spatulas, etc. Same with linens & towels; you don't need 20 of each. Decor & knick-knacks - get rid of those dust catchers & only keep a few that have some special meaning to you. Clothing, accessories,shoes & jewelry - no mercy there.

Good luck

EdithEllenLily · ‎08-30-2013

After eight moves for jobs, marriage and family reasons, I found the best way is to designate one weekend to one room at a time. With your downsized space in mind, look at each item and decide "keep, throw away or donate." Once you get rid of the "throw away or donate" items, it will be much better. Even if you're not moving in the near future, it's good to do this purge every few years because items do accumulate. I like the ideas of 1) not moving heavy, old furniture and using the money saved to buy new furniture for your new space and 2) junking your old mattress and buying a new one for your new home. Good luck to you!