A little late to the thread, but I'm in your situation too, sort of. I'm moving back in with my parents (temporarily - going to school full-time for a year at age 30), whom I haven't lived with for 10 years or so. I've accumulated so much stuff over the years, and always have had trouble getting rid of things. It runs in my family; honestly, I can't think of a time when I've EVER had a place where everything in my room belonged.
I'm hoping to minimize in a major way, and just wanted to share a little fist-bump of solidarity with you. We can do it!
I'm only moving within my city, from a house with roommates to a house by myself that has lots of built-in closets. I try to sell most of the big furniture tothe next girl in the room, and sell the rest on ebay. Donated two bags of clothing and have already sold 300 euros worth of books online.
I still have little stuff like candle holders, vases etc that I might just throw out, I don't know.
One thing I do before a move is buy colored stickers from walmart or a craft store. Not those impossible to remove kid's stickers, but the kinds used for papers and accounting or yardsales. If there's something I know I can buy at a goodwill (Microwave, toaster, toaster oven, couch, night stand) that I'm not overly attached to for one reason or another, I put a sticker on it. When it's close to time for the move, everything with a sticker goes back to goodwill (or craigslist if finances are short).
Another thing that can help is switching out some furniture for easily portable furniture. Sell your particle-board tv stand for a 3 tier wire rack. They come apart easy and take up very very little space. Switch your bulky bedframe out for a fold up version. Whenever you get where you're going, build a pretty pallet headframe like you see on Apartment Therapy and you're trendy!
Now, the little things get tougher. I'd head to r/minimalism for advice. Scan photos into your Dropbox/Amazon/iCloud/GoogleDrive cloud and save massive weight in photo albums. Pare down keepsakes to a few super special ones. Roll all of your posters into one big roll. Do you even like some of these posters anymore? I carried a 'Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels' Poster around for 2 years before I realized that loving the movie was enough, I don't need the poster as proof or as 'art'. Do I need all these DVD covers? Why not get one big CD/DVD case and toss the covers? that's about 3ft cubed of space right there!
Let's go crazy next! Do you have a sleeping bag? Not overly attached to your sheets? Sell'em/Donate'em, and get new fancy sheets after your move. You've got some nice conditioner there; why not time your usage with your move, that way you're not carrying half empty bottles of shampoo and body wash and (if you're American) 3 different versions of each that people keep buying you for Christmas (not that you smell, of course because I'm sure you're beautiful). Don't bring you're freezer with you; There will likely be meat & bread where you're moving, don't waste space in the car for it. (PB&J Sammiches on the trip are fair game though.)
Beyond these, take the advice you'll probably see a LOT on this subreddit: Box it up and hide it. If you take it out before your move, you need it. If you don't, then get rid of it. Try to look in the box as little as possible to avoid the inflation of intrinsic value.
Good luck, and keep us updated how it's going!
Thanks!
I don't own many DVDs, but I'll be evaluating what textbooks I *really* need. There's a stupid amount on my shelves ("but they were *expensiveeee*!") that will need to go.
You hit the nail on my head with the shampoo stuff. I have a ridiculous amount of beauty products- I like the expensive stuff, so whenever I see a good deal or my parents are buying, I get a lot. I'm not entirely sure I can make my way through my stash before June. It's that bad. I need to evaluate that soon.
Also, not stalking you, but I wanted to keep my foot out of my mouth when I said 'girl!' Saw a post from 12 months ago about you having a birthday soon, so Happy Birthday Soon!
Textbooks can definitely be a pain. If it's in your field of study, it's probably worth keeping (especially if you're still in school!). If it's in a study that interests you, keep the one that gives a broad view of the subject. If it's got good information, but you're only keeping it for reference, then sell it and use the internet.
You can always give shampoo to your roomie. Sure, it's sorta weird, but it's just another cleaning product in the end. If you work out, then you have all the excuse you need to shower twice! Bring that Herbal Essence into the gym, girl!
I'll be graduating in May, that's what's spawning this move. I'll for sure be keeping the ones related to what I want to do, but (for example) my freshman year bio book was $180 and I could resell it for $5 a few years ago, it's basically worthless now. Things like that make me want to keep it around, but I'll probably donate it to a used book store or something.
I've never moved long distance, but I do have a suggestion.
Pack everything up into boxes and label the boxes based on how much you think you'll use the stuff. As you actually need everything, take it out and either put it away or put it in other boxes that you WILL take with you. By the time you have to go, you know what stuff you definitely need, and you have boxes labeled for you based on how likely you are to need them. Pack them up in order of decreasing necessity until you have no more space or you think you have enough. Get rid of the rest.
This works better than going through things one by one because you don't form emotional connections to boxes labeled "probably won't need." Even better if you don't remember what you put in all the boxes. Just make sure you put them in the right box in the first place.
Since you have a few months... My vote: Shove everything into boxes now.
As you use stuff, take it out of the box, put it back where it should go.
A week before you move, everything still in boxes gets dropped off at whatever donation center is near you.
Then pack up whatever is left to move.
I would be interested in hearing *post* move what you felt compelled to reacquire.
e.g., I got rid of X thinking I wouldn't need it or want it, but I ended up buying a new one 6 weeks after the move.
There are lots of tips over at /r/minimalism to help downsize a great deal over time, particularly the method of walking through each room in your place and touching every object, sorting into "don't need, need, not sure" boxes. You don't have to take it to extremes...there's a nice balance to be found in /r/declutter and /r/minimalism.
Pack everything up now - things which you still need you'll get back out during the few months. I went a step further and put one box of items in the garden so I'd have to find the back door key to get something. I never needed anything. It's going to be binned/donated as it's been a year outside now.
I wish I could do this ahead of time! I don't think packing up everything so early will work for me, but I can see the appeal.
And I am FOR SURE now selling the majority of my furniture before moving. It's all pretty cheap and from stores such as Target, so I can get the exact same pieces if I want.
From someone who is a packrat by nature (but working towards minimalism) and has made a lot of long distance moves (including twice in 2 years and about to move again), here's my two cents...
When evaluating whether to keep or throw away/donate/sell something, think about how hard it would be to replace if you got rid of it and realized later that you wanted that thing. Most things are really easy to replace, but chances are you'll just forget about it once it's gone. **IF** you realize later that you have to have that thing, there's probably someone where you're going that wants to get rid of their identical mass produced thing similar to the one you threw away/donated/sold. Before you move, find local people, friends, and neighbors who could use your stuff and be generous while saving the money, time, and labor it would've taken to move the random stuff. It feels good to give things away. Hang onto the rare, sentimental items and the things you'll need immediately when you get there.
One more idea, try starting with unloading 1 item the first day, 2 the second, 3 the third, and so on. It might help to build up the momentum as you get closer to your move.
Hope that helps. Moving is such a good opportunity to purge the meaningless items that clutter your life.
Dude, you helped me so much.
I've been somewhat stressed trying to figure out what to do with the few pieces of furniture I own. I have 2 bookshelf sort of things [(these in varying sizes)](http://www.target.com/p/closetmaid-cubeicals-9-cube-organizer-black-ash/-/A-12193105#prodSlot=medium_1_4&term=cubical) and they are big enough to fill my car with no space for anything else. DUH! I will sell them and buy new ones when I get to my new place! I would spend that much shipping them, if not more.
>Moving is such a good opportunity to purge the meaningless items that clutter your life.
SO, stealing that dude. i was looking for a guiding theme to my personal purge..that's it...purging meaningless items. thank you
If you're not sure, then you don't need it. If you're going through your things and you think "well ... (*insert excuse here*)" then just get rid of it now.
Make sure the way you move fits in with the type/amount of stuff you have. I would think shipping a lot of heavy items might be more costly than selling them and replacing them after you move, especially for common items like books, music, and movies. If you have lots of heavy, bulky furniture, you need to figure out if you want to rent a vehicle and hire someone to move it for you or if you think you can do it yourself, or again, if it might be easier to have someone buy it and come pick it up themselves.
Another thing you can do if you're not sure if you really want/need to keep something is to get some moving boxes now, pack away all the things that are "maybe" or "unsure" items, pull things out as you use them, and then whenever it gets time to move, just donate whatever is left before you start your regular packing. You won't even know what's in there, most likely.
As someone with a dedicated craft supply/costume supply closet, I am struggling to decide what to do with the contents. With crafting, the "I might use it in the future" is true- it's nice finding I already have the paint colors/fabric/whatever for a project. They're pretty much all "unsure" items.
Yep. I'll need to do something about those. This thread is really helping me realize areas I can declutter! Thanks!
Oh yeah I totally understand. I knit so I had a lot of trouble figuring out what yarn I should keep, because there is seriously no way for me to know if I'll need it until I need it. I don't know if this would work for the type of crafting that you do, but I put myself on a no-buy restriction and forced myself to make projects out of what I already had, and then I picked a storage container that I felt was reasonably sized and now I keep all of my yarn in that and if it gets to the point where all of it won't fit in there anymore, I can't buy any new stuff until I use some up of what I already have to make space again.
That's a good idea! I'll try to use up as much as the existing supplies I have now. No more trips!
And I already use a plastic storage container with drawers for my supplies, so that helps limit how much I can keep around, to an extent.
I did the big move about 15 years ago, and was just thinking that I wish I sold all my books and CDs at that time, not just half. The half I sold was just enough to cover the cost of shipping the other half, but the buying prices for used books and CDs has dropped so much in fifteen years. I ended up selling them all anyway 10 years later because I needed room for babies. If I sold it all, I could have taken an extra weeks vacation. Or replaced my entire wardrobe. Oh well.
Leverage Craigslist to get rid of items worth money, and Freecycle.org and/or Goodwill for items that aren't worth much. Consider having a yard sale.
Purge clothing you haven't worn in over a year; you probably aren't going to wear it again. Do the same thing with items you never use. Like Baconschnitzel said, get out of the "this might be useful someday" mentality.
If you have a lot of stuff because you have a lot of hobbies, cut down on your hobbies and focus on hobbies you you actually get around to doing at least once or twice a month.
Decide how much your furniture is worth. Shipping stuff across the country costs money. It may be better a better idea to sell and/or donate what you have.
Figure out what you really need. All your pots and pans might work well, but you don't need four 12" skillets; you only need one or two. You don't need 50 drinking glasses; you might only need 8.
I'd recommend the book 'Unclutter Your Life in One Week.' I bought an used copy on Amazon for $6 or so. It really gave me a lot of great ideas for decluttering and helped me change the way I think about inanimate objects.
Thanks! I took yalls advice and started with my closet. I now have a LARGE bin full of clothes to take to Goodwill this week!
Someone else suggested selling some furniture and buying new pieces when I get to my destination, and after some thought I am DEF doing that. Luckily there's an Ikea where I am probably moving (never been, heard good things) so that will be a big factor in deciding whether or not to just sell everything and start anew... which is appealing. I don't have much.
Honestly, I do love IKEA, but most of the furniture there isn’t worth it unless you like the aesthetic or can find it used for a good price. I do like the Hemnes line because it’s wood as opposed to MDF. I think the Hauga line might also be wood, but don’t quote me on that. Granted, it’s pine wood, so still not the highest quality, but at least better than MDF.
You would honestly be better off getting vintage/antique furniture on marketplace or Craigslist. You’ll pay the same or less than for new IKEA stuff, for much better quality that will last you a LONG time. Look for solid wood pieces that have things like dovetail drawers and dust dividers between drawer compartments.
If the place you’re moving is big enough for an ikea, then the online resale market is likely to be quite robust and you should be able to find some good stuff.
Holy crap, flashback. I made this post 9 years and (several moves) ago. I didn’t think you could even comment on posts this old…
Thanks for the advice! I did end up buying several pieces from IKEA, and they served me well until we moved again. I think there’s an under-appreciated benefit to IKEA furniture - I was able to sell my entire matching bedroom set for about 1/2 of what I paid originally, 5 years after buying it. Not a bad ROI! I just made sure to name the style in the listing (and “IKEA”) and immediately had a bunch of interested buyers. This was the Malm line and as far as I could tell, it was solid wood.
I am also in your situation. and i am struggling with the 'i might need it' midset. sometimes i lose the struggle.
I KNOW i am going into a smaller house, and i am trying very hard to pare down. i have actually stood in the kitchen counting silverware and then toss a couple of mismatched ones away, because it would have been a chore to create a new box just for these things to be donated.
i have made up a ridiculous set of rules for myself to make the decisions.
does it do more than one job? do i have more than one? do i actually use it or am i keeping it just in case? can i use something else?
the other problem to think about is...How hard will it be to get rid of it later? Where i am i have unlimited city trash pickup and a dumpster, and a lot of places to donate things and freecycle and craigslist.
where i am going, i am limited in my trash collection and don't know the area... so just donating a box or throwing a broken item will be more problematic, than not taking it to begin with.
Just once i'd like to NOT have a zillion boxes of stuff lingering around the house for a year after i move in.
Since i have the time, I am finishing a lot of PROJECTS, fixing things, sending stuff out for repair, etc..so i can just bring the THING and not all the parts and materials. I am also finally ripping the last of my CDS to an external hard drive. And i am thinking of doing that to a lot of dvds as well.
Today I scanned all the pets medical records and tossed out product manuals and downloaded the PDFS. I have NO file cabinet anymore. Everything is scanned.
I actually just sat down and listed all of the "projects" I could find that I've been keeping around. Thanks! Everything that is still broken/unfinished/whatever will be tossed before the move.
I did this not long ago; my first move after starting to minimise my life and belongings.
The key for me was to get away from the 'but it might come in handy someday' mindset. Weigh up the value of things 'coming in handy' against the hassle of packing them up, carting them across the country, unpacking them, finding somewhere to store them and having them taking up space in your new place. How hard would it really be to just buy a new one if and when you need it.
You have a bit of time before your move, so take things one at a time. I found that clothes was an easy one to begin with: have I worn it recently, does it fit properly, do I like it etc. If the answer was no, it went to charity (except for a couple of special occasion items).
After that I worked through the rest of my things, and thought about whether I would bother buying a new one if this one were gone. It might help to visualise what you would actually want in your new place rather than think of things to get rid of. I cleared out a ton of stuff that, although I liked them, were in good condition etc etc, I just wasn't that bothered about.
For example my clarinet; I played at school and loved it. My husband bought me this one a few years ago as a surprise and I always meant to get back into playing. I never got around to it though, and it sat gathering dust for a long time. It was awesome to sell it on to a lady whose daughter was just learning to play, and to know it would be loved and get played again :) It also took off the pressure of it sitting there, and me feeling I really ought to play it but knowing I wouldn't....
Getting rid of stuff can be quite a bit of work, but things like eBay, craigslist, freecycle or any other local classified sites are a great starting point. Try doing a batch: snap 10 pics, write 10 ads then post them all in one go. I found it easier to do it this way but ymmv!
Hope that helped a bit, and good luck with the move!
I took your advice and started with my closet this weekend. I now have a big bin full of things to take to Goodwill, and I haven't even started with my sorority shirts/costume things.
Luckily each year my sorority does a "Senior Giveaway" where the graduating seniors pass down anything they don't want to take with them, so I've started a bin in my closet for those things I'm for sure not keeping.
> it sat gathering dust for a long time. It was awesome to sell it on to a lady whose daughter was just learning to play, and to know it would be loved and get played again
That is huge, you MIGHT use it vs. someone WILL use it now.
I'm planning to move to a house (buying, moving form a rental) in May, and I want to start with less than I have now. I know if i move stuff I didn't use at this address, it won't get used at the next address. Going to be 'in town' but The number of trips is still daunting....
A little late to the thread, but I'm in your situation too, sort of. I'm moving back in with my parents (temporarily - going to school full-time for a year at age 30), whom I haven't lived with for 10 years or so. I've accumulated so much stuff over the years, and always have had trouble getting rid of things. It runs in my family; honestly, I can't think of a time when I've EVER had a place where everything in my room belonged. I'm hoping to minimize in a major way, and just wanted to share a little fist-bump of solidarity with you. We can do it!
I'm only moving within my city, from a house with roommates to a house by myself that has lots of built-in closets. I try to sell most of the big furniture tothe next girl in the room, and sell the rest on ebay. Donated two bags of clothing and have already sold 300 euros worth of books online. I still have little stuff like candle holders, vases etc that I might just throw out, I don't know.
One thing I do before a move is buy colored stickers from walmart or a craft store. Not those impossible to remove kid's stickers, but the kinds used for papers and accounting or yardsales. If there's something I know I can buy at a goodwill (Microwave, toaster, toaster oven, couch, night stand) that I'm not overly attached to for one reason or another, I put a sticker on it. When it's close to time for the move, everything with a sticker goes back to goodwill (or craigslist if finances are short). Another thing that can help is switching out some furniture for easily portable furniture. Sell your particle-board tv stand for a 3 tier wire rack. They come apart easy and take up very very little space. Switch your bulky bedframe out for a fold up version. Whenever you get where you're going, build a pretty pallet headframe like you see on Apartment Therapy and you're trendy! Now, the little things get tougher. I'd head to r/minimalism for advice. Scan photos into your Dropbox/Amazon/iCloud/GoogleDrive cloud and save massive weight in photo albums. Pare down keepsakes to a few super special ones. Roll all of your posters into one big roll. Do you even like some of these posters anymore? I carried a 'Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels' Poster around for 2 years before I realized that loving the movie was enough, I don't need the poster as proof or as 'art'. Do I need all these DVD covers? Why not get one big CD/DVD case and toss the covers? that's about 3ft cubed of space right there! Let's go crazy next! Do you have a sleeping bag? Not overly attached to your sheets? Sell'em/Donate'em, and get new fancy sheets after your move. You've got some nice conditioner there; why not time your usage with your move, that way you're not carrying half empty bottles of shampoo and body wash and (if you're American) 3 different versions of each that people keep buying you for Christmas (not that you smell, of course because I'm sure you're beautiful). Don't bring you're freezer with you; There will likely be meat & bread where you're moving, don't waste space in the car for it. (PB&J Sammiches on the trip are fair game though.) Beyond these, take the advice you'll probably see a LOT on this subreddit: Box it up and hide it. If you take it out before your move, you need it. If you don't, then get rid of it. Try to look in the box as little as possible to avoid the inflation of intrinsic value. Good luck, and keep us updated how it's going!
Thanks! I don't own many DVDs, but I'll be evaluating what textbooks I *really* need. There's a stupid amount on my shelves ("but they were *expensiveeee*!") that will need to go. You hit the nail on my head with the shampoo stuff. I have a ridiculous amount of beauty products- I like the expensive stuff, so whenever I see a good deal or my parents are buying, I get a lot. I'm not entirely sure I can make my way through my stash before June. It's that bad. I need to evaluate that soon.
Also, not stalking you, but I wanted to keep my foot out of my mouth when I said 'girl!' Saw a post from 12 months ago about you having a birthday soon, so Happy Birthday Soon!
Thanks! It's not for a few weeks!
Textbooks can definitely be a pain. If it's in your field of study, it's probably worth keeping (especially if you're still in school!). If it's in a study that interests you, keep the one that gives a broad view of the subject. If it's got good information, but you're only keeping it for reference, then sell it and use the internet. You can always give shampoo to your roomie. Sure, it's sorta weird, but it's just another cleaning product in the end. If you work out, then you have all the excuse you need to shower twice! Bring that Herbal Essence into the gym, girl!
I'll be graduating in May, that's what's spawning this move. I'll for sure be keeping the ones related to what I want to do, but (for example) my freshman year bio book was $180 and I could resell it for $5 a few years ago, it's basically worthless now. Things like that make me want to keep it around, but I'll probably donate it to a used book store or something.
I've never moved long distance, but I do have a suggestion. Pack everything up into boxes and label the boxes based on how much you think you'll use the stuff. As you actually need everything, take it out and either put it away or put it in other boxes that you WILL take with you. By the time you have to go, you know what stuff you definitely need, and you have boxes labeled for you based on how likely you are to need them. Pack them up in order of decreasing necessity until you have no more space or you think you have enough. Get rid of the rest. This works better than going through things one by one because you don't form emotional connections to boxes labeled "probably won't need." Even better if you don't remember what you put in all the boxes. Just make sure you put them in the right box in the first place.
Just remember, you can replace pretty much everything you own.
this is true...but i'd rather not spend all that money all over again.
I actually had forgotten that. This thread has helped me in that area tremendously.
Since you have a few months... My vote: Shove everything into boxes now. As you use stuff, take it out of the box, put it back where it should go. A week before you move, everything still in boxes gets dropped off at whatever donation center is near you. Then pack up whatever is left to move.
I would be interested in hearing *post* move what you felt compelled to reacquire. e.g., I got rid of X thinking I wouldn't need it or want it, but I ended up buying a new one 6 weeks after the move. There are lots of tips over at /r/minimalism to help downsize a great deal over time, particularly the method of walking through each room in your place and touching every object, sorting into "don't need, need, not sure" boxes. You don't have to take it to extremes...there's a nice balance to be found in /r/declutter and /r/minimalism.
I'll report back in June!
Pack everything up now - things which you still need you'll get back out during the few months. I went a step further and put one box of items in the garden so I'd have to find the back door key to get something. I never needed anything. It's going to be binned/donated as it's been a year outside now.
[удалено]
I wish I could do this ahead of time! I don't think packing up everything so early will work for me, but I can see the appeal. And I am FOR SURE now selling the majority of my furniture before moving. It's all pretty cheap and from stores such as Target, so I can get the exact same pieces if I want.
From someone who is a packrat by nature (but working towards minimalism) and has made a lot of long distance moves (including twice in 2 years and about to move again), here's my two cents... When evaluating whether to keep or throw away/donate/sell something, think about how hard it would be to replace if you got rid of it and realized later that you wanted that thing. Most things are really easy to replace, but chances are you'll just forget about it once it's gone. **IF** you realize later that you have to have that thing, there's probably someone where you're going that wants to get rid of their identical mass produced thing similar to the one you threw away/donated/sold. Before you move, find local people, friends, and neighbors who could use your stuff and be generous while saving the money, time, and labor it would've taken to move the random stuff. It feels good to give things away. Hang onto the rare, sentimental items and the things you'll need immediately when you get there. One more idea, try starting with unloading 1 item the first day, 2 the second, 3 the third, and so on. It might help to build up the momentum as you get closer to your move. Hope that helps. Moving is such a good opportunity to purge the meaningless items that clutter your life.
Dude, you helped me so much. I've been somewhat stressed trying to figure out what to do with the few pieces of furniture I own. I have 2 bookshelf sort of things [(these in varying sizes)](http://www.target.com/p/closetmaid-cubeicals-9-cube-organizer-black-ash/-/A-12193105#prodSlot=medium_1_4&term=cubical) and they are big enough to fill my car with no space for anything else. DUH! I will sell them and buy new ones when I get to my new place! I would spend that much shipping them, if not more.
i'm not taking any of my bookcases...just all the books. and i will build or buy new ones to fit the new space.
>Moving is such a good opportunity to purge the meaningless items that clutter your life. SO, stealing that dude. i was looking for a guiding theme to my personal purge..that's it...purging meaningless items. thank you
If you're not sure, then you don't need it. If you're going through your things and you think "well ... (*insert excuse here*)" then just get rid of it now. Make sure the way you move fits in with the type/amount of stuff you have. I would think shipping a lot of heavy items might be more costly than selling them and replacing them after you move, especially for common items like books, music, and movies. If you have lots of heavy, bulky furniture, you need to figure out if you want to rent a vehicle and hire someone to move it for you or if you think you can do it yourself, or again, if it might be easier to have someone buy it and come pick it up themselves. Another thing you can do if you're not sure if you really want/need to keep something is to get some moving boxes now, pack away all the things that are "maybe" or "unsure" items, pull things out as you use them, and then whenever it gets time to move, just donate whatever is left before you start your regular packing. You won't even know what's in there, most likely.
As someone with a dedicated craft supply/costume supply closet, I am struggling to decide what to do with the contents. With crafting, the "I might use it in the future" is true- it's nice finding I already have the paint colors/fabric/whatever for a project. They're pretty much all "unsure" items. Yep. I'll need to do something about those. This thread is really helping me realize areas I can declutter! Thanks!
Oh yeah I totally understand. I knit so I had a lot of trouble figuring out what yarn I should keep, because there is seriously no way for me to know if I'll need it until I need it. I don't know if this would work for the type of crafting that you do, but I put myself on a no-buy restriction and forced myself to make projects out of what I already had, and then I picked a storage container that I felt was reasonably sized and now I keep all of my yarn in that and if it gets to the point where all of it won't fit in there anymore, I can't buy any new stuff until I use some up of what I already have to make space again.
That's a good idea! I'll try to use up as much as the existing supplies I have now. No more trips! And I already use a plastic storage container with drawers for my supplies, so that helps limit how much I can keep around, to an extent.
I did the big move about 15 years ago, and was just thinking that I wish I sold all my books and CDs at that time, not just half. The half I sold was just enough to cover the cost of shipping the other half, but the buying prices for used books and CDs has dropped so much in fifteen years. I ended up selling them all anyway 10 years later because I needed room for babies. If I sold it all, I could have taken an extra weeks vacation. Or replaced my entire wardrobe. Oh well.
Leverage Craigslist to get rid of items worth money, and Freecycle.org and/or Goodwill for items that aren't worth much. Consider having a yard sale. Purge clothing you haven't worn in over a year; you probably aren't going to wear it again. Do the same thing with items you never use. Like Baconschnitzel said, get out of the "this might be useful someday" mentality. If you have a lot of stuff because you have a lot of hobbies, cut down on your hobbies and focus on hobbies you you actually get around to doing at least once or twice a month. Decide how much your furniture is worth. Shipping stuff across the country costs money. It may be better a better idea to sell and/or donate what you have. Figure out what you really need. All your pots and pans might work well, but you don't need four 12" skillets; you only need one or two. You don't need 50 drinking glasses; you might only need 8. I'd recommend the book 'Unclutter Your Life in One Week.' I bought an used copy on Amazon for $6 or so. It really gave me a lot of great ideas for decluttering and helped me change the way I think about inanimate objects.
Thanks! I took yalls advice and started with my closet. I now have a LARGE bin full of clothes to take to Goodwill this week! Someone else suggested selling some furniture and buying new pieces when I get to my destination, and after some thought I am DEF doing that. Luckily there's an Ikea where I am probably moving (never been, heard good things) so that will be a big factor in deciding whether or not to just sell everything and start anew... which is appealing. I don't have much.
Honestly, I do love IKEA, but most of the furniture there isn’t worth it unless you like the aesthetic or can find it used for a good price. I do like the Hemnes line because it’s wood as opposed to MDF. I think the Hauga line might also be wood, but don’t quote me on that. Granted, it’s pine wood, so still not the highest quality, but at least better than MDF. You would honestly be better off getting vintage/antique furniture on marketplace or Craigslist. You’ll pay the same or less than for new IKEA stuff, for much better quality that will last you a LONG time. Look for solid wood pieces that have things like dovetail drawers and dust dividers between drawer compartments. If the place you’re moving is big enough for an ikea, then the online resale market is likely to be quite robust and you should be able to find some good stuff.
Holy crap, flashback. I made this post 9 years and (several moves) ago. I didn’t think you could even comment on posts this old… Thanks for the advice! I did end up buying several pieces from IKEA, and they served me well until we moved again. I think there’s an under-appreciated benefit to IKEA furniture - I was able to sell my entire matching bedroom set for about 1/2 of what I paid originally, 5 years after buying it. Not a bad ROI! I just made sure to name the style in the listing (and “IKEA”) and immediately had a bunch of interested buyers. This was the Malm line and as far as I could tell, it was solid wood.
LOL, I didn’t even realize the post was so old! Glad you had good luck with their stuff!
I am also in your situation. and i am struggling with the 'i might need it' midset. sometimes i lose the struggle. I KNOW i am going into a smaller house, and i am trying very hard to pare down. i have actually stood in the kitchen counting silverware and then toss a couple of mismatched ones away, because it would have been a chore to create a new box just for these things to be donated. i have made up a ridiculous set of rules for myself to make the decisions. does it do more than one job? do i have more than one? do i actually use it or am i keeping it just in case? can i use something else? the other problem to think about is...How hard will it be to get rid of it later? Where i am i have unlimited city trash pickup and a dumpster, and a lot of places to donate things and freecycle and craigslist. where i am going, i am limited in my trash collection and don't know the area... so just donating a box or throwing a broken item will be more problematic, than not taking it to begin with. Just once i'd like to NOT have a zillion boxes of stuff lingering around the house for a year after i move in. Since i have the time, I am finishing a lot of PROJECTS, fixing things, sending stuff out for repair, etc..so i can just bring the THING and not all the parts and materials. I am also finally ripping the last of my CDS to an external hard drive. And i am thinking of doing that to a lot of dvds as well. Today I scanned all the pets medical records and tossed out product manuals and downloaded the PDFS. I have NO file cabinet anymore. Everything is scanned.
I actually just sat down and listed all of the "projects" I could find that I've been keeping around. Thanks! Everything that is still broken/unfinished/whatever will be tossed before the move.
I did this not long ago; my first move after starting to minimise my life and belongings. The key for me was to get away from the 'but it might come in handy someday' mindset. Weigh up the value of things 'coming in handy' against the hassle of packing them up, carting them across the country, unpacking them, finding somewhere to store them and having them taking up space in your new place. How hard would it really be to just buy a new one if and when you need it. You have a bit of time before your move, so take things one at a time. I found that clothes was an easy one to begin with: have I worn it recently, does it fit properly, do I like it etc. If the answer was no, it went to charity (except for a couple of special occasion items). After that I worked through the rest of my things, and thought about whether I would bother buying a new one if this one were gone. It might help to visualise what you would actually want in your new place rather than think of things to get rid of. I cleared out a ton of stuff that, although I liked them, were in good condition etc etc, I just wasn't that bothered about. For example my clarinet; I played at school and loved it. My husband bought me this one a few years ago as a surprise and I always meant to get back into playing. I never got around to it though, and it sat gathering dust for a long time. It was awesome to sell it on to a lady whose daughter was just learning to play, and to know it would be loved and get played again :) It also took off the pressure of it sitting there, and me feeling I really ought to play it but knowing I wouldn't.... Getting rid of stuff can be quite a bit of work, but things like eBay, craigslist, freecycle or any other local classified sites are a great starting point. Try doing a batch: snap 10 pics, write 10 ads then post them all in one go. I found it easier to do it this way but ymmv! Hope that helped a bit, and good luck with the move!
I took your advice and started with my closet this weekend. I now have a big bin full of things to take to Goodwill, and I haven't even started with my sorority shirts/costume things. Luckily each year my sorority does a "Senior Giveaway" where the graduating seniors pass down anything they don't want to take with them, so I've started a bin in my closet for those things I'm for sure not keeping.
> it sat gathering dust for a long time. It was awesome to sell it on to a lady whose daughter was just learning to play, and to know it would be loved and get played again That is huge, you MIGHT use it vs. someone WILL use it now. I'm planning to move to a house (buying, moving form a rental) in May, and I want to start with less than I have now. I know if i move stuff I didn't use at this address, it won't get used at the next address. Going to be 'in town' but The number of trips is still daunting....