[faithfulFrank]

Well, I thought this might be an interesting topic to discuss, since we all have "stuff".

We are a very mobile country, and we could all use some tips, etc in how to move, what to take and get rid of, how to tackle clutter, etc. As many here know, my gameplan is to go from a big house up north to a smaller house with no basement, etc, in Florida. I have three years or so to get rid of everything I own.

When I move, I'll take my wife, some, (ok, a lot) of tools, some clothes and pictures, my powerbook and ipod. I do not believe I'll take any cars, for who in Florida wants rusting, salt laden NY vehicles. Luckily, we are also going through the "empty nest" stage, so I'm letting my kids have anything they want.

Up here, garage sales are strictly a summer thing.....so I'll have at least two a year until most everything is gone. At the garage sale, buyers see a sign saying, "Like the house? you can buy it too in 3 years....). I'll keep selling stuff on ebay, and bringing stuff to goodwill, etc.

The 3 weeks of feverish buying we did last Feb filling an empty Florida house with EVERYTHING you need will pay off in not needing to take much with us.

What many do not realize is how expensive it is to move something 1300 miles. Many people pay a lot of cash to move stuff they should have never brought with them. Many times it is cheaper to sell it first, then buy new down there.

Many of my tools fit this category. I do not really need to bring all 11 of my electric drills with me. After years of putting up with my kids teasing that I have too many tools, now they are realizing that they will soon be theirs to own is shutting them up. Tools they "borrow" do not seem to return, but now I do not care.

I prayed that God would let me live long enough to see my kids through those teenage years to the point that they would realize that Dad is NOT an idiot.....and it is now happening! Who woulda thought they would "see the light" ??

I spent years going to garage sales, auctions, etc, "getting a deal". Having 5 of everything seemed like a good idea. My three car garage is 28 x 40 and I have a huge basement, so let's fill it! now, the new house has a smaller garage, and NO basement. Time to downsize.

My house was never cluttered, but my garage and basement has not always looked that good. I have always drawn the line though in insisting that I will always be able to fit the cars in the garage, and i have kept that promise. If your cars do not fit in your garage, it is time to de-clutter.

Author Don Aslett has written many good books on de-cluttering your life, and I recommend them.

Just the fact that Florida homes do not have basements leads to our first question.....

1) Those who have "made the move"....how did you do it?

2) What was the best way to move....Moving van, U-haul, PODS, etc??

3) What did you bring down there that you later discovered you did NOT need......or visa-versa ?

4) What organizing tips do you have?

5) Do you have any funny stories about this subject to share?


I have found that many people, especially when they get older, keep way too much "stuff". I've seen fatal fires due to having too much stuff. Just last month we had 4 people die locally when their clutter caused a fire. When I'm on the ambulance, I've seen people die because better care could not be given because we could not get the people out of their living spaces because of all the clutter.....sometimes we cannot even get the gurney in their houses.

I now have a rule. If I cannot find anything I'm looking for in 5 minutes....something is wrong. I need better organizing in that area. when I was younger, in my "gathering" phase, sometimes it took me an hour to find the right tool to do a 5 minute job......maybe that is why I own multiples of everything.

Now, I'm different. My possessions will not own me. Less feels great! Clean and organized feels great! Organized closets feel great! A clean garage and basement feels great! A place for everything and everything in it's place is an unbelievable high! They call them possessions not because you own them, but that because they own you......

Remember, in the end, the casket is only big enough for you. you are doing your kids a BIG favor if you get rid of the clutter now. I know people who never have any visitors in their house because they are ashamed of their clutter....how sad!!

Sorry.....I'll get off my soapbox now....(I'll sell it in the next garage sale....)

Anyway.....anyone else??

Frank D.

[**NoodLes**]

It sounds to me like you had a case of obsessive compulsive order by collecting and holding on to stuff you did not use anymore. My parents were the same way and I could never understand why. I'm glad you realized this because it will make it alot easier to move. The average Uhaul will run about $1500-$2500 depending on the size. That's the route I would take.

[faithfulFrank]

Thanks Noodles,

I guess it will depend on how much we take down with us. It may not be much. I might have exaggerated a bit.....I really do not have 5 of EVERYTHING, but I do have a lot of tools. I built my own house up here, and I do a lot of side work for others, so the vast array of tools are justifiable. 11 drills may seem like a lot, but there are different types of drills, with all specific uses.

Many things I just will not need in Florida...snowblowers, shovels, ice scrapers, rototiller, my big exmark mower, etc,etc.

Frank D.

[Floridabound09]

Hello Frank.

Feel the same way. I am an antique dealer when I have time, collect various things and have for years. Have quite a large collection of one item and have began to sell off alittle at a time on ebay and running some of the better things through some good auction houses.

I have already begun the process, I have already used the tagging and box method.

Keep, Donate, Sell, Undecided.

Keep is going into marked totes for moving. Donate is going to goodwill, sell is on shelves in the garage and dont know depends on if we want to store it in Florida.

We like you want a more relaxing laid back comfy life when we move to Florida and do not want really collect anything but seashells and Florida memorabilia.

Our collection grew to the point I had to build a 40 x 60 building to store it. Once we decided to really move to Florida, we began downsizing it.

Its hard to decide on things to keep, sell or donate. But you know we will get past it and move on. We cannot take everything with us.

I have decided the most important things would be what the wife and the kids personal items and sentimental/family items are going first, then we will move onto the other items.

We are not taking any large items like furniture or anything. Only 1 1800's hutch that was DW great grandmothers.

Also, since you have collected things you must know values of some of those things and you do know that Leesburg is not to far away from a super antique and collector market in Mt Dora where you could sell the better things you have collected.

So, look into the labeling system, it so far has worked for me and it has made it allot easier. Once it hits the sell or donate totes, its a goner.

I want to look forward to a new life with less clutter and things. I live in a quad level, 4 levels and the lower level is full and only has walkways between the totes and boxes, then onto the 40 x 60 building which I hope to have done by end of next summer.

I have already told the family, 1 U haul and one trailer behind my truck, fill them to the limit and the rest goes to goodwill.

[BandChick]

We haven't put our house on the market, haven't bought a house in Florida, haven't found or even applied for a job, haven't even decided that we're MOVING to Florida at all really... it's just an inkling of an idea for us currently. But, we got super-excited tonight, thinking of the possibility of moving-- and we went into our storage room in the basement and de-cluttered like CrAzY! We threw out and recycled bags and bags... have ceiling-high boxes full of stuff to sell. What a feeling!

Just thinking about simplifying our lives and letting go of things we haven't seen or needed or thought about for 5, 10, 15 years or so, was so liberating. And now, we feel like we're one step closer to moving to Florida.

Our plan for when we move to Florida, IF we move:
1) Probably bring about two boxes of memorabilia (diplomas, pictures, etc.).
2) Our bed.
3) The kids' beds
4) One dresser
5) Give away my antique furniture I inherited from my grama to my niece, who will appreciate it as I have
6) Dump all the blah/winter clothing and coats (save a few items for chilly days down there and visits back to Central IL in the winter months)
7) Sell the couch, the end tables, the exercise equipment, and other press-board cheapy items that probably wouldn't survive the move anyway
8) Only take a small amount of knick-knack type items (might count as sentimental items, like champagne flutes, candy dishes, etc.)
9) We're even scanning all our pictures to our computer and tossing the hard copies! Easier to move them in our computer than to haul buckets worth of photos and albums!!
10) The only decor that is going with us is our "Fish Bathroom" stuff. It'll already be in fashion there!

Can you tell I've been planning this out in my head? I sure hope we move! Tonight's clean-fest sure seemed like it may really happen... Wheeeee!!