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The clearing out is getting easier as I go! I cleared out the office desk and the last few files. I collected several things that i'm going to turn into a household binder.
A handyman gave me a quote on some work he's going to do Monday and had some nice things to say about our house. I'm really nervous about putting it on the market and that made me feel a little better.
DH is talking to a headhunter on Monday who is a friend of a local friend. That's my second big fear so hopefully he will have a positive call.
I've been reading some old moving threads and wanted to see who is currently planning to move.
With any luck, we will be moving next June after the youngest graduates HS. It's been our 2 year plan so I've been working on home projects and decluttering slowly. I'm now going back through areas and getting more ruthless in what stays or goes.
Chances are, if it something that’s not a necessity and you haven’t used it or worn it in a long time, then it’s time to part with it!
Chances are, if it something that’s not a necessity and you haven’t used it or worn it in a long time, then it’s time to part with it!
That's so true!! I am really trying to break the mindset of hanging onto things, just in case. Plus I'm already tired of packing non essentials so that should help. The books, dining room extras, and holiday stuff are boxed since they won't be needed in next few months.
Today I tackled the totes of kid school projects snd pictures. Yikes, it quit feeling sentimental pretty fast and became an exercise in why did I hang on to so darn much! Really, I don't think we need sponge paintings from preschool and all the elementary writing journals. I kept a few samples and pitched the rest.
Next up were all the class and studio pics. All of those mini copies and extras are gone too.
DH said I'm packing too early but DS plays a spring sport and might as well get it ready for the market now. If we sell and move by early June, that's less than 5 months.
When is everyone else planning to move and how far in advance are you packing?
We hit a lick at it a year before we actually put the house on the market, but then we needed to renovate the kitchen. So, one day, my wife said, "Let's put the house on the market."
Holy smokes. We emptied an entire dumpster. We had a thrift store haul away unneeded furniture. We emptied out cabinets. You name it. The realtor couldn't believe how much we got done. It was a slow time of year for me in my job so I did most of it. I nearly killed myself.
So do it now. Get started six months before the house goes on the market. Be ruthless. You'll be glad you did it.
I've decluttered SO much but at this point I've now bought almost an entire new wardrobe to prepare myself for the move to a cooler climate. It sucks because I packed most of my old wardrobe so I won't be able to declutter even some more until after the move as I have no desire to go through these bins after neatly packing them and stacking them. I'm excited though and I've started looking at pricing movers and U-Hauls. Really getting more and more excited as the time goes on... it's kind of nice to share this sort of experience with other people. May can't come soon enough.
I've decluttered SO much but at this point I've now bought almost an entire new wardrobe to prepare myself for the move to a cooler climate. It sucks because I packed most of my old wardrobe so I won't be able to declutter even some more until after the move as I have no desire to go through these bins after neatly packing them and stacking them. I'm excited though and I've started looking at pricing movers and U-Hauls. Really getting more and more excited as the time goes on... it's kind of nice to share this sort of experience with other people. May can't come soon enough.
A new place is always so exciting. We've moved dozens of times and still enjoy the searching and finding of a new place to live. Bet you'll be ready for something cooler come May in Arizona!
I wished I'd have watched Marie Kondo's Tidying Up (Netflix) before our last move.
Holding everything to see if there as that "spark of joy" before deciding to keep it or thank it and send it on its way would have solved a lot of decisions.
I wished I'd have watched Marie Kondo's Tidying Up (Netflix) before our last move.
Holding everything to see if there as that "spark of joy" before deciding to keep it or thank it and send it on its way would have solved a lot of decisions.
Oh! Interesting! What exactly did she say about that?
I took a very full van load to donate today. I did great making piles yesterday and did not feel at all sentimental. However, the 10 minute drive there and back is so emotional!
In my head, I know we aren't using the items, have too many, or it is outdated. We are going to a smaller place and the "kids" will be college or older. We don't need all that stuff but there are so many memories tied up!
Plus we are pretty close to an empty nests except for college breaks and I'm emotional about that.
I also start in with the thoughts of, maybe I'm being too hasty, maybe we should try to sell some stuff, what if we don't move?
It feels good to be able to help others because I shopped at Goodwill often when we moved last time and the kids were young. I'm trying to focus on that plus the fact that sales are a hassle and we need the house cleared to go on the market.
In other progress, I sorted and recycled 2 big totes of old kid school papers, cards, etc.
Is anyone else struggling with emotions surrounding a move/change of life?
It is amazing when you realize just how much stuff you have accumulated.
Papers are a big bane for me right now. We have thousands of files from when I changed jobs, but mixed in with them here and there is a critical personal or business document. Digging trough old papers is especially tedious.
The other problem I keep encountering is I find some thing that has substantial value if it is repaired, or if I can find the rest of the pieces of it, so I set it aside until I find the parts or I have time to make some simple repair. It is hard to throw something out you know can be worth $100 or more if you just find all the pieces or make some simple repair. OTOH, it is hard to declutter when you are setting so many things aside.
I am going to set up an E-bay selling process and area this coming weekend. I will try a few smaller things that are easy to package up and ship and see how that goes. If it goes well, I will start listing tons of things. Normally I would just donate most things, but I learned recently form a family member who works for a charity, they throw away over half the things that are donated. If they are unusual, they are not sure what it is, cannot find a price for it, etc, they just toss it. they do not have the resources to figure out what things are or what they are worth. One item they tossed was worth $500. They just did not know what it was.
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