View Full Version : Just too much stuff
Everytime I thought about writing this post I thought of the poster TooMuchStuff and it made me smile.
This weekend dh and I worked on several projects around the house/garden/garage and what struck me over and over was that we just have too much stuff. By American standards we are average, not minimalist and not packrats, but we just have more stuff than we need. I remember when I moved into this house in my early 20's and I was coming from a 1B apt. I had a bed, nightstand, small dresser, moderately-sized sofa and loveseat, and a kitchen table with chairs. That's it. Maybe a plant or two. Everything I needed. It made my home feel spacious and bright. I loved it.
Over the years, we've collected stuff. The couches have gotten bigger, and now have an assortment of tables all around them - side table, coffee table, etc. Instead of having 1 pretty pitcher for flowers, I have about 5 of them, because they all looked so pretty I had to buy them. Instead of 1 cute coffee cup, there's several of them. Baskets abound because I can't resist a pretty basket and now have the money to spend. There's stuff gathered on our travels, gifts received, mementos of times, places, and people. Lots of Stuff - small and big. As I got older I found myself filling up tables and walls with photos of our large families, our pets, places we've been. The images are all nice, but I miss the open spaces and the light reflected on the empty walls. All the picture frames add visual clutter and weight that feels too heavy and too jarring. This weekend I told dh that suddenly our home feels heavy and I want to remove stuff to make room for light and air. For the rooms to breathe.
It's interesting, the way physical "stuff" makes us feel and how we interact with it. I have a friend who's home is filled with stuff and it brings her a lot of joy. Each item reminds her of a person, and the things in her home feel like living entities to her. They are not merely things, but symbolic representations of the important people in her life. And thus the things themselves become very important to her. Things don't have that same meaning for me. They do bring back memories of times, places, people; but they don't give me joy. The times, places, and people are what bring me joy. Things more often represent a particular time in my life, a certain place in time. For dh, they represent investments of time, energy, money. He views them with a practical eye, and they seldom have emotional attachments.
As I move towards making room for a new time in our lives, dh is having a hard time with the practical aspect of what that means. Perfectly good stuff! We have room for it, leave it, he says. But we don't need it, we don't use it. And we probably never will. And if we do, we won't know where it is, in fact we'll forget we even have one. I just saw a container in the garage with candles. From our wedding. 14 years ago. Recently I donated my beautiful wedding gown because I'll never wear it again and I have no one to pass it down to. And even if I did have a daughter, I don't know a single woman who has worn her mother's wedding dress or has a daughter who's done so. I have to admit I was sad for a few weeks after donating it and kept thinking I'd made a mistake and had the urge to run and try desperately to find it. But gradually that has faded. The memory of that beautiful day is always with me, with or without having the dress in the house. And the beautiful life we have together is in the moments we share every day, not in a dress boxed up in the garage, gathering dust.
The Japanese word Ma is roughly translated as "gap", "space", "pause" or "the space between things." I want to feel that sense of space in my home and my life.
I understand. I used to have at least 5-6 things on the walls in every room. Now I'm down to 4 things total. I could do well with zero, honestly.
ToomuchStuff
5-31-16, 2:13am
In a short amount of time, I went from owning a bed and thinking about finding my own place, to owning my home and a house full of furniture. I look around and I see old family photo's or documents and wonder if they weren't framed, would I keep them. I have some stuff, that just has too many memories attached to them, to get away from. Examples are an original oil painting from an artist who's daughter was my first crush, pictures from a presidential funeral, along with the documents provided to those that worked there.
Then I have furniture, that I think about sites like I gave a relative (anna white) and people like Pete Seeger, that I read built his own home/cabin/furniture with his own hands. I think that would be fun, but I have functional stuff that was very expensive (cost a life/inherited).
I also realize that time marches on, and my parents are getting to the ages where their parents went (my family seems to be dying sooner). It makes me think, I am going to be given/offered/thrust upon, more stuff.
I have been around a lot of older people in my time. I found out in the last year, a friend of mine (kind of work brother), grew up around this gal I like (she's taken), while I grew up around her grandfather, a good friend of mine. Even though I am the same age range as her, my mentality is much closer to the older generation, and why do I need all this stuff, now. (verses my generation which should be saying that in another 10 years at the earliest)
I skipped a lot of the steps that others go through in life, and now I see I have the trappings, without the experiences. This is what made me want to simplify and why I call myself, toomuchstuff.
iris lilies
5-31-16, 9:19am
We have way too much stuff, too. Weve been at this address for 27 years. DH has a hard time letting things go, but now we have a venue for getting rid of collectibles/antiques through donating to an organization he likes, so thats been good for the past few years. This organization's sale allows me to practice one of my favorite ( activities, to pull in good things from the alley, perhaps clean them up a bit, and see them purchased at the sale. This year my goal is to generate $100 in the sale from alley items.
Fortunately, we are unloading one of our little houses so that is one giant "thing" that will be gone.
iris lilies
5-31-16, 9:24am
As far as having things on the walls, I lived here 20 years before I had things hanging on the wall that I wanted long term and in any kind of order. Back then, I put up a few Items on the walls in random places to keep them safe in a construction zone.
I skipped a lot of the steps that others go through in life, and now I see I have the trappings, without the experiences. .
I thought this was very interesting. I can see how that would make you want to simplify and clear out some space for your own experiences. How is the process going for you?
Lately I've been nostalgic for the days when I had few things and what I had was modest and simple. I miss that feeling of expansion in my home. I also think that when I have less things, I enjoy what I have that much more because it stands out and I can pause and appreciate it, instead of fading into "stuff" that my eye skims over. Ha! That makes me think of BathBedBeyond - I have a hard time going through that store because it has so much stuff; it short-circuits my brain! I feel claustrophobic in there. Sometimes I get a bit of that in Target too - it overloads my visual sense and I feel myself tensing up.
We have way too much stuff, too. Weve been at this address for 27 years. DH has a hard time letting things go, but now we have a venue for getting rid of collectibles/antiques through donating to an organization he likes, so thats been good for the past few years. This organization's sale allows me to practice one of my favorite ( activities, to pull in good things from the alley, perhaps clean them up a bit, and see them purchased at the sale. This year my goal is to generate $100 in the sale from alley items.
Fortunately, we are unloading one of our little houses so that is one giant "thing" that will be gone.
Hey - congrats on the the unloading of the house!
One of my past weaknesses was going to an auction house here in town. They have auctions every month and it's just amazing the stuff that you find for dirt cheap. You would love their stuff. Lots of great quality wood furniture especially. I bought a beautiful solid wood Drexel dresser that must be at least 50 years old, in great condition, for $45. And a bunch of small lovely accent tables too for about $10 each. Of course I didn't, and still don't, need any of these things. But it was so hard to pass up. Sigh.
I'm wanting to replace my cheap little rectangular kitchen table with a round wood one but I'm afraid to go to the auction! I'm might come with a truckload of stuff, and no table. :)
And then I think... Do I really need to replace the table?
We are in the process of moving after 16 years in one house. At first, I was very stressed about it but now with everything that finds a new home, I feel a little lighter. I had made a stack against one wall of boxes and items to sell at a garage sale and successfully got rid of most of it. Except for one item I kind of regret selling, I don't even recall what I sold - it is just gone. Moving forces us to continue getting rid of stuff we don't need/use and I like that aspect of it. I also have a rather large envelope of cash from selling at craigslist, garage sale, etc. Now, I am planning a living estate sale where we can sell better furniture and more expensive items.
iris lilies
5-31-16, 10:12am
Lately I've been nostalgic for the days when I had few things and what I had was modest and simple. I miss that feeling of expansion in my home. I also think that when I have less things, I enjoy what I have that much more because it stands out and I can pause and appreciate it, instead of fading into "stuff" that my eye skims over. Ha! That makes me think of BathBedBeyond - I have a hard time going through that store because it has so much stuff; it short-circuits my brain! I feel claustrophobic in there. Sometimes I get a bit of that in Target too - it overloads my visual sense and I feel myself tensing up.
I do think about my early days and my first house and sure, I did have very few but the things I had were not nice, they were cheap. Still I did like the clean, unclutteredness of it, it always made me feel it was full of potential for decorating.
It took many years for me to let loose of money in order to buy pretty antique pieces, and frankly it took a long time for me to identify styles and woods that I like. I went thru a modern, then a 50's mahogony, then a Chinese period. Then I settled into Victorian. I dont think I will embrace modern as I age, it took too long to get pieces of furniture I like. This doesnt mean that the everything has to be antique, but when it took 20 some years for us to find a dining room table we both like, and then DH did work on it so we have sweat into it, and it is beautiful and old, we arent giving that up anytime soon!
shadowmoss
5-31-16, 11:00am
I'm moving into a 26' Class C RV this week. I have 2 storage units, one shared with my Mom who moved into a rented RV last month. The big stuff gets shoe horned into storage today. I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff, mostly donating as I just don't have the energy to try to sell it. I'm selling my Hoosier cabinet I bought when I bought my first house in 1984, and my Dad's Victrola is for sale. No offers on the Victrola yet, so it will probably be given away. I don't need to buy clothes for the rest of my life, as I now have packed away several large duffle suitcases of tops and pants and dressier clothes I've own for years and never worn. One of the ways I have gotten rid of some of the clothes is that I realize I've not worn it in 10 years (in some cases 20 years...). I'm giving myself permission to go buy nice, expensive replacements of any one thing I get rid of. Get rid of 20 tops? I can go buy a nice $20 one later if I feel I need it.
It is hard getting rid of all this stuff. And I have so much left I'm putting into storage. It will be gone through again in time. I'm told that after a year of living in the RV getting rid of the rest of the stuff is easier. I will be just as cluttered in the RV at first I can tell. I keep moving into smaller and smaller spaces, so the level of clutter stays at the same level even though I get rid of stuff. At some point I'll have to accept that I am apparently comfortable with the clutter, or I'll bite the bullet and really go down to just what I need.
Chicken lady
5-31-16, 11:02am
I get that overwhelmed feeling in stores and malls. It's weird, because there is a lot of stuff in my house, and I like it. But I do actually see my house stuff. And it is familiar and full of stories, I find being surrounded by it comforting.
all the shiny, new, storyless stuff in the stores overwhelmes me and I just down. Too many colors and textures and shapes! My family has learnings to spot when I am "in the zone" and steer me along and out.
Ultralight
5-31-16, 12:13pm
Just want to say: This is an interesting thread! :)
Chicken Lady, I find that I close down completely when faced with too many choices. I have walked into and immediately out of stores when there was just too much stuff. I cannot make a decision. Now I shop only occasionally (other than food) and only when I really need something. We do a lot of Amazon shopping.
I am trying to organize by putting all like items together and in one place.
Teacher Terry
5-31-16, 2:47pm
I rarely set foot in a store anymore. My DH grocery shops for us and has for years. I buy most things online and they come to the door. It is easier to shop around that way. I have also found good deals that way and I buy most clothes there too as I know my size for different brands. I don't shop much at all as I remind myself when I donate something that if I buy will I be giving it away in a few years which is just a waste of $. WE have a big empty patio and I found a really nice firepit/table set with very thick padded chairs and my stepson was amazed at the good deal and plans to get one for himself.
May I share your post with those in my summer book club (starting 6/19). We will be reading FREEDOM OF SIMPLICITY. Let me know. Thanks!
Meezer Mom, one of my favorite books is the Paradox of Choice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice
There is also a TED talk about it.
I believe too many choices drives the present popularity of decluttering. Our brains (or at least mine) can't process the vast array of choices available to us now. Consumer goods and life - just so many options.
I believe too many choices drives the present popularity of decluttering. Our brains (or at least mine) can't process the vast array of choices available to us now. Consumer goods and life - just so many options.
Yes.. and ironically, I like few choices when I acquire, too! One of my favorite clothing stores is White House Black Market because you have two choices--black or white. (Well, they always include one or two accent colors per season). The store is small, choices are limited, and I love it. I also tend to shop Trader Joe because of its limited choice. How much time is wasted in supermarkets comparing prices across 7 different mustards???
May I share your post with those in my summer book club (starting 6/19). We will be reading FREEDOM OF SIMPLICITY. Let me know. Thanks!
Sure. :)
ToomuchStuff
6-2-16, 10:19am
I thought this was very interesting. I can see how that would make you want to simplify and clear out some space for your own experiences. How is the process going for you?
You say lately you have been nostalgic for when you moved in with little stuff. For me, that would be about 30 days before I purchased the house I am in, because a neighbor kid was seen trying to break in. I moved in to a sleeper sofa, so I didn't experience the not much stuff yet.
The process isn't going anywhere near fast enough, with work hours and other activities going on. But part of that should be for another month, hopefully (should find out next week).
Today - this morning actually - I need to go through some boxes in the garage. These boxes are full of framed photos and I need to take the photos out and get rid of at least half of the frames. It's hard because these are all family and close friend photos. Dh and I have a huge combined family - 14 siblings, and most of them have kids, and know those kids have started getting married and having kids. Then there's the friends we've had for decades, our travels, our pets...too much.
At one point the walls felt so crowded that I took a bunch of pictures down and put them in boxes and put them up in the garage. I always feel that I'm playing favorites if only certain people's photos are out. I've decided to just put out 1 or 2 family photos for each side and that's it. The other few will be the ones that are personally meaningful for dh and I.
My dining area is also crowded with furniture and it feels like a furniture store! I'm going to consolidate everything into the large pantry I have and get rid of everything else unless it's really needed.
Right now the focus will be function - later on I'll get to the joy part! :)
iris lilies
6-2-16, 10:35am
Joy--I love love love my living room! I waited 20 years for it to be finished, living in a construction zone all the while.
It is now beautiful with ts high ceiling, crown molding, built in bookcases with curved tops, and furniture and window treatments that I love. It has a color scheme that I always wanted, for 20 years I thought about these colors: a lettuce green and with touches of pink. Now I've got it. Oddly, this color green is/was very popular recently. I think it is moving out of trend now, though.
I really like moving decorative items around, moving them in, moving them out. Yesterday DH moved his giant palm tree and large banana tree out of the living room. Now that is it hot weather they will live outdoors. All of a sudden there is empty space in our living room and it gives a freshness and lightness to summer.
Geila, Hope you get there soon! It's worth it.
ApatheticNoMore
6-2-16, 10:37am
I already have heuristics to deal with choices I think so I've never had that much problems with it (often it is just buying the same brand as before. or try something like not buying from china and see how many choices you have left then ...). People already have a built in method to deal with excess choices: it's called habit, and it's plenty powerful enough - too powerful much of the time - more powerful than choice. white and black are two colors that would not work with my complexion for sure, unless they have a lot of other colors mixed (in a print say), so i wouldn't go to that store, but i already know not to choose those colors when trying on clothes - so that limits two choices right there - having some idea what colors actually work on one.
So the book really no i don't relate to it - i suppose one could say that one has too many choices of people to date or jobs or something, it might make more sense applied to nonconsumer things where one can't just apply some simple heuristic and be done with it.
Meezer_Mom
6-2-16, 11:29am
Thanks! And thanks for the book reco, sweetana3.
Too much stuff makes my skin crawl..I like surfaces free from too much stuff.
But I do struggle with simplicity and the compulsion to accumulate. Just today someone gifted me with a hummingbird feeder.
At first I was grateful, but then I remembered that keeping a feeder cleaned and filled is another chore to add to my load. We used to have a feeder by the slider in our bedroom and the darned bossy little birds would hover at eye level just outside our bedroom and chatter and fuss at us if their feeder was empty.
Nope, not going there again. They'll have to subsist on flower juice --it's probably better for them anyhow.
Teacher Terry
6-9-16, 8:00pm
IL: your LR sounds great and I love those colors too. If I had to wait 20 years though someone would have been dead:~).
ToomuchStuff
6-10-16, 1:27am
Too much stuff makes my skin crawl.
So what are you saying?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1AHec7sfZ8
:laff:;)
Sloeginfizz
7-1-16, 11:33pm
Geila- one of the best things we've done regarding pictures was to get all our photos scanned. We then put them on display in a digital photoframe. Actually, it's an old Ipad that works fine hardware wise, but safari doesn't work any more because it's so old the software version isn't supported any more. But they have digital photo frames for not very much money.
Anyway, it runs on a constant shuffle and I get to see my photos of loved ones, vacations, pets, pretty flowers I once saw, etc. constantly. I look up and it's a new photo and I'm happy as I remember the occasion or person. My walls aren't cluttered up. No playing favorites. Just a constant rotation of pictures in one small spot.
It also enabled me to get rid of the bulky box of paper photos. Of course, I don't have them saved only to the old ipad. They're on two different cloud servers as well as a number of usb drives that are stashed various places.
A month later and still packing up the house to move. I have been very surprised by just how much stuff we had/have. I thought we lived pretty simply but the amount of time spent going through papers, photos, books and all the other stuff has been very eye-opening about how "unsimple" we are. All I can offer is take care of it before you ever think about moving.
iris lilies
7-2-16, 9:48am
A month later and still packing up the house to move. I have been very surprised by just how much stuff we had/have. I thought we lived pretty simply but the amount of time spent going through papers, photos, books and all the other stuff has been very eye-opening about how "unsimple" we are. All I can offer is take care of it before you ever think about moving.
oh I hear you! I have lived in this house longer than any other house in my life. We have stuff, lotsa stuff.>:(
I keep calm at the thought of moving by thinking that it is unlikely I will ever move. Most likely, I will die before DH and he will have to take care of the stuff. I tell him regulalrly: only my book collection is worth shopping around to collectors, the rest of it is worth little to nothng, just have an estate sale and get rid of it!
if he dies first, I will have no compunction in jettisoning the stuff.
if we move, we would have to move into the new place and take what stuff fits, and then sell off remainder before unloading the house.
Iris, that is what we are going to do only because we can. Buy, improve, move what we want and then put the old house up for sale. Also gives us a chance to fix the floor in the old house without having a lot of furniture and stuff to move.
We will NOT be moving anytime soon. Stairs are no longer an issue and we finally finished the siding replacement. The city is now rebricking the street in front of our house. So other than the normal appliance woes, things should be stable around here for 10+ years.
oh I hear you! I have lived in this house longer than any other house in my life. We have stuff, lotsa stuff.>:(
I keep calm at the thought of moving by thinking that it is unlikely I will ever move. Most likely, I will die before DH and he will have to take care of the stuff. I tell him regulalrly: only my book collection is worth shopping around to collectors, the rest of it is worth little to nothng, just have an estate sale and get rid of it!
if he dies first, I will have no compunction in jettisoning the stuff.
if we move, we would have to move into the new place and take what stuff fits, and then sell off remainder before unloading the house.
I think about this a lot. 4 kids, 30 years in one place and a two-car garage that no longer functions as a place for cars because of all the crap equals instant anxiety at the mere thought of moving. Even though I regularly prowl real estate in Vermont websites. DH loves it here and he always says, "When I die, I won't be cold before you put this house up for sale."
I'm not sure that's true, just because the mere thought of moving is so daunting. Plus unfortunately, we've made the house nicer than it ever was when my kids were living in it, so now, I look around at the kitchen that I cosmetically redid (not expensively but its made a world of difference), and I look at each raised bed we've put in (1 per year) and our Zen garden etc. etc. and I feel happy here. NOT to say I wouldn't be happy in a studio apartment on Main Street Burlington, either, but if I went that way, it would take a year to prepare for a move--maybe 6 months if I cut back on my work schedule.
I do think I need to do as Chicken lady is doing and tackle that elephant!
the mere thought of moving is so daunting
The reality of actually doing it after being in a house this long is ten times worse. Start your thinning now. You never know what life will throw at you.
I always like the feeling of the last few weeks before a move. I had decluttered and downsized in anticipation, and then lived with half the stuff for a few weeks before actually moving. And I often wished that I had done that in preparation to live there, instead of in preparation to leave there.
I've moved a lot. Every 1 to 6 years since 1981.
Teacher Terry
7-4-16, 3:17pm
I did not want my kids to be burdened with a bunch of stuff if I die so have been downsizing for years. My Mom also did this for us. Now if I die first all the kids will have a mess to deal with because DH will just clutter everything up. When my Bf had cancer and knew she was dying but still in decent health she spent an entire summer cleaning out their attic, house, etc so if her husband wanted to move down the road it would not be so daunting. I always thought that was a great last gift.
iris lilies
7-4-16, 3:43pm
... When my Bf had cancer and knew she was dying but still in decent health she spent an entire summer cleaning out their attic, house, etc so if her husband wanted to move down the road it would not be so daunting. I always thought that was a great last gift.
you and I thnk that. But my DH wouldjust get pissy about tossing out stuff because he thnks it is worth somethng, so I wont.
he did give me a big gift recently: our old greenhouse is broken and crappy and needs to be taken down. Here is his gift: he told me "all of the stuff in there is yours, do with it as you wish. This HUGE because I can now clean it out. That will be my August project. Then we can take it down.
iris lilies
7-4-16, 3:54pm
I have told this story many time about DH and me and our different views of "stuff." But here it goes again: when we got engaged to be married he had an apartment full of old furniture. Not Victorian furniture, but uncool old furniture. I had very little, and nothing that was worth saving for any reason.
I negotiated away his dining room set, his bedroom set, his sofa, and misc small things like lamps and tables. I knew that my bargaining power would never be so strong since he was the one who really wanted to get married. To this day I am glad I did that, or I would still be livng with that furniture I cant stand.
I compromised on a few pieces of furniture belonging to him and we still have them, of course! Where else would they have gone? Haha. We have never used the oak dresser in 25 years, it sits n the attic holding hs ancient textbooks. Have never had the ugly, cheap grandfather clock working. He has never, not once, sat at the giant oak rolltop desk that takes up huge space
We do use every day his grandmothers square oak table, so there is that.
Teacher Terry
7-4-16, 5:53pm
IL: her DH was glad that the stuff was gone. But my DH is like yours-ugh!!!
I just looked at the calendar and I have six weeks before I have to fit everything I want in a 4 x 8 ft. trailer. I've been making good headway so far, I'm doing the easy stuff like getting rid of things that can be recycled or trashed outright. Also doing what Tammy said, winnowing down my "pretties" and putting them in boxes to see what it feels like not to have all that stuff out. The majority of it is already earmarked to give away to friends or to be taken back to the thrift store. I am moving into VERY tiny quarters, and I won't know what sort of storage needs are needed. I can see a shopping trip in Santa Fe for a tall bookshelf, and garment rack. I don't think there is a closet there, so I'll have to make to make do with over-the-door hooks and racks and under the bed storage.
I think six weeks to pull this all together is a perfect amount of time. I don't feel rushed, and I can really consider each item and ask myself is it REALLY worth dragging halfway across the country? I am having fun giving stuff away to people or giving them back stuff that was originally theirs to begin with!
I've lived in my current apartment for 8 years. That's the longest I've lived somewhere, aside from the house I grew up in.
I sort of did the KonMari thing over the winter. Got rid of a lot. Went through again this weekend and pitched papers and a bunch of small stuff. I now have very few physical books. Most are on my Kindle. If I had to, I could move on very short notice. The only thing I'd really have to deal with would be food items.
I'm even pretty minimal with my shooting hobby. I only have a few. I recently acquired a rifle, but the stuff for that is limited. The only thing I really "hoard" is ammo, which I buy mostly online in bulk as it's so much cheaper. I have dedicated plastic containers for it, and everything is in its place. I don't hesitate to sell guns I don't shoot anymore/don't need to fund other purchases.
We have three weeks now to get out and still no place to live and still too much stuff that I thought would go easily on craigslist. I wish we were light and free like SiouxQ. I had no concept how difficult this would be and how much stuff there was in this 1600 sf house.
Everytime I read something like this, I go and get more stuff out of the house. Cannot say I throw away but I give to whatever reuse I can. A pile of simple living books is on its way to the library. At my age, I should already have acquired all the helpful hints. In my rummaging around found a huge box of audio books. Now I don't have to buy one for the trip next week. When finished listening, they will go back to the library for sale.
Fun stored new stuffed cats are going to some little girls I know. A few things are going to Mom's senior living place where they are always looking for "birthday" gifts. Even an oversupply of gift bags is going to her to distribute to her friends. Finally did throw away an oversupply of plastic tubs that food came in.
Now if I could only find the containers that belong to the box of lids of all sizes. Also found while rummaging a bunch of stuff hubby bought that was still in the bag and I am sure he forgot about.
I'm so glad to be doing this big purge now rather than later. Our house is 1500 sq ft and I cannot believe how much stuff we have gotten rid off this past month. Truckloads of stuff and still have more to go. Dh has reluctantly agreed to join in and has also been purging a lot of his things.
I'm getting rid of a lot of 'clutter holding stations/containers' like having baskets around in every room and such. I've taken the bottom shelf off of 4 tables so that clutter won't accumulate there either.
Teacher Terry
7-5-16, 5:40pm
PT: if your stuff is not selling on CL I would reduce the price and move the ad back to the top every few days. When the price is low enough it will go fast.
I took another car load of stuff to our local recycle center store; it is such a wonderful resource! I bet half the stuff I took back there I got from there originally, I love the full circle aspect of it!
I just put an ad on Craigslist for a single tire I need to sell, and also a vintage captain's chair that was my grandmother's. I've been dragging it around since the 1980's. It's time to release it back into the world for someone else to love.
I have stacked all sorts of things along the wall in the basement that are earmarked for particular people. My 1990's hybrid mountain bike, bike rack and panier (which originally was my mom's) is going to an old friend. My sewing box (minus a spool of black and white thread and a few sewing needles) is going to my daughter. A backpacking cooking set which I have not used since 1988 is going to a work friend who is going on a backpacking trip with her husband in August. I am creating a box of cool art stuff for another work friend who totally "gets" me and will appreciate my collection of odd parts and pieces. I am having fun giving stuff away to my friends!
Oh my, I started on my studio today. It didn't look like THAT much when it was all in its place, but when you start filling boxes...
My plan of attack is to put everything I think I want to take up in the empty second bedroom where I have masking taped a 4 x 8 ft box on the floor. The trailer is only four feet high. I think its going to end up that I won't be able to take things I can readily re-buy once I get to New Mexico, like little storage drawers and units. Considering most of the storage thingies I had originally got for free from curbside diving, it's not like I've wasted money on the purchase of them. The tools, guitars, clothing (I am very minimal when it comes to this category), and other personal items are the most important things to move, so if I can't take even a few dishes and such, I can always go thrifting to get what I need when I get there.
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