downsizing/decluttering/moving..less is more

I thought I would post an update. We have been decluttering faithfully for the last several years, and when we decided to put the house on the market and downsize we went at it in full force and got rid of at least 50% of our belongings. Well the house sold in a week so we picked out a smaller house with less storage space. We ended up packing most things into a storage unit except for a bed, a few kitchen supplies and some old couches we aren't taking with us.

Well, I have to say that instead of feeling deprived we feel so free. We don't have to take care of any stuff. We have a few pots and pans and we just make do with what we have.

DH was reluctant to declutter any more, but after living like this for a few weeks he doesn't want to get out stuff out of storage when we move into the new house.

It is a very different experience for us and a new perspective. We are not shoppers, but like everyone stuff just seems to creep in.

I know that my kids will be thankful that when the time comes they won't have a house full of crap to deal with, as we plan to be very diligent not to let stuff come back in and be owned by a bunch of meaningless possessions. The peaceful feeling we get from being in our sparsely furnished house is so much less destracting and so comforting.

so everyone that is on this path I wanted to inspire you that it can be done. We have been married for almost 40 years so you can imagine the stuff we picked up along the way that we had to deal with.

That's wonderful flowerseverywhere! I lived out of two suitcases for 15 years, and I loved it. I always was able to find work, and I always had enough money. Stuff that you're not using can really wear you down.

Flowerseverywhere,
Thanks for sharing your story! It is very inspiring! I've been on a decluttering journey for a year or so. Every time I've think I've decluttered enough, I then find new things I want to rid myself of and it starts again...but it's a process and a journey they say! I moved to CO a few years back and in hindsight I wish I would have gotten rid of just about everything I owned and moved with just my pets and a few necessary items. I suppose though I need to learn the lesson in my own way and on my own terms.

So what are you going to do with that stuff in storage?!

All the best to you!

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Originally Posted by Minz

in hindsight I wish I would have gotten rid of just about everything I owned and moved with just my pets and a few necessary items. I suppose though I need to learn the lesson in my own way and on my own terms.

So what are you going to do with that stuff in storage?!

All the best to you!

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now that he is willing to let go even more we'll take out truck bed full of stuff and go through it every few days, and donate or sell most of the contents. I wanted to get rid of more, but DH was very hesitant. I give him a lot of credit, he grew up in a house filled to the rafters, with a full basement and attic to the way we live now.

My goal is to have the storage taken care of in one month. We used storage because we had a gap between houses so just put everything in to the unit, and stayed with friends. Much cheaper that way.

Love to hear the decluttering stories. In March I decided to move from my city and look for a new home with milder climate. I sold ALL my furniture on Craig's list except for an antique hutch. It went surprisingly well. I plan to travel/wander for as long as I am comfortable with it. I may live other places in short-term rentals. No permanent home. Always been a dream. My stuff is in a 5 x 8 storage unit -- mostly papers and photos and memory stuff. Down to one box of books; a few boxes of kitchen stuff; a couple boxes of linens. Just basics. And then my "memory stuff", which I wish I could let go of: besides photos, one box of my son's baby toys and clothes which he could care less about; one box of his old school papers and projects, which he could care less about; one box of my old highschool and gradeschool crap which I look at each time I move. I box of genealogy. I keep papers and haven't conquered that yet.

In the meantime my mom died after 60 years in the same house. She was kind of a hoarder and not only had her stuff but all my grandmas. Full basement. It has been a nightmare and overwhelming even tho I have sisters to help. I tell my son I want to die with two cardboard boxes of crap -- I have a ways to go.

My mom's accumulation of stuff has really been a lesson. As we have tried to divest it and sell what we could, there is little value. She loved her stuff but could hardly move through her house. Motivates me to want to live very simply. I need so little. I'm camping at her house as I'm executor and need to get the house on the market. I have a couple of plates, a pan, my bedding and my computer and a chair and table in living room. TV. I manage quite well with hardly anything. Have found a small pie plate ..8" works great from everything from salad to watermelon to oatmeal to potato and meat.

I want to be a minimalist but have trouble getting there. Hoping my travels will help...I'll find out how little I need.

Rose you are inspiring me to cast even a more critical eye on what I have. I know people who cleaned out a house who just hired a dumpster to throw everything in, it makes me ill to think of all that stuff in a landfill when there are so many poor people in this country.


our goal is to have a simple home with no pets, no obligations and to travel in spurts when the mood hits us.

Thank you for the inspiration, flowerseverywhere. I haven't been on the forum for awhile, because I've been juggling new job, kid issues and selling my house. Now that it's actually in contract, and I have to move in a month (!), I have to continue to de-clutter to fit in a much smaller space (that I haven't found yet, not that I'm worried or anything!) As I've said before, my issue is all the 'keepsakes' of my children - theirs and mine - of their school and art work, etc. My college-age son is not attached to this stuff, but the two younger daughters are. Anyway, congratulations on such a major shift! And thanks for reminding the rest of us that it IS possible!

I love reading all these decluttering stories. I'm not a hoarder (my husband is always worried I'll toss everything out). The desire for simplicity and less is very strong (except for shoes- love shoes). Sitting here with a broken ankle, I can't do my normal Saturday toss but maybe I can get someone to bring me a drawer to go through.

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Originally Posted by rose

. I sold ALL my furniture on Craig's list except for an antique hutch. It went surprisingly well. I plan to travel/wander for as long as I am comfortable with it. I may live other places in short-term rentals. No permanent home. Always been a dream......

I want to be a minimalist but have trouble getting there. Hoping my travels will help...I'll find out how little I need.

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Rose - it sounds like you are doing an AWESOME job! How exciting for you to be living your dream shortly - I hope you let us know how your new life is going once you are on the road! Where are you going to travel to?

Earthsky - I daydream about moving to a smaller place! Congrats to you! There is a thread under "housing" where people are posting what is on their list for their next house-you should check that out and post!

Flowerseverywhere - your post reminds me of this blog (theminimalists.com) where this guy packed up everything in boxes and had a packing party (although he was not moving)....as he needed something he would unpack it from the box. It helped him realize that he didn't use or miss a lot of what was left in the boxes. Thanks for starting this thread - it's very inspiring. I'm off to declutter!!

I have said my dream home before, but one that is close, of from the Worlds Fastest Indian (great movie). I could live in a shop and do woodworking and mechanical, just give me a bed, bathroom and some sort of cook top for the other needs.

Good work, flowerseverywhere. We are a couple of years behind you along the same path. We just started decluttering in earnest this past year in order to downsize sometime over the next year or two. We looked at an open house that was 400 sq ft smaller than the house we have now and I think we could even go a bit smaller. I am excited because the smaller house will save us a lot of money between the initial price, heating and cooling, and upgrades and repairs and take less time to clean and do the yard work.

I have been happy getting rid of the junk and so far have not missed a thing. Last weekend we went to the recycling center and had the trunk and back seat of the car just filled with old boxes and the shredded contents of old files I have been cleaning out.