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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Downsizing and too much stuff

25 replies

Badliar · 20/05/2017 07:10

I am seriously downsizing from a large four bed family home to a tiny two bed. I have tons of stuff, some of which I have managed to sell eg furniture and a lot of the clutter I have donated to charity.

I still have far too much and I am afraid I will run out of time to sort it/sell it/chuck it. Also some of it I am attached to and I am thinking I might want it one day.

I am expecting to stay in my new home for a few years but not sure if it will be my forever home as my circumstances could change.

To anyone who has downsized, how have you managed, what have you done with all your belongings and do you have any tips?

OP posts:

savagehk · 20/05/2017 07:14

Have you read Marie Kondo's book?
Is it worth boxing everything up and being ruthless when you unpack?

Original poster

Badliar · 20/05/2017 07:17

Yes I did Marie Kondo a couple of years ago and found it good for clothes and books and we don't have a cd or DVD in the house. I am a bit stuck on children's toys and kitchen stuff and ornaments etc. Then there's the 6ft Christmas tree. What do I do with that?!!

OP posts:

GummyGoddess · 20/05/2017 07:19

I have not downsized but did move house last year. I spent a long time before the move following the Kon Mari method which shifted a lot. However on moving day we had so much stuff it required temporary storage and two trips! I asked the removal men if we had a lot of stuff and eventually they did say that we (two of us) had about six people's worth of stuff!

Since we moved we've chucked so much more, when unpacking we had another few boxes for chucking, recycling and donating.

I still think we have too much even though everything has a place and we are going through stuff more slowly and getting rid of even more, much to the horror of both sets of parents!

savagehk · 20/05/2017 07:19

Will you put up the tree in the new smaller place? If not.... get rid!

Katsite · 20/05/2017 07:19

Yard sale?

GloriaV · 20/05/2017 07:20

Whether you give it to a charity shop or sell it it will still end up in some rubbish tip eventually - just skip the first two options and take straight to the tip. If you do actually need some of it in the future go to second hand furniture shop/charity shop and buy another.

Original poster

Badliar · 20/05/2017 07:22

It's amazing how much you acquire and hang on to isn't it? I will have to get rid of that tree and get a skinny pop up one.

OP posts:

Original poster

Badliar · 20/05/2017 07:22

Yes good point gloria.

OP posts:

ElspethFlashman · 20/05/2017 07:23

You won't know yourself with a smaller tree. They're brilliant. You'll never go back!

savagehk · 20/05/2017 07:24

We're temporarily moving out to a much smaller place while we renovate, so need to store a lot of our furniture. The plan is to box up the vast majority of our stuff too and put into storage, and then when we move back in to our house and unpack be ruthless about keeping unnecessary things. You do need time (and energy!!) for it though!

hesterton · 20/05/2017 07:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

Badliar · 20/05/2017 07:31

Yes I think I need to get the storage option out of my head as I know what will happen, I will keep the stuff in boxes and never use it or need it or miss it.

OP posts:

SarahMused · 20/05/2017 07:31

We are going through a similar, but not so extreme, process at the moment and would recommend freegle as an easy to use way of getting rid of stuff with little effort. I have been surprised that virtually everything I have posted has been taken within a day or two. Obviously not for things worth more than a few quid but you can use local facebook pages to try and sell stuff like that.

savagehk · 20/05/2017 07:32

Freegle seconded. And the "trash nothing" app/website to interact with it.

MariafromMalmo · 20/05/2017 07:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

Badliar · 20/05/2017 07:33

I don't know freegle. Thanks for that. I have been using gumtree.

OP posts:

SunEgg · 20/05/2017 07:34

Good advice Maria!

Original poster

Badliar · 20/05/2017 07:37

Yes maria and then I will realise I need hardly any of it.

OP posts:

FinallyHere · 20/05/2017 07:55

If you have read Marie Kondo's book, but are still thinking in terms of 'keep it incase I need it' , then perhaps it is time to reread the book. I say this as someone who , when packing to move house last time, found unopened boxes of things from the previous move. Just chuck it out.

Consider the costs of storing it all, and give yourself that budget to buy new things if you find you really want them. All the best.

MariafromMalmo · 20/05/2017 08:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sgtmajormummy · 20/05/2017 08:03

I think nowadays you can be ruthless with books (says an avid booklover). The last time we moved a good third was books but now anything you need to read can be found for pennies on Kindle, second hand or free from the library.
We're now getting rid of books from the bottom up as DD grows out of them. Our 1990s 40-volume encyclopaedia will probably leave us in the next house move. Nobody uses it with the Internet at our fingertips and it is literally just gathering dust.

It's against all my principles but very liberating.

Middleoftheroad · 20/05/2017 08:10

we moved in Feb. It required two large vans for our family of fpur and I have never seen so many boxes. Removal men confirmed we had a lot. This was after a declutter btw!

Since moving I am going through more boxes and being ruthless. I would advocate getting rid of stuff before not after move.

Charity shops and the tip are our friends now. My mother is storing 10 boxes of lego. I said if DCs dont notice its gone within a few moths i will get rid.

Just buy a new xmas tree. worst case scenaril is there anyone who can store some for you - though not a solution really to the bigger picture.

Original poster

Badliar · 20/05/2017 08:12

Right im on a mission and it starts today! I can't take it with me as there is literally nowhere to put unpacked boxes.

I think I'll start with something easy like children's books and clothes.

OP posts:

picklemepopcorn · 20/05/2017 09:46

We have a box of memorabilia for each person. If it fits in there, great. If not, it goes. So I have some bits from when they were babies, favourite book, clothes etc.

If you want to keep something for emotional reasons, try keeping a photo of it instead.

I'm constantly pruning. I now don't like getting stuff as I see it as something to take to the charity shop in a couple of years time...

loveka · 20/05/2017 18:12

I am clearing out my loft to move today. I have realised that nearly everything I have ever put up there should have gone to the charity shop.

I have found 5 items of clothing I will wear again. The rest, piles and piles, is now going to the fabric dump.

I have kept a few sentimental items.

There are boxes up there unopened from 18 years ago! I find it hard to throw stuff, I wasn't to keep my A level notes but that really is pointless!

Some friends recently hired a skip when they cleared their loft.

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