So, yeah. We’re moving. Again.
You’d think I’d be an experienced mover by now. I’ve literally lived in over 15 different places in the last 15 or so years. That’s a frickin’ lot.
Moving never seems to get easier. It’s not like playing the piano where the more you do it the better you get.
When we decided to move to Hawaii, we did it up pretty well, though. While we saved and stored personal stuff like photo albums and larger things like our bed, we hopped on the plane with only two duffel bags to our names each. That’s it! Perhaps that’ll be the simplest move I’ll ever do.
As we flew over O`ahu, this was our first glimpse of our new home. We knew we’d made the right choice.
It was pretty fun starting from scratch in Hawaii. And unless you have someone paying for your move or you have thousands of dollars to spare, starting over is the only way to go.
Before moving we both sold our cars and bought ourselves a “new” island car once we got to O`ahu. I say “new” because it was really an old Chevy Prizm, but it was new to us and worked like a charm. And can you believe we only put 12,000 miles on it in 3 years? That’s island living for ya. (Can’t exactly go road trippin’ on a small island.)
Anyway, we were young and carefree back then and didn’t have much to our names to begin with. That all changed when we decided to get married and “settle down.” That meant it was time for us to start wanting a bunch of stuff so we could ask for it on our registry, right?
Because we were getting to be adults, whatever that means, we figured we needed to behave like them. Of course I need fancy dinnerware, I thought. No, I may never use that food processor I’ve always wanted, but yes I still need one. And that fancy-pants Kitchenaid Mixer? I’ll take one of those, too.
Yeah. So we fell into the consumption trap and started amassing more things we thought we needed. And by the time of our next relocation to San Francisco, the move went much differently than our move to Hawaii. This time, we had something like a 16’ foot moving truck filled to the brim. So much for living simply.
Surprisingly, though, the move itself to California went very smoothly and was also super cheap. Apparently moving trucks are scarce in California, and since we were essentially doing the rental company a favor by driving one in from Colorado, they practically paid us to do it. Ok, not really, it still cost us a few hundred dollars for the truck and car trailer, but we thought it was a steal. I expected the move to cost much more.
Turns out it usually does cost more and moving out of California was another story. Did ya know there seems to be a mass exodus out of that state? We didn’t either. Renting a truck to leave California was something like 3 times as expensive. Didn’t budget for that one.
And now, today, here we are again, ready to move.
I think one of the family members has no issue adjusting to all the moving, though. In fact I think she quite likes it. Nani has more than once shown her preference for sleeping and lying on boxes or bags, so I think she’ll cope just fine.
We didn’t have much furniture when moving to San Francisco, so we made a few trips to Ikea. I hadn’t had the chance to clean up the boxes after assembling some new furniture, so Nani climbed on up and promptly fell asleep.
And then when we were packing up to move to Colorado, she totally made herself comfortable on our suitcase.
And again, with the boxes. That silly one.
We’ve had a few in-town moves since leaving California and, while easier than moving from California, we’re finally fed up. Fed up with packing carefully all the fragile crap. Fed up with repacking stuff we never ever used. Fed up with caring about stuff enough to move it. Again.
And so. That brings us up-to-date. We have decided to let it all go. Well, not all, but most. We’re keeping our car (because it’s paid off – woohoo!) and whatever will fit inside it. But other than that, we’re ready to rid ourselves of our physical possessions and get by with the bare minimum for a while.
How will we do it? Well, we have a couple options. We can look for furnished places or buy only what we need in the future. We’ll just take it as it comes and see how it goes. But it’s at least nice to know we’re not tied to our things anymore and I have to say it feels pretty good.
In the end, though, if I lost everything I would be okay so long as these two are with me.
I just found your site through Be More with Less and am intrigued by your story. I am looking around my house from my spot at the dining room table and, whew, it would take a lot of effort to purge for a spontaneous move. Would I do it? Yup, but I like my creature comforts and do not like shopping so I’d need a modestly big truck.
I have been focused on simplifying for the past few years for my sense of contentment as well as my creativity. The stimulation of ‘things’ has become a stressful distraction. Experiences are inspiring. What my eyes see, what my heart hears and what my hands interpret mean more to me than stuff.
Good luck and safe travels to Alaska! I have heard it is breathtaking and it will be great to see what your heart brings to fruition from the experience.
Hi Donna and thanks for your comments. It’s definitely a bit overwhelming trying to downsize so drastically, but we’re just taking it one step at a time. And the crazy part is, even though we’ve already donated so many things we haven’t missed a thing. We definitely had too much to begin with.
I agree that having things around you can be a stressful distraction and for the longest time I really didn’t realize it was. We’ve made some progress but still have so much to purge. But I love that you’re focusing on creating things and spending more of your energy on experiences. It’s so much more meaningful.
After spending 29 years in the same small house, starting newly married, having 2 sons, divorcing, now living with boyfriend & two grown sons… well, all I can say is we have a LOT of stuff, despite my best decluttering efforts!
I have way too much stuff that I’m emotionally attached to, as well as all the practical stuff of life. Still working on clearing out the excess, though the men in my house are not so much on board.
Sometimes I look around and fantasize about what I’d take if I had to load up whatever would fit in my van & move~ it’s not an easy decision. So I’m totally impressed that you’re actually going to do it. Looking forward to reading about your adventures.
Hi Diane – I can imagine clearing stuff out would be an even more difficult challenge if your men aren’t quite as keen. And I totally hear you on being emotionally attached. I still have a few things I’ve held on to that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get rid of. But we’re literally just taking it one item at a time and slowly we’re making a dent that’s finally becoming more noticeable around the house (and we sure need to since everything will need to fit in the car! :)