Have you ever moved from a house to a tiny apartment?

[zanana1]

Since my husband died, my bank account has dwindled and I can't afford to pay the outrageous mortgage anymore. I also can't pay for a regular apartment, so I have to move into a complex with two-room apartments. I thought it would be easy to pack the essentials and have plenty of room left in the apartment. Holy crap! I've "minimized" as much as I can to survive, but my house is packed to the rafters with boxes. The apartment complex doesn't have storage units. Has anybody else been through this and survived? I desperately need some tips!

[msongs]

1. moved from 3 br/2 car garage to big one room studio. got rid of everything and then even more.

since I dont know what stuff you have a need cannot really go beyond that. if u want to make a bit of $ u can have a sale. or donate it out.

[zanana1]

2. I'm not interested in selling anything.

I'm tempted to just put everything on my lawn and stick a "FREE" sign in the ground.

[elleng]

3. Not your situation,

but mover we used to move my (deceased) husband's apartment items provided service to donate unwanted items to various places.

[zanana1]

5. Do you know if other movers do this?

Or is yours an exception to the rule? That would really help me. I do have to hire people to empty my basement full of junk. (Three generations worth). I don't know what they do with the pieces that are in good shape.

[elleng]

6. I don't know; haven't used other movers. EDIT

I'd just ask, especially if you're considering various movers.

EDIT: JUST remembered, mover recommended place called 'Junk,' who came over, before the move, and picked up items I'd decided to junk. They're called 'Junk,' have/had a 703 area code. (Apartment was in DC, mover took stuff to 3 places in Maryland, and stored some in mover's facility in Virginia.)

[Bayard]

4. I moved from a huge log home in Ohio

To a tiny little old farmhouse in Calif. Luckily, it had a 3 car garage, but so much of the stuff I stored in there ended up getting those big nasty Calif. pack rats in it. With what it cost to move all that out there, and the end result, I wished I'd left a lot more behind. Given it away or sold it. Keep the essentials that make you happy.

Of course, I say that, but I still have two storage garages full in Calif!

My parents had to go into assisted living, divesting a houseful from a 60+ year marriage. They gave so much away, and held many yard sales.

[gristy]

7. Twice I've moved from a house to a smaller apt

Threw out a lot of stuff. Got on a roll. Didn't miss a thing when it was all over.
Sold a bunch of stuff in a garage sale on one of the moves.
And I rented a storage locker for what didn't fit in the apt. If you get one outside of town they can be pretty affordable. Just be aware that they usually aren't climate-controlled so much of what you store there could go bad in the heat and humidity.

Maybe go through all your boxes one more time? For another culling?
There's a service called "got junk" and they'll pick up and haul away anything you want for a reasonable fee.

Good luck!

[notdarkyet]

8. Auctions and estate sales. They do a lot of the work for you.

[dweller]

9. since your bank account has dwindled...

you should just have some yard sales for items you decide to part with, instead of free sign put a minimal cost on each item... 25-50 cents on each item, what doesn't sell, donate
you'd be surprised what people will buy for a quarter of two, and that's cash in your pocket at the day's end

pick through your accumulation and weed it down over a few weeks, you may find treasures you can't part with, or some worth more than peanuts

like the old saying, one person's trash is another person's treasure

good luck

✌🏼️

[Lady Freedom Returns]

10. As a person that always lived in small apartments.....

Minimalism is your friend. You will have to go through everything again and really think do you Really need it, can you replace it with something smaller. And you have to ask why do I need it and is it really that important.
It is by no means easy. You have things with sentimental value, but you have to think which is more important, the value or space.
Good luck!

[fierywoman]

11. Pretend you suddenly decided to hook up with a fabulous lover in

Uruguay -- think about what you really care about keeping, and ditch the rest.

There are wonderful places all over that accept home goods for all kinds of people in all sorts of situations -- the homeless who just got a place, battered women who need to set up a new house, etc. Think of the joy you can create by spreading the wealth!

There are free recycling places in some towns, MyNeighbor to give away free stuff. Habitat for Humanity accepts furnishings (or at least furniture). I had St Vincent de Paul pick up (and thank me profusely) some large pieces I hated.

[BigmanPigman]

12. The hard part for me is getting rid of the sentimental stuff.

I would rather keep those things which are of value to me than the material stuff I've accumulated.

[Doreen]

13. Went from a two story 4 bedroom house

with 1 car garage and 2 bathrooms and all rooms were big to a 2 bedroom apartment then to a small 2 bedroom cottage. That was with my ex before we got divorced. Left the cottage to an OK sized 1 bedroom apartment in the crappiest part of town then got a low income ( eventually subsidized ) 1 bedroom apartment in a good neighbor. The apartment now however is small enough that even after living here for 3 years I still have to work with my claustrophobia.

I did go from a big 2 story 5 bedroom house to an OK sized 1 bedroom apartment but I was young ( 17 ) and that was my first apartment so I was to much into thinking how cool I was to have my own apartment while still in high school than to feel claustrophobic.

[tymorial]

14. I moved from a house to a smaller house but my projections were similar to yours

Our biggest problem was that this house doesnt have a garage while our old home had a huge double garage.

We were renting the last house, my wife lived there 20 years with various roommates until we met, got engaged and then married. We wanted out own home however so we saved 8 years later we bought this house.

Like you we down sized and threw away as much as possible. I rented a 20 foot dumpster and had it hauled 3 times before we moved.

We STILL has a spare room with boxes and the entire finished basement is full. I also have a storage unit.

My wife is a bit of a pack rat though and when it comes to clothes and shoes.... let's say she could cloth a small nation. Hyperbole yes but as much as you would think.

Money is tight with the stuff we need to do for the house (windows, new fence, paint etc etc)

So, not the same but I totally understand what you are feeling. Before I met my wife I moved often and I have had more than a few apartments that have had piles of boxes in various rooms.

Storage units are the way to go if you can afford it but that's the key isnt it? We need a bigger one to clear out the basement and spare room but the money isn't there.

One thing I learned after moving so much though is to dump anything that hasn't been looked at or used in 2 years. I mean everything, clothes, papers (except financial and tax stuff), gadgets and appliances that once seemed so appealing. If it can be donated it goes to Savers or Salvation Army. That helped me personally but it requires a change in personality. I held on to things and had to rip the bandaid off so to speak and just dump things. Sure every now and again I will look for something that I once had but its rarely a big deal.

If this is the route you were going to go then start separating your items. You may have to re box to organize but you can place the items that are truly sentimental on one side and stuff that is more likely to be "junk or useless" truly important things should go in a location that you will decide to never touch things like photographs sentimental objects. You have to really dig deep though to identify how important those items are because it is quite easy to get to the point where a lot more is deemed important then it really is.

This is where the storage unit becomes useful because you can put the important items there and the clutter in the home/apartment is more easily dealt with over time. Put labels on your boxes for how long it's been since you've looked at the items because that will allow you to decide or quickly what to get rid of.

I hope this helps and I'm sorry you're in that situation. I would also look at organizers. I was finally able to get my wife to start using them for her clothes and other items she found a lot on QVC and HSN.

[OregonBlue]

15. Estate people in our area charge 30%. They do all the work.

They clean, sort, tag, display. When they are done they will usually take everything you do not want that remains to the charity of your choice.

Helps out with the lack of cash too.

[Fla Dem]

16. Some charitable organizations will pick-up donations.

Find a charitable organization in your area that either resells items to support their work or distributes directly to those in need.

If you have a lot of left over furniture that's in relatively good shape, get in touch with an organization like Habitat for Humanity. They might use it to furnish homes they build,

I use the Vietnam Vets organization. Mostly I donate clothes whenever I weed out the closets, but have also donated furniture and appliances.

You have to put the items in front of your house on the day they schedule pick-up as they do not come into your house. You may need to get someone to help you do that.




Moved several times, it's helps keep down the cluster and stuff you accumulate over a lifetime. Recently got rid of a lot of paperwork from career days. No longer need it or care about it. Staples has shredding services and occasionally my community has a "shedding day" and you can get your stuff shredded for free. Donate books to library if they have a program to sell used books.

It's liberating to not be loaded down with a lot of stuff you'll never use or look at. I just sent a family member 6 / 5 piece place settings of my Mom's Prince Albert China I've had in a storage container for 20 years. Still have a lot left but it was a relief to get rid of even that much. Definitely has sentimental feelings attached to it, but for heaven sakes it's been in storage for 20 years!!! Will probably have an auction company come in and take the rest to sell. Was told B&B's and small restaurants like to use vintage china and they buy it from auction houses.

So I wish you luck in your journey.

[Cold War Spook]

17. I am 75 years old. I moved out of a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom 1800 sq. ft. house

into a 12'X28' house on a fenced 3/4 acre. Kitchenette, bathroom and a 12'x23' room for everything else. I have been living here for 7 years with my 108 lb hound and 67 lb yellow lab and cat. It has a pet door. I don't see any reason to have anything bigger.