There is absolutely nothing like moving other people to make you realize how much CRAP people own.
After moving Okturn Delmoniq’s friends into their new apartment I realized that I want to get rid of 90% of my stuff. These things just strap us down – and annoy the people who are helping us move.
I remember not just 7 years ago I was able to move all of my belongings in my little Ford Escort – now it takes two moving cubes to fit all of my crap in. I’ve decided that the next time I move I want to be able to move all of my “loose” things in 20 boxes. Books, clothes, bedding, DVDs, ect – all in 20 boxes. I think I’ll also get rid of my TV (a flat screen would be a nice upgrade, or better yet no TV since I don’t really use it anymore now that I got rid of cable). As for the furniture, I’m not sure what I’ll do about that. But I suppose I won’t be moving for a while, so there is no need to really think about this.
But man, seeing all of the crap that other people have really made me mindful of how much STUFF I have, stuff that I don’t need at all.
Small Steps for Big Change 
I know what you mean! My BF is moving into an apartment this summer and wants to take everything he has with him from his parent’s house. There is a ton accumulated. Soccer trophies from when he was 5, textbooks from the 7 years he was in university. I say purge! He does not like to let go of things so easily…seriously!?!? Ugh! I told him I would take a picture of those things and then he can get rid of them hehe.
I almost want to move – just to downsize…. way less stuff would be easier i think
well, you can always turn Minimalist! 😀
There’s nothing like moving to remind you of how much crap you own. Especially if you move into a bigger place — you need more ‘stuff’ to fill it, right? I think I did a pretty good job of paring down our possessions during our last move, but my hubby needs to go through his clothes — he’s got more than I do!
I expect that when Chad and I are finally responsible for moving ourselves (every other time, it has been by professional movers who pack & ship everything), I will start getting rid of everything.
Until then, I’ll probably just keep finding ways to “reorganize” my clutter!
I’ve been paring down the last few months, because in six months I’ll be making a cross-country move (who knows where!) to grad school and I do not want a single thing that’s unnecessary to make the move with me. Ambitious goal, I know. I’m with you on the 20 boxes thing.
I started my get rid of stuff kick after moving a friend, my aunt and clearing out my grandma’s apartment after she passed away. It’s amazing how much useless stuff we accumulate! And even after getting rid of SO MUCH STUFF, I know that I’m going to have a TON of stuff to move when I finally leave my current apartment.
I know the feeling. My husband and I have moved 3 times since being together and every time we fill the moving truck. This year I’m working on cutting out the unnecessary items in our lives. Furthermore, after moving my dad a few months ago, I acquired A LOT more that he either didn’t want (stuff that belonged to my mom’s family or my mom) or that didn’t fit in his new apartment. There is a tiny path in my 2 car garage and we have several things that need to go to the garage but there’s just no room. When the weather warms up I’m going to bust out my mad skills and eliminate some stuff from the garage.
I realize this daily seeing my parent’s stuff. They are hoarders with a capital H. It is definitely a problem that needs medication and THERAPY of some sort. I tried to de-hoarderize their kitchen and it was great for all of 20 seconds. Then my mom needed another CALENDAR and 10 more knife sets… All I have to do is envision the kitchen and that will motivate me to be a minimalist.
Living in a house with very limited closet space has made me more mindful of how much stuff I have. We don’t have a garage to stick stuff in, which might be for the best. I can see where a lot of families can only park 1 car in their 2 car garages!
The problem with getting rid of stuff is there are things you rarely use but it sucks to have to buy again when you do need them. Still, I keep meaning to downsize my DVD collection. Especially with Blu-Ray, I have a bad feeling old DVDs are going to be like VHS tapes in 5 years or less. I could probably downsize my books a bit too, although it doesn’t seem worth going through everything to pick out the 6-12 books I don’t want to keep.
And then there’s the kitchen. Pots pans and gadgets really do make cooking a lot easier. I guess it’s one of those things you just can’t avoid.
My mom has lived in the same house for over 30 years and it shows. It’s darkly hilarious that she bugs me to go through the 4-5 boxes of stuff I have in part of one closet when she has two rooms in the basement packed with stuff and can’t throw away entertainment magazines that are over a year old without reading them!
When my grandmother moved around 10 years ago, she told me she was happy she wouldn’t live long enough to accumulate that much more junk! That said, she’d lived in one house for 50 years, but it was only 768 sqft.
I’ve moved 3 times in 4 years and every time I try to get rid of more and more stuff, and every time I’m amazed at the mess I still have left. Last year my BF and I moved in together; he’d been at the same place for 8 years. Mind-numbing experience. I asked him what we could do to make the move better next time–his response: get movers! Oh, and don’t move in winter, like I have the past 3 times. Even though it might be hot and muggy, it’s better than carrying the tv with ice cold hands and trying not to drop it.
Every single time I help someone move or organize, I go home and get rid of more stuff. My goal has been to fit everything into my little two door car outside of furniture. Slowly but surely….