As we prepare to move into a house that’s less than half the size of our current one, we’re taking a thorough look at our belongings to decide what will come with us and what we should let go of. Today we’re sharing the clear, repeatable criteria we use to evaluate every item — yes, four specific questions that help us decide — along with practical ways we’re disposing of things we don’t need. That includes donation options and a selling strategy we recently tried that worked surprisingly well. We also have an update on how the coronavirus has affected our moving timeline and the answer to the frequent question: “what happened to the shutters you were putting on your house?”
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What’s New
- Our original moving plan was to rent a truck and caravan with my parents (similar to how we moved furniture into the beach house before), with them flying back to Virginia afterward.
- To limit contact and reduce travel, we switched plans and rented a POD storage unit that we can load ourselves over time. A machine will pick it up and deliver it to the new house when we’re ready to unload. This reduces interactions with others and gives us more flexibility around timing.
Update: Shutters
- In Episode #150 we explained our original plan to install shutters, so check that episode if you missed the discussion.
- I can’t find the photo of the giant crate of shutters that arrived (and later had to be loaded back into the truck), but for scale we referenced the Tom Tom motorcycle with a sidecar from Vanderpump Rules many times when describing the delivery.
Downsizing Our Home
- For this move, we’ve been using four main criteria to decide what to bring to Florida and what to let go of.
- 1. Size / Fit: Will the item physically fit in the new house? Is it a duplicate of something we already own? Would a smaller version work better? For example, the current house has both a living room and a bonus room filled with living-room furniture. Our new home has only one living area, so bringing two living rooms’ worth of furniture would be unnecessary.
- 2. Function: Does the item still work well? Is it in good condition? Would a different piece be more useful? For instance, our acrylic entry table looks nice but offers no storage. In a smaller entry that needs to serve multiple purposes, something with drawers or shelves would be far more practical.
- 3. Style: Thinking clearly about the look and feel we want for the new house helps prevent bringing items that would clash with that vision. Our Florida house leans modern and beachy, so we’re prioritizing fresh, clean-lined, light pieces. Heavier, traditional antiques—like our deep-toned turned-leg dining table—would feel out of place and also likely won’t fit, so they fail multiple criteria.
- 4. Emotional attachment: Even when an item doesn’t meet the practical criteria, strong sentimental value can justify keeping it. Our home should make us happy, so we’re saving pieces that feel meaningful. For example, we hunted down and repaired a secondhand dresser that we both love; we’ll find a spot for it in the new place even if we aren’t sure yet whether it will land in our bedroom, a kid’s room, or the entryway.
- Before the shutdown we donated many smaller and medium items: winter coats to coat drives, extra pet supplies to a local shelter, books to book drives, and other items to various local charities. The photo below shows our kitchen from about a month ago with donations gathered in trash bags—these are donations, not trash.
- We’ll share another post later with more details about what we kept and what we didn’t, so stay tuned for that follow-up.
We’re Digging
- We’re grateful that spring has arrived here in Richmond. Given everything happening in the world, it’s been a welcome silver lining to spend time outdoors in the yard and to take neighborhood walks.
- We’ve also been enjoying a family card game called Low Down (from the makers of UNO). After many rounds of UNO and UNO Flip, it’s nice to play a fresh game that the whole family still likes.
If you’re looking for something we’ve mentioned in a past episode but can’t remember which show notes to check, we maintain a master list of everything we’ve been digging from all past episodes, plus a page with all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
Finally, a thank-you to Agility Bed for sponsoring this episode. They’re offering 20% off everything at AgilityBed.com using code COMFORT20.
Thanks for listening, everyone!
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