Feeling overwhelmed by the move

[+ honcho]

A cautionary note about saving old technology which you are still attached to. When a friend of mine retired and decided to move from the big old Victorian house that he and his late partner had lived in for 20 years in Philadelphia, to a cottage on the coast of Oregon, he decided not to move anything but personal items. One of those items turned out to be his collection of LP records. We rented a small U-Haul truck, and packed it with things like clothing and china, but the heaviest items were those damn boxes full of records. We drove the truck across the country, and unloaded everything into the cottage; the records were placed on shelves he purchased for that purpose. But he had neglected to bring a record player.

 

When he died in that cottage almost 30 years later, the records were still on those same shelves, untouched, just taking up space and gathering dust.

 

Vinyl records of all kinds are apparently having a resurgence. Had he lived in San Francisco, Amoeba Records would gladly have taken them off his hands.

[+ JEC]

You might consider hiring someone who is an "expert organizer" type of person to help you. I'm sure they are out there. What they cost you will more than save in moving crap you throw away later. Agree on starting fresh as much as you can with furnishings - you waited 30 years to buy a stunning property don't fill it with crap make it your dream home. Good luck and enjoy

[jonnychgo]

I've lived where I now live ever since I finished residency, almost 3 decades. I don't know what to do. What do I do with all of my books? Seems silly to keep all of them. I don't know if I library wants them? Should I rent or sell? What furniture do I keep and what do I get rid of? Should I dump all of my spices and get a new set of spices? I feel almost paralyzed about this. Basically all of my life since training has been in this house. Any of you move late in life? Any suggestions?

As a former librarian, unless the books are fairly new, popular and in good condition, DO NOT donate them. Public libraries have limited space and have become popular collections. People are mainly interested in the newest novels, popular nonfiction such as cooking, decorating, crafts, history/politics and biographies. Not to mention DVDs.

[+ WilliamM]

A cautionary note about saving old technology which you are still attached to. When a friend of mine retired and decided to move from the big old Victorian house that he and his late partner had lived in for 20 years in Philadelphia, to a cottage on the coast of Oregon, he decided not to move anything but personal items. One of those items turned out to be his collection of LP records. We rented a small U-Haul truck, and packed it with things like clothing and china, but the heaviest items were those damn boxes full of records. We drove the truck across the country, and unloaded everything into the cottage; the records were placed on shelves he purchased for that purpose. But he had neglected to bring a record player.

 

When he died in that cottage almost 30 years later, the records were still on those same shelves, untouched, just taking up space and gathering dust.

Why didn't he buy a record player. Some records are not available on CD?

[MscleLovr]

You’ve been given very good advice @Unicorn. I suggest you take the advice, de-clutter and move with less.

 

My motto in this regard is ‘Just because you’ve owned something for 20 years doesn’t mean you have to keep it for another 20 years’.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Not to mention DVDs.

 

I just donated nearly 25k DVD and Blurays to several favorite libraries and they all seemed pleased as punch to accept them.

 

Initially, I was going to sell the lot but figured that it would be ridiculously time-consuming.

 

Frankly, they're better served being loaned out for many years to come. I hope people enjoy them.

[+ Charlie]

Why didn't he buy a record player. Some records are not available on CD?

Because like many of us, he had a CD player, and he ended up listening to only the CDs.

[+ WilliamM]

Because like many of us, he had a CD player, and he ended up listening to only the CDs.

I have always had a CD player and a record player, especially after Mary Martin told if you can find my out of print records so can I.

 

The original Mary Martin from Broadway

Edited December 2, 2020 by WilliamM

[mike carey]

I know I've had food items like spices too long if they are in cans or bottles labelled in ounces. It's quite some time since we went metric, or since I lived in the US. I've moved with spices and kept using them, but I make a conscious effort to use up the older ones. Often using twice as much as prescribed renders old spice effective in a recipe.

 

I have furniture from my mother's house and that which I had when I was living between two houses in different cities, and I need to get rid of some of it. Inertia, inertia! This thread has been a wake-up call, whether I'll act on it is a separate question. One thought, if you're hiring a removalist, the cost may be the same whether you fill or half fill the truck or container, so if in doubt taking stuff with you and deciding to junk it later may not cost you more.

Edited December 4, 2020 by mike carey

[+ haring222]

I lived in a place that was bonkers. Four floors, almost 7500 square feet of rambling old building in the boystown area of Chicago. I had my office in there with three people working, a few airbnb units, a giant room called the hoarder basement (full of, well, crap) and just heaving with stuff. It got to the point where the house was ruling my life and making me nuts. I bought a 700 square foot condo and gave myself 6 months to purge. It was awful...literally, moving trucks coming every week taking stuff to modern furniture dealers / donations / an auction house. And I discovered that you can pretty much put anything on the free section of craigslist and someone will come and take it (like a harpsichord that was sitting under a radiator that blew a valve). Anyway, a year later I can say it was the best decision ever and out of thousands of objects that left my life I think I have missed only one or two things. So keep the faith and don't get bogged down in the details. I took a minute to take pictures before it all got ripped apart and pictures of things that left that made me pause and I have enjoyed scrolling past all of those things in my phone.

[jjkrkwood]

If you're like me, books are like my friends that have been with me for many years, and giving them up probably feels like a betrayal. But, they must go sooner-or-later (don't leave this task to your next-of-kin as they will assuredly toss them all in the nearest dumpster). First, I would commit to getting rid of most all the books (because as soon as you sit down and start making exceptions, you're gonna keep most of them). Then I would either call the nearest Medical School to see if either they want them (I'm assuming many of them are medical textbooks) or perhaps they could put a note on their student bulletin board that you are either selling them or giving them away (make an offer for the whole lot?). Or, I would put an ad on your local Craigslist (yes, it's still around) in their "Books" category for Free (or, for a token fee if they take the whole lot) - be sure to include photos of your most valuable books. If you have any novels or general interest books, put them in boxes and drop them off at Goodwill. When they're gone, you're most likely have regrets, but the cleaner, less cluttered living space will soon compensate you for your loss.

 

BOOKS ?

 

[Luv2play]

BOOKS ?

 

What kind of a set-up is that?

[jjkrkwood]

What kind of a set-up is that?

 

Looks like some sort of Library, with a Book staircase....

[jjkrkwood]

You gotta "thin out" those books.... Dont be afraid to Tackle the project !

 

[spider]

Spices. Dump them all unless something was very recently purchased.

 

Books? Libraries really have little use for ordinary books that are mass market stuff. Selling them is a ton of work and not worth it. There are some things that libraries will take. Unusual cookbooks are often collected by libraries, for example. Expensive art books they’ll take. Your collection of paperback Agatha Christie? Toss or burn. Medical books, while expensive are also hard. Unless a special library that collects History of Medicine, you don’t want someone operating on you after consulting a 50 year old textbook - EEK! If you have space like a garage, I’d consider just putting all the books out and putting a posting on Facebook, Craigs list, etc. offering free books on Saturday. People will come. You can just leave them in boxes. People will look through.

 

goodwill will take a lot of stuff but upholstered furniture and mattresses are hard to get rid of since they don’t know what’s in them, particularly if you have pets.

[liubit]

upholstered furniture and mattresses are hard to get rid of since they don’t know what’s in them

Right, you never know, especially mattresses. If mine could talk ????‍♂️?

[+ Coolwave35]

A number of acquaintances have done successful garage sales, of course you have to tag everything and so forth.

I did a garage sale. I made it all you can carry for $10 because I needed everything gone. People got creative and I cleaned a house out in a day.

[jeezifonly]

Research materials (mostly books packed with photos and illustrations) for my line of work take up an enormous amount of space in my home studio. I am retiring during this lockdown, and have offered younger colleagues to take any they want.

 

You know what? They. don’t. want.

Turns out a laptop and WiFi gives them access to most of it, AND is easier to dust. So my well-used cardboard and paper sources of inspiration will be donated for as far as that gets me, then remainder in the dumpster.

 

 

@Unicorn, you can do this! Excluding the temporary housing each year of college, I’ve lived in 4 domiciles of my own. Adding more stuff (discarding a little) with each move over 40+ years. So much stuff!!! Whittle away at it each day. Hiring an objective organizational professional might be a worthwhile effort to prevent sentiment from having more influence than it should.

[jjkrkwood]

I did a garage sale. I made it all you can carry for $10 because I needed everything gone. People got creative and I cleaned a house out in a day.

 

Yes, garage sales are your FRIEND, if you are able to do one. I was amazed at what people will buy for the right price.

[MikeBiDude]

Yes, garage sales are your FRIEND, if you are able to do one. I was amazed at what people will buy for the right price.