Does it count if I downsize by eliminating my spouse? Itâs tempting some days.
I spent years before we sold our last house asking H to get rid of some of the junk in the basement garages and storage closets. He saved every bit of wood, hardware, old light fixtures, etc. in case he might need them one day, plus multiple folding tables, old chairs, carts, etc.
It was lucky that the buyer wanted some of our furniture and offered to take anything else that H didnât want to move. Unfortunately, H didnât leave nearly enough. He filled two storage units plus about half of our temporary home with stuff he moved that should have been left behind.
Now H is upset that we donât have enough storage and is mad at me because I designed the new âtoo smallâ house. Heâs stressing out because movers are scheduled and he has to make some tough choices about what to take and what to donate. Heâs been grumpy for weeks and is getting worse. I think he will get over himself eventually, and I hope itâs before I add him to the toss/donate list. This is definitely the most stressful move weâve ever made.
@Silpat, I moved into 2 bedroom condo with basement storage unit off of garage parking on 8/1. With no yard & knowing I would have limited need for tools & space to store them, I got rid of lots of those things in my yard sale at end of June. It was amazing how men accompanying their wives want to buy something for a few dollars that they might find useful. My Craftsman toolbox was somewhat rusty, but one of the accompanying husbands gladly bought it for a few dollars and I was free of that item. I realize my mindset & circumstances arenât yours and your H is likely to feel about his treasures like I have felt about my seasonal/holiday decorations which are now mostly downstairs in my storage closet. Good luck!
I am loving my new city and my new condo, although I am not quite settled. I have closet upgrades (getting rid of wire rods/shelving and getting more shelving in two bedroom closets along with small pantry upgrade), have had electrician here to rewire for tv over mantle, am waiting on one sofa to be next in line to be recovered and have ordered a sleeper sofa for guest room/office/den. Although I miss my hometown friends, it is delightful to be near D & her family and some of my friends come to my new city on a regular basis to shop or seek medical care. They have promised to schedule a visit when they come and I hope they will be true to their word. I have really loved shedding the kidsâ belongings and having a home that is just about me.
We had a small breakthrough today when I persuaded H that we donât have to completely clear out our temporary house before the movers arrive since he only wants them to move things that are too bulky or heavy for him to handle. He seemed relieved once he understood that I donât expect to list this house next week.
H donated some outdoor furniture and that freed up quite a bit of space from the new screened porch. He commented that he likes the way the porch feels now much better than before. Maybe that bodes well for the rest of the house.
Thanks, and Iâm glad youâre enjoying your new home. Focusing on the positives of the area and being near your D clearly helps, too.
The closet and pantry upgrades you mentioned are something I need to do, too. Our builder only uses one subcontractor for closets and I didnât like what his company offered so we just got minimal hanging rods in our closets for temporary use. Tailoring the closets to our needs will make a big difference.
We still feel good vibes about our work earlier this summer moving a low book case out of the basement stairwell landing (where it turns 90 degrees). It had stored ski boots and a laundry basket of helmet, mittens etc for decades. But now that there is room for that in basement, both hubby and I comment how nice it feels to pass by there now without that clutter.
Anybody find a good solution for storing old physical 4x6 photos. I have weeded them out and are down to something like 30 photo albums (I know they deteriorate in those albums over time). I am interested in taking them out of the albums and putting them in bins where they will be protected from the elements (and could live in a storage unit if needed). The ones on Amazon (with all little cases) seem too heavy and awkward. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09877963D/?coliid=IL32394RVM6I9&colid=1NASOAQCEGQHZ&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
I digitized all our photos and then inherited thousands of my parents photos. I did a massive sort about a year ago and they are organized in manila folders in large picnic hampers in my basement. Less than ideal. Iâve started the tedious process of digitizing them now - Iâve gotten through most of the old photos at this point and my hope is to get them onto a thumb drive for anyone who wants them. I will still probably keep the old pictures but everything post 1970 is going to get pitched. Just a long time horizon to get it all done unless I send them away to a service to do it for meâŠ
I have big plastic storage bins of old photos stored in the garage. This is on my list to start going through in the winter. I need to come up with a system for what to keep and what to throw out.
I use Sterilite plastic âshoe boxesâ size 13.5x8.5x4.5 usually $1-1.50. Easy to label and use index cards for sorting. And theyâre stackable. The type you posted is annoying because of the boxes within a box are not necessarily the right size for sorting by date or theme.
I have my 4x6 photos in photo boxes that I bought at Hobby Lobby. They came with index dividers. They are black and similar in size to a shoe box. Supposedly made of acid-free, something, something. They came with dividers. I also have some other boxes I acquired there that are not as deep. They are large squares and are good for holding any random 8 1/2â by 11âs (like Little League team pics) and 5âx7âs. Those are still just in âpiles,â but there arenât very many of them and at least they are in boxes.
When ds was growing up we had several of both of those sizes (8.5 x 11 and 5 x7) framed - school photos and such. Removing them from frames and storing them in those boxes eliminated clutter and meant fewer things to dust. Now we have no framed photos in our home - just our digital frame. Which I love.
I just started sorting through and weeding photos. Can only do a small amount per day because I spend a lot of time reminiscing. I bought photo boxes at Michaelâs one for each of three kids and one for me. Iâm dividing the keepers into those boxes. Then Iâll probably go through and re-weed and do some labeling with dates or locations on the ones for the kids. Thatâs my goal at least!. I probably only have 50 photos from my childhood so most of the ones Iâm going through are DH and my early marriage years in the 90s and my kidsâ lives until about age 5 when I went digital. I have the early 2010s photos on several well organized thumb drives and then after that theyâre in the icloud where they probably will never be seen in the future
When we moved last time many eons ago to a bigger house for our young kids we put a bunch of stuff in storage so the house we were trying to sell would look better. In the end we realized we didnât miss most of what was in storage.
I keep hoping that both of us will feel that way about much of whatâs been stored. H hates living in a cluttered or messy house, itâs just his garage/workshop that heâs content to have stuffed to the ceiling as long as he has a path in the center.
I took a community class on downsizing some time ago, and the first thing the teacher did was to distribute a lot of papers . Granted, the papers included resources, donation suggestions, methods, and more, but I thought it ironic for a class on downsizing. Emailing the same information should have been just as easy.
One interesting comment made was how hard downsizing is for those who enjoy arts, crafts, sewing, etc. They see so much âstuffâ as potential project material!
Iâve been thinking about a digital picture frame for a while! An elderly family member has one and itâs so nice to see those pictures of grandkids at all stages rotate through.
I loved the old-fashioned, multi-photo picture collages - I know they are out of style, but I used to see those pix on the wall every day and rarely looked at boxes of photos or albums. I think the digital frame could be the perfect solution. Maybe two - one for historical photos (my parents, grandparents, my childhood, etc.) and one for our immediate family (kids when young, etc.).
I have digital Aura Frames loaded with photos right from my phone. I simply took photos of photos for the ones that werenât digital, then added them from my phone library and they look quite good on the electronic frame. I love glancing at the frame and seeing memory moments, everything from recent to long ago.
Itâs tempting some days.
. Granted, the papers included resources, donation suggestions, methods, and more, but I thought it ironic for a class on downsizing. Emailing the same information should have been just as easy.