Observations on our move - Stuff

I’m finishing my first month after leaving my last paying job. Two of those weeks were in Eugene, and the rest have been here at our new abode in Portland.  Things have been so disrupted these past weeks, but oddly, I’m feeling pretty settled. 

It’s interesting how I can measure my life phases by the stuff I purchase or unload.

Upsize that, please

We were in a pretty good status quo phase for years, until September 2017, when started a major upsize phase. We converted a bedroom in the back cottage to a kitchen, complete with stove, fridge, and washer & dryer. Our plan was to put it on the short term rental market.  We purchased a second set of kitchen supplies, and two more bedrooms full of beds and bedding. I enjoyed purchasing a starter kitchen set of dishes, knives, glassware. I was able to use years of house management experience to start it right. In hindsight, I’m sorry we don’t have 20+ years of house management experience when we first start out setting up our first house!  It would be so much easier and more efficient. 

We really enjoyed being short-term rental managers. With all of as-yet-unknown-but-still-imminent changes looming, we only rented it out for 3 months. It was pretty easy and we could set how much time we needed between rentals to clean everything up and make it ready again. We never rented in the more lucrative spring and summer months, but even in the winter, we probably made around $500 month. I’d do that again. 

Wait. Downsize that. 

In February we decided to relocate to Portland. We had to shut down the short term rental, and begin to divest of not only our houseful of stuff, but the extra things I’d purchased. We got rid of most of the stuff through donations. Throughout the week, we’d move stuff into the garage we wanted to get rid of, and on the weekend take loads to the donation sites. Some stuff ended in the dump, and a few things we sold. Getting rid of the things I’d just purchased for the cottage was easier than the harder inventory of our home stuff. But we needed to go through that too, because our home in Eugene was 1200 sf, not including the cottage, and the apartment is just under 800 sf.  

Relocate in shifts.

When we’d gotten rid of everything we thought we could and were left with just the essentials, we took one load to Portland while still working and living in Eugene. Comfy chairs, coffee table, occasional clothes and kitchen linens, winter coats. This actually made the move easier, because we were able to move half of the things in, get them somewhat settled, and return to a very sparse house. But that meant when we returned with the second load a week later, we didn’t have to load and unload the truck and unpack everything that first night. 

After getting everything moved and unpacked in Portland, we still wanted to get rid of things. We’d grown accustomed to the space we’d made by moving in two loads. These things went to kids and family friends. Finally, I think we’re nearing the right amount of stuff for us.  And the nice thing is that I don’t miss a single thing I don’t have.  It feels like I have more room, because there’s more empty space here, even though it’s smaller. Observation:  I wonder what our old house would have looked and felt like if we’d gone through this exercise of off-loading the lovely but unnecessary stuff we had. I kind of wish we had.