Location, Location, Location

Back on March 17th when I blogged about Moving and Downsizing I tried to convey the difficulty of figuring out what to do with 1000 square feet more furniture than we needed in our new/old house. I spent a lot of time planning what to take, what to sell, and what to donate or pitch. I mean, I spent A LOT OF TIME on space planning before we moved. I pride myself on this stuff. I actually enjoy the planning part!

 

 

So it came as a huge disappointment, and a blow to my confidence, when this armoire (above), that I planned to be the main casement piece in our guest room, wouldn't fit up our narrow stairs. Disappointed it wouldn't fit, and disappointed in myself for not being the good planner that I thought I was.

 

 

So, one day when I was lamenting that I had to figure out what to do with the armoire, our handy-dandy contractor's assistant, Joe, said maybe when we replace the windows we could put it on the pump jack and put it through an empty window casing.

 

Now, in hindsight, I think Joe was just being nice and trying to lighten my mood. I, on the other hand, latched on to his idea like it was redemption for my poor planning.

 

Looking from the living room into the dining room. Just beyond the doorway on the left there is a stack of boxes.

The armoire came to rest beside that stack of boxes in the dining room. 



Fast forward to one day this week. I ventured out to do a bit of shopping after being down for several days recovering from my knee surgery. When I returned and parked on the street I noticed that a couple sashes had been removed from the guest room windows!

Command central after surgery 



"HOLD IT! Don't forget about my furniture", I said as I hobbled as fast as I could. I got blank stares from both Joe and Nate who were replacing the window sashes. "But, remember we talked about ..."

That's when it dawned on me that an innocent suggestion from Joe evolved into a solemn pledge, for me. I was counting on reversing my self-imposed loser status by moving that furniture! I must have looked pitiful because here is what happened next:

Nate and the armoire on the front porch. The whole episode was a bit Winnie the Poohish ... "Think, think, think."

 

Nate is now on the porch roof and he has enlisted the help of Shin, the siding installer and

Steve, the plumber in addition to Joe. The armoire is being pushed up the ladder like a slide.

 

The full weight of the armoire rests on Steve the plumber

 

Up and over onto the porch roof

 

Whew! What's next?

 

 One, two, three ...

 

Soooo Pooh ... stuck going into Rabbit's house, "Oh, bother." 

 

 The plan worked. Unbelievable! 

 

Just how I planned! Redemption achieved!

 

Moving & Downsizing

Our moving team (minus our superhuman daughter), aka the best friends ever

The last time we moved was the summer of 1997. The math whizzes in my family (everyone except me) tell me that was nearly 16 years ago.  Not only are we much older (we had a three year old then who is in college now) but in 1997 we relocated compliments of the United States Army.  Since they require their members to move, the Army rolls out the red carpet when it comes to moving services.  The movers show up a couple days before you move and they pack EVERYTHING! One time we had trash in a trash can that showed up unscathed at our next assignment. Then they load it in a truck and the next thing you know, you are telling guys where to put things in your new place. They will even unpack for you.

Not to belabor the point, moving is expensive, back breaking and all together stressful. Do you throw everything in boxes and worry about it later?  Do you go through every closet, attic space and drawer and purge before the move?  One thing I can guarantee, if there are two people who are moving together, there are two completely different approaches to moving. If there are four people, four approaches; six people ... you get the point!

In addition to the standard moving angst, we are also downsizing. Downsizing is a great idea in theory.  Less house, less cleaning.  Less yard, less weeding and raking. Lower mortgage, more fun, right? Let's just say that downsizing in practice is not so great. Current furniture won't fit in the new compact space and you most definitely will not have enough storage.  We don't even have a garage you can park in!

This gi-normous sectional definitely will not fit in a den that is only 10 feet wide!

 

We do however, have a scary, leaky basement with the original 1922 boiler right smack dab in the middle making that potential storage space nonexistent. Oh! and we recently got the news that the boiler is "Hot".  No, it won't burn you and no, it does not look attractive! Our boiler is insulated with asbestos and has to be "abated". Yay! (See a future post about that!)



What I have learned about downsizing: craigslist is your friend! You may not get what your furnishings are worth, but if they are in good condition and not too out dated, they will go to a good home with a family who loves them.  And, most importantly, said family will provide the transportation.

Mission: 3400x - y = 2400x, solve for y where x = square feet of furnishings, or solve for why?