Holy house full of stuff

I know I know a bunch of you have already done this....

Me? not so much....

I have a 1600 sqft house of STUFF and I mean STUFF - not including a garage full of stuff...

I am trying to send 6 boxes over of important stuff - albums, xmas ornaments and some other things that wont fit in my 2 suitcases but oh my gosh I am overwhelmed!

When do I get rid of the stuff - I still need dishes and pots until I leave in Jan.

I just dont know where to start and I with the stuff I can't sell or toss - I have MASS amounts of Xmas items and Albums what do I do with them.  I dont have family in Texas to store them at...

Oh man oh man

I just needed a vent - I need goodwill to park outside my house so I can just take stuff out oh and a dumpster too!

Okay, first take a deep breath! I know it seems overwhelming but you will get through this just fine. 

Start sorting. That's the first step. Make "bin" "sell" "pack" "donate" and even an "undecided" pile. Then bin the stuff you want to get rid of, sell the stuff you want to sell on eBay and Craigslist and give stuff to charity. Do it immediately so it's not sitting around looking at you.  Keep doing this room by room.

Then go back and look again at the undecided pile and even the pack pile.

Believe me, by the time you're close to moving you're going to get brutal about tossing stuff that right now you think you want to keep! 

I started on one room - Good advice

I have 6 boxes..already put a few photo albums and stuff I KNEW I wanted to keep. There isnt a lot to keep BUT lots to get rid of.

I have a having a get rid of my stuff party the 19th.  All my friends are coming for beers and making their claim on what they want THEN I can really clean house.

thanks for telling me to breathe I almost forgot hahaha

I lived in RI, and I gave a lot of stuff to Big Brothers/Big Sisters. They actually come and collect, which is a big plus. I don't know if it's the same where you are, but it's a thought.

After I'd given stuff to charity, I put up notices at my office for things I thought might sell. Then I had a yard sale. Then I gave stuff away to friends.

And I still needed a shipping container.

Don't limit yourself to 6 boxes.  Yes, I know shipping more will cost more, but it will get REALLY stressful if you sit there and keep reminding yourself that you're only doing 6.

My 6 boxes turned into 9 (so far) - and they are 9 boxes filled with family herilooms, antiques, sentimental stuff, and scrapbooks/scrapbooking supplies.  I even went back through my first 4 boxes and I only managed to take out 5 books - that's how thoroughly I had gone through things the first time!

I agree with Mops - make yourself piles (or bins - that's what I did).  Talk on the phone to Kevin (am I right? Hubs is Kevin?) while you work on it. When I was going through my books, I found it helped to have Tim on the phone because I found out he already had some of the books I wanted to pack, or knew a used book shop that catered to the interest for replacing books. 

Remember that you don't need to justify everything you take. If you want it, take it.  It's been driving me CRAZY that I have some family members wh think I'm taking "too much". Hello? MOVING HOUSE. At least I don't have any furniture I want to move!

HAHA - Yep Kevin ;-)

I am major OCD - I have lists so I listed what was important as for BOOKS I have TONS but I am only taking (don't laugh) My Harry Potter and Twilight because I will read those again the rest my friends are taking!

I figure 6 boxes is a good start if more then thats ok - UPS is not as expensive as I thought it would be so <shrug> I will add as I go.  SHOES are a must - he took a big duffel today of movies and shoes and of course all my ranch haha

If I want it I am taking it - I need to make it feel like home - UT Big Couch blanket is a MUST - oh yeah on that note hook'em horns ;-)

We have a hava so we can watch the longhorn games when I am there - I have full access to my DVR and american TV!
YAY!

I'm slowly turning our house into a Penn State house, so I understand!

I was pretty proud of myself, I managed to get rid of a lot of shoes and I packed I think 6 pairs, plus I already have about 6 or 7 at his house from previous visits...plus the three I rotate between regularly. LOL. I lovemy shoes, what can I say?

I will NOT laugh at you for HP and Twilight, as my "important book" box has the HP books, the Anne of Green Gables books, and the Little House on the Prairie books.

What's UPS charging? I didn't even bother looking, I figure I'll contact Upackweship for a quote in afew weeks.

I will NOT laugh at you for HP and Twilight, as my "important book" box has the HP books, the Anne of Green Gables books, and the Little House on the Prairie books.

I have every single one of LM Montgomery's novels in one of my important book boxes... LOL My big save was COOKBOOKS!  I have a ton of htem and all the british ones tend to be in metric units - which I just find difficult.  I think two of my boxes are just cookbooks and cooking light magazines.

As for getting rid of stuff, I had a run of luck when I asked my cleaners if they wanted anything - they came back that night with two trucks and took all of my outdoor kid stuff and a bunch of other stuff that I wasn't comfortable selling (carseats, crib that had been recalled). 

Also, on craigslist if you post a garage sale you'll usually get an offer from someone via email to come and get the stuff that doesn't sell - even if its junk - for free.  So that could help with getting rid of it quickly. However you won't be able to get a tax deduction for those two.

I've been to goodwill at least 20 times to drop off carloads of stuff in the last 2 months.  Crazy!

I have every single one of LM Montgomery's novels in one of my important book boxes... LOL My big save was COOKBOOKS!  I have a ton of htem and all the british ones tend to be in metric units - which I just find difficult.  I think two of my boxes are just cookbooks and cooking light magazines.

Yay, another LMM fan! My aunt told me she found a bunch of my non-AOGG books (I lived with her for the summer while mom's house was being built),but I told her to give them to my cousin. While  I love LMM dearly, my heart truly belongs t Anne.

I've been to goodwill at least 20 times to drop off carloads of stuff in the last 2 months.  Crazy!

Me too! Thank goodness they park a huge truck over at AC Moore.  Did you know they don't take stuffed animals anymore? At least, in my area. Some woman bought a stuffie for her NEWBORN and then complained that the kid got a rash from it.  Shouldn't common sense dictate to wash something before giving it to your baby? Fortunately, the guy I talked to took my huge laundry bag of stuffed animals anyway and told me he'd personally drop them off to Salvation Army.

Zoya, I can so relate to this post!  I too am estimating my move for January.

I got a quote from Omega shipping for 250 cubic feet as that is what I am estimating.  I am bringing over my daughter's bedroom set and a china cabinet, as well as approximately 20 boxes and various other items.

It is a bit overwhelming.  I told myself that I would stay organized through the whole process and made a list/plan as how to go through my house.  Well the garage sale pile in the garage is growing and it's not organized...lol!

I've managed to get everything in my living room and my daughter's room packed, with exception to the furniture/TV/stereo, which I am selling.  Next is my room. 

I guess it's just 1 day at a time.  The stuff has to go somewhere, so eventually it will somehow all get done!

Just my 2p and something you may want to think about - I shipped only 2 boxes of stuff and brought 1/2 a large suitcase full of extra important things that I wanted right away (mostly things from my childhood, etc). The things I put in my suitcase were unpacked immediately and were very comforting.  But honestly, by the time the things were delivered from UpakWeShip (7 weeks after my arrival), I didnt know why I had packed half the things I did. 

Also remember: books can be sent cheaper than other things via media mail, so you may want to send books seperately from everything else to keep the weight down.

Ugh. Good luck! I did what you are doing - I gave a lot away to friends. I had a few yard sales and sold some stuff. And then on the day I moved out of my apartment, a couple of guys from work came by and picked up my sofa and bed for a low, low price.  I just arranged it with them ahead of time that they would pick it up on the day I moved. And then I had my three big suitcases, plus one lowly box of stuff I left at my mom's and a guitar. (I had sent DH back with a suitcase full of special things ahead of time.)