My Minimalist Home: The Move

Moving is always a challenge, full of frustration and hope, but for this minimalist, it has also been a humbling experience. Over the past few years, I have decluttered much of my household, especially this last year. I figured that this move would be a breeze! And yet, as I was desperately trying to collect the last stuff and close the door on my sold house, it seemed like there was no end to it. Where is all this stuff coming from? Will I ever get it all packed up? Why did I ever decide to move anyways?

Meanwhile, the list of my non-moving tasks included working at job that I disliked and planned to quit (as soon as I closed on my new house), preparing for certification tests to improve job chances, looking for a new job, and taking a class. So much for my calm, contemplative, meditative simple living lifestyle! I was anxious and stressed. The closing was postponed once and threatened to be postponed again (all due to the errors on my buyer’s side).

Finally, the day came for me to sign the last papers. It was done. My first Florida home was officially sold, and I received the keys to my new Florida home across town. I had arranged to rent my current house back for a week, so I could start moving gradually. I had it all planned out. I’d clean the new house, start moving the fragile stuff, meet with contractors about painting and flooring, and be completely ready for the movers early Saturday morning.

I never did get around to cleaning the new place and one of the contractors backed out, but it mostly worked according to plan. It took the movers less than an hour to pack my household goods into the van and off we went. By the time the movers had everything unpacked in the new place, I was too tired to return to my former house and clean it. My friend Sandy was taking me to dinner that evening, and though I really wanted to unpack and perhaps collapse, it was nice to celebrate a new beginning.

Sunday morning I returned to finish packing up the pantry, fridge, and plants. One hour in, I urgently texted my friend Susan to please, please come over and load up her car, too, so I wouldn’t need more trips. I’ll buy you lunch! We stuffed plants, food, and cleaning tools into our cars. At the new house, we quickly shoved the food into the fridge and headed out to lunch. I had finally shut the door on phase one of my Florida life and begun phase two.

Looking back later, I realize that this had been one of my lightest and easiest moves ever. The number of boxes was lower than I’d ever had since my early 20s, and I had sold or donated about a third of my furniture. I had halved the amount of bins stored in the garage, and my clothing (though still too much) had also been greatly reduced.

I was going from a 1600 sq. ft. house to a 1000 sq. ft. one, so I had no choice but to declutter my household goods significantly. The three bedrooms are smaller, especially the closets, the kitchen is quite small, and there’s only one bathroom. The single car garage still holds many of my boxes because the new floors are not yet in, but there is still space for boxes as well as all the tiles of my soon-to-be-installed floor. The car will live in the driveway now. The house needs work still, but I’m starting to exhale and relax a bit more. Zac the cat is finding his way around the new house and already picking out favorite napping places. The move is over. Let the settling in begin!