Best way to downsize from house to two BR apartment??

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Our furniture is mostly too large and we have too much. We want less clutter. Only Jumper will be there and only when she is home from college. So we want to do this right.

What are some tips for downsizing from a house to an apartment? Thanks!!!! (This apartment rocks. Quiet, but accepts dogs. Lots of dog lovers there!)
 

nlj

Well-Known Member
I would think very carefully about this. The only time we lived in an apartment we were made ill through noise from neighbours. It wasn't always loud music either, it is hard to adapt to hearing your neighbours' TV, hearing them walking around, doing everyday things, even coughing etc, when they are next to you and below you and above you. If you are definitely wanting to move from a house to an apartment I would check out the soundproofing very thoroughly.
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
I recently (last November) downsized from a 3 bedroom house to a 1 1/2 bedroom apartment and I love it!!! No yard work, no show to shovel, smaller utility bills, no big expenses when something goes wrong, etc. I haven't had any problems with noise or bad neighbors or that sort of thing. Do your homework about the place and visit it. Talk to some residents if possible. I read online reviews of the place I was moving and some of them weren't too flattering but as I evaluated them and talked to residents I realized most of them had been written by somebody with a hidden agenda.

The fact that I had just cleaned out my mother's apartment after her death helped because I came to realize that a lot of things we think we "should" keep will end up in the trash when somebody else has to deal with it. As I was cleaning out my house, I used the old "3-box" method. Everything I absolutely couldn't do without, I packed to take. Everything I didn't need or love was disposed of. Some I put in the trash, some I gave to charity, and some I sold (we have a nifty local on-line place to sell things there). The things I wasn't sure about went in the 3rd pile. After I'd rented the apartment and knew exactly what I was dealing with, I went back to the third pile and decided whether to take it or leave it. Most of those things I did not take. Even though I had some nice things and some family antiques, I didn't take all of my furniture. I took what would fit. I did buy a few new things, mostly shelves and storage sorts of things. I also bought a futon and a sleeper sofa for company.

This is definitely a case of "less is more." Unless you like to live in a cluttered mess, don't take too much.

I have finally finished decorating my new place and I absolutely love it!
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Thank you both.

Lucy J, thank you. The complex is only two floors high and we are on the first floor so we'll have to learn to handle footsteps from above. I didn't think about getting used to the daily noises of others, but I guess I will. Staying in this house is not an option nor do we want to. In general people who live in our new apartment complex tell me it's a very quiet building. Thankfully, although I love kids, I haven't seen any there. There ARE dogs but that's why we picked it. We would never leave our dogs!!!! And if a dog barks, I am forgiving. If it is nonstop, the people in charge will deal with it, I'm sure. I like living around so many dog lovers (and they are!). Not all apartments allow pets. We are lucky a nice one does allow pets. So...maybe I'll invest in some headphones to block out sound in case I'm bothered. I shall see :)

Mutt, thanks, I can practice minimalism with this move. There are a few decorations I have that make me feel good, like my little dog figurines, but I don't need a bunch of stuff. It will be two bedrooms (one for Jumper when she is home from college) and is 1000 sq. ft. Less to clean!!!! We are not bringing our bigger furniture, but are looking for a small used table and chairs (if not in perfect condition, we are getting a pretty tablecloth) and our couch is going to go. We only need a loveseat for the two of us. We already have two chairs we decided to bring and one we won't bring. One is a big fat LazyBoy and one is a comfy rocking chair.

I am going to decorate our new santcuary in my favorite colors...and make it a cheery, upbeat little castle of our own.
 
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DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Pam, that is basically what we did when we moved into this apartment. Yeah I still have some stuff over in my double wide but I just brought what I really wanted over here. This place may be a little under 1000 sq ft. It has 3 small bedrooms and one bath. This master is smaller than any of the bedrooms in my trailer!

I went through all our clothes and evidently got rid of too many of them...lol. I kept 6 plates and bought 4 bowls and a new set of flatware. I had a new set of pots and pans I got for xmas so I left all my others behind. I have bought some baking stuff since we moved in. The only thing I wish I had more of is closet space. These rooms are small and the closets are small with no shelves. I have bought plastic bookshelves and put them in the spare bedroom to store clothing on. Walmart has great plastic bookshelves.
 

helpangel

Active Member
easiest way to downsize is to run thru a couple imaginary drills in your head

drill 1 - wild fire headed your way you got an hour to evacuate and everything left behind is gonna end up cinders - so all living things, photo albulms etc would go into the car and you're out of there

drill 2 - going camping what do you need? to sleep, eat, wear (but don't take camping quality stuff take best you have)

then look around at what is left and if you are going to miss it consider if could fit it into the new place

for me in both cases coffee, a way to make it and a mug; oh and my reading glasses would be going with me

thank you for this thread because it was just the push i needed to start pricing stuff and piling a pallet full to get ready for a major yard sale... rice steamer? wok for 2? what was i thinking? haven't done fondue in several years yet have 3 fondue pots... ugh does being on one of those hourders shows get you paid because i think i would qualify

nancy
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
LOL...if I could get paid to be on Hoarder, well they need to go to my old place. Everyone complained and complained about how awful that place was and how it was all my fault it was dirty and messy. Well Im not there anymore and it is STILL just as messy if not more so!
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
This was really good advice from all of you. I do think we have enough closets and space for the clothes we'll be bringing and I love YOUR advice, Nancy. I'm going to follow it. I have way too many things that I don't need. THAT is how clutter happens and I dislike clutter!! :)
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Ya know, I wonder if we could do a cyber yard sale? Wouldnt that be a blast! I would love to try to figure it out. If we could do it I bet people would really go for it because you dont have to sit outside in the heat...lol
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Oh, Janet, lol, I thought of a yard sale. But I think it's more trouble than it's worth. I'm just going to let the guys put the furniture we're not bringing on the curb by the alley and post "COME AND GET IT" on Craigs List. That way the stuff will be gone, which is what we want, and we won't have to haul it.

Haha, cyber yard sale :)
 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
I just had a yard sale last weekend. I live in a huge old house and want to work towards putting it on the market in the spring and downsizing. Just can't see me living in a house that requires so much time and work.....

Over the last 6 months or so I always had a book box handy. I would accumulate stuff and just put it in the box. My cousin did the same at her house. We would put the boxes in our Florida room. Memorial Day we spent about three hours going through our individual boxes and pricing. Last Sat I put an ad on CL and we did a yard sale. 20 minutes before we were going to close, I pulled one box worth aside and my cousin pulled 2 boxes worth aside and I took pics of the remaining stuff. I then put an ad on CL for a free curb alert. Within 30 minutes everything was gone!

I have already begin the new boxes for a fall sale.....

I didn't make a whole lot, but it was a couple hundred dollars more than I had that morning!

Sharon
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Sharon, I am thinking of a garage sale too. Hubby and I are not pack rats so we have limited items, but we do have some furniture that will be too large for an apartment and I'm going to carefully decide which clothes and shoes I actually wear and to get rid of the rest. Ditto for knickknacks. Jumper going to college will help. She DOES keep everything and is very messy.

I want our new place to simply be our castle, our sanctuary to a peaceful setting and reflect who we are. I am trying to go minimalistic. We only keep what we need. We'll see how it goes...haha.

I love the idea of taking a picture.
 

helpangel

Active Member
good plan MWM, i keep all kinds of stuff i don't need though having 3 adult or near adult kids need to have a household starter kit to send with them so all my stuff doesn't start disappearing when they come to visit... provided they ever move out. Think i'll label that box in storage my "i have a dream" box.

nancy
 

cubsgirl

Well-Known Member
I have a friend on Facebook who is downsizing too and she was looking for advice. One lady said divide up everything into two piles, one which is stuff you keep and one which is stuff you give away. She said go to the "keep" pile and take only 1/2 of that stuff and put the rest to the curb. That sounded pretty minimalistic to me!
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Over here it is called a curb alert. You post one on Craig's List and pretty soon all your items are gone, which is great for the person who took it and us because we don't have to haul it.
 
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