After a few months of settling in, we’ve entered what I jokingly call the “What We Really Need (And Don’t)” phase. Like most people who move, we tried to pare down by donating, selling, or posting on Craigslist anything we were sure we wouldn’t use again, so we wouldn’t waste time and energy hauling it to the new house only to store it unused.
Despite our best efforts, we still brought along many items we loved and used in our previous home, even when we weren’t sure where they would go here. After living in the space for a few months and rearranging things incessantly, it became clear that we could have skipped moving some pieces. What fit perfectly in one house can look out of place in another. Items you relied on before can lose their function in a new layout or where storage differs. Moving hindsight is 20/20.
This happened to me long ago when I lived in NYC and moved just two blocks — from Sullivan Street to Thompson Street in Soho — carrying every single thing by hand with the help of a couple of friends. Even the mattress and bed frame were carried that way, so every book and kitchen item mattered. I tried hard not to move useless spoons or extras, but once I settled into the new apartment I still wound up with a big donate pile. I remember thinking those bruises on my thighs from carrying boxes could have been avoided if I’d let go of more before the move.
I’ve mellowed in the past eight years; I don’t get upset about these post-move discoveries anymore. I accept that we’ll bring things that ultimately won’t work in our new place. Clearing out is actually enjoyable for me, and who doesn’t love a little extra cash? Since readers asked for a rundown of what we no longer need and what we’ve sold, here’s the list of items we let go of after moving.
1. Our four slatted bar stools. A reader emailed to say an identical vintage set was selling for $825 on One King’s Lane and offered us $800. After thinking it over, John and I realized we’re likely to have an eat-in kitchen table instead of a bar area in this house, so the stools wouldn’t be used as much. Accepting $800 felt too generous, so we countered at $400. The buyer was thrilled to snag the set at over 50% off retail, we got more than double what we paid for them on Craigslist last year, and they went on to enjoy a new life in her kitchen.
2. The egg chair and an Ikea slipcovered chair. Both were sweet Goodwill or thrift finds from earlier apartments and had looked great in our sealed sunroom. Once we opened up that room by removing its doors, these chairs were exposed to the elements and wouldn’t hold up well outdoors. With no suitable nooks inside the house to tuck them into, we listed them together for $30. The egg chair found a buyer who appreciated its design, and the Ikea chair went to a college-bound student.
3. The yellow deck chairs from our last house. I loved those chairs, but our current outdoor arrangement only has one main space: the deck. There they clashed with our bright red Adirondack chairs, creating a circus-like mix of bold colors. The Adirondacks better suit this home’s traditional style, so we sold the yellow chairs for $90.
4. A rocking bench that had been on the front porch. This bench was perfect for homes with a wide front porch, which we no longer have. We considered placing it near the edge of the woods, but it would likely collect leaves and ticks without the porch’s shelter. It sold quickly for $20.
5. A woven nursery chair from Clara’s old room. The chair worked well in a mid-century ranch, but felt too modern for the trim, molding, and paneled doors of our current house. We listed it for $20 and accepted $10 from a buyer who was also purchasing the yellow deck chairs.
6. A dresser from Clara’s big girl room. We liked how it looked on a blank wall in her former room, but in our new home Clara’s nursery dresser — with a white top and stained bottom — complemented her daybed better. Rather than save the dresser for a future nursery, we decided John’s dad’s hand-me-down dresser would serve that purpose. We sold this dresser for the same $55 we originally paid, and the buyer, a furniture rehab pro, even sent us a photo of her updated version.
7. Slate from the new backyard. This one wasn’t something we moved, but during cleanup of the yard we found dozens of pieces of slate scattered where we’d like to grow grass. We briefly considered repurposing them for a patio, but with ample outdoor living already available via the deck and sunroom, we opted to sell around 120 pieces for $100. They sold fast.
Altogether we’ve made $705 from Craigslist sales so far. We used those earnings to purchase something we’ve wanted: a wood-inlay dresser that went on sale at West Elm. The discount brought the price close to $705, so we decided it made sense to reinvest the proceeds into the house. At 31, this is the first “grown-up” dresser we’ve bought new; up until now we’ve relied on hand-me-downs, Ikea, or thrifted pieces. The white-glove delivery, with the dresser carried up and placed in the room, felt surprisingly indulgent.
I’m excited to share a photo of it in our bedroom once I stop admiring it like a sculpture and actually fill the drawers. As a fun coincidence, the dresser’s wood inlay and iron legs fit the traditional sixth-anniversary materials of wood and iron, so we’re treating it as a belated anniversary gift to ourselves. Here’s to a dresser that keeps our clothes and our marriage in good order.
As a Friday bonus, here are four active conversations happening in our forums: a baby boy nursery project, stories about neighbor behavior, a complete laundry room makeover, and a dream paint color discussion. We also announced this week’s giveaway winners; check the site to see if you’re among them.
| by DelightfullyNoted | by candice | by ViewAlongTheWay | by K8e9 |