We’re preparing to move into a house that’s less than half the size of our current home, so we’re taking a careful inventory of everything we own to decide what should come with us and what should be left behind. Below we explain the systematic criteria we use to evaluate each item — four questions we ask about every possession — and share practical ways we’re donating, selling, or otherwise responsibly passing along things we no longer need. We also include an update on how the coronavirus has affected our moving plans and an answer to the frequent question about the shutters we once considered for the house.
What’s New
- Our original plan was to rent a truck and travel with my parents to move most of our things, similar to how we managed furniture moves in the past. They would have flown back afterward.
- To minimize contact and avoid unnecessary travel, we decided to rent a POD storage unit instead. We can load it ourselves over time, and then a service will transport the pod to our new home when we’re ready to unload. That approach reduces in-person interaction and gives us much more flexible timing.
Update: Shutters
- We discussed putting shutters on the house in a past episode. After receiving an enormous crate of shutters, we realized they were impractical for our needs and ended up returning them. The delivery and reloading were a helpful reminder to always check scale and logistics before buying large items.
- For scale and context, we often reference an oversized motorcycle-sidecar image we used previously to illustrate how large and cumbersome the shutter shipment felt — a lighthearted way to show how some purchases can be more trouble than they’re worth.
Downsizing Our Home
- When deciding what to bring to our smaller Florida house, we use four main criteria to guide every decision. These questions help us keep the move intentional and prevent bringing twice as much as we actually need.
- 1. Size / Fit: Will the item physically fit in the new house? Do we already have something that serves the same purpose? Downsizing means choosing fewer, better-fitting pieces. For example, our current home has both a living room and a bonus room furnished similarly, but the new house will only have a single living area — we don’t need double the furniture.
- 2. Function: Does the item still perform well and meet our needs? Would a different version offer better function? For instance, our acrylic entry table looks nice but provides no storage. In a smaller home where every inch counts, an entry table with drawers or shelves will be far more useful.
- 3. Style: What do we want the new house to feel like visually? If a piece of furniture clashes with that vision, it can undermine the overall aesthetic. Our Florida home leans modern and beachy, so we’re prioritizing fresh, clean-lined items over heavier, dark-toned antiques. That said, you should fill your home with what makes you happy — just be thoughtful so you don’t bring unnecessary pieces when downsizing.
- 4. Emotional attachment: Some items are worth keeping because they’re meaningful or deeply loved. Sentimental pieces often earn a place, even if they’re not the most practical. For example, we found a vintage dresser secondhand and repaired it ourselves; it holds emotional value, so we’ll make room for it in the new house even if we’re not sure yet exactly where it will go.
- Before the shutdown we donated many smaller items — winter clothes and coats to local coat drives, extra pet supplies to animal shelters, books to book drives, and assorted household goods to local charities. The kitchen photo below shows donations grouped and ready to be dropped off; they were packed in trash bags for transport to various organizations.
- We’ll publish a follow-up post with a detailed list of what we kept and what we let go of, so look for that if you want a room-by-room breakdown.
We’re Digging
- Spring has finally arrived here, and with everything happening in the world it’s been a welcome bright spot. We’re grateful to spend more time outside, playing in the yard and taking neighborhood walks.
- We’ve also been enjoying a family card game called Low Down, which is a new favorite alongside UNO and UNO Flip. It’s been fun to play something the whole family really likes after so many rounds of the same games.
If you’re looking for items we’ve recommended in past episodes, we’ve compiled a master list of things we’ve been “digging” over time as well as a page with all the books we’ve recommended on our book club page.
Finally, we’re grateful to sponsors that support the podcast. We recommend checking a sponsor’s offerings and any promotional details directly on their site if you’re interested.
Thanks for reading and for following along with our move. We’ll share more updates as we settle into the new place and decide what stays, what goes, and where everything ends up.
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