The Art of Moving

Over the years, I have become quite accustomed to moving. Over the last 7 years, I have only stayed in one place for longer than 6 months and that was for a total of 18 months. Needless to say, I love to move. Through that love and my growth as a minimalist, I have been able to develop a lifestyle that maintains very little “stuff” in the likely fact that I will move in the near future.

This past week, I packed up all my belongings, along with my girlfriend’s, and somewhat set forth for Phoenix, Arizona. I stopped in Sacramento to see family, flew to Colorado to enjoy a little bit of the snow, and will soon be headed to Southern California before ending up in Phoenix. With this big move, I was able to focus on minimalising which is always something I am extremely happy to do.

Here are the steps I took in preparing my move…

Listed items (i.e. desk, clothing, bookshelf, etc.) on Craigslist. Not only was I able to sell many items I was going to trash anyways, I was able to come out about even on these second hand items I bought in August. For the most part, used the items FOR FREE during my stay in Chico, CA.
Donated a bag of clothes. I don’t own many clothes so eliminating clothes is usually very limited. I was able to rid of some quality clothing that I wasn’t going to use anymore and that I am sure someone else may be able to use some more.
Tossed stuff. It doesn’t matter how minimalistic my life is, I always find some trash somewhere in my home. I dumped about 2 full trash bags of junk.
Forced what I was keeping into boxes. I put together the boxes I was allowing myself to bring to PHX and then put what was possible into these boxes. If something didn’t fit, I forced myself to eliminate something.
Let go. As many of you read in Just Let Go, I am dumbfounded with the attachment to stuff some people have. I don’t so I eliminated each item possible with only about 1% of my stuff having any personal attachment.

These are the steps I take to moving. What are yours?

David Damron
The Minimalist Path

Tags: minimalism, minimalist

This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 4:07 pm and is filed under minimalism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

8 Responses to “The Art of Moving”

January 25th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
Barbara J Carter says:

I’m always amazed that anyone can sell stuff on Craigslist. I’ve tried, but never managed to sell a single thing. Even just GIVING stuff away for free on Craigslist is a major headache, and doesn’t always work. What’s the secret?
Barbara J Carter´s last blog ..Art Inspiration Booklet for 2010
January 25th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Vita Reid says:

Welcome back.
Vita Reid´s last blog ..The Wonderful Benefits of Minimalism
January 25th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Adam Mayfield says:

Moving rocks!! I can’t say that enough. I’ve moved more times in the last 2 years than I ever have (and I moved a ton when I was a kid).

When you move into a smaller place you are almost forced to get rid of stuff. Ebay, craigslist,Goodwill, and the dump have quickly become my favorite places to hang out. Since I moved out of my house I have been able to turn a 3 br house full of stuff into a 8×10ft storage unit. That storage unit is getting chipped away at every weekend!

I love having nothing but what I need…
January 25th, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Vita Reid says:

I look forward to the day when I own nothing … Just me, the cats, a futon, a coffee table, a desk … and that’s about it.

Shucks! I’ll be able to pack and move out in one grand gesture.

Woo Hoo!
Vita Reid´s last blog ..The Wonderful Benefits of Minimalism
January 25th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Jesse says:

@Barbara – I find the only trick is what city you live in. Back in Seattle my stuff would only last a few days before someone came and got it. The cheaper the better, and I find that asking for some money weeds out the flakes, even $5. You only get people who are genuinely interested in the item, not just free junk.

David – Good on ya! I wish my upcoming move was going to be that simple…but alas when there’s a bed and an ocean involved it just seems to take more time and planning.
January 26th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Michelle says:

@Barbara
My craigslist tricks are:
1.) ALWAYS post a photo of the item
2.) Post something in the early afternoon on a Friday so that people who are looking from work will see your item first before the weekend.
3.) Stick with posting one or two items at a time. If you have some small items that you don’t feel like posting leave them out so when people come by to pick up the item they really want they can buy something else as well.
4.) If you don’t hear anything after 3 days, try deleting your post and reposting with a new headline.
January 30th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Alex says:

Great post & rather timely as I am about to move myself soon, from experience no matter how minimal you think you are, there is always stuff you don’t need.

@ Barbara if you can’t sell it try giving it away via freecycle (I am a big fan) .. great for any moving or de-cluttering drive
February 5th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Vita Reid says:

Great submission, David.

I look forward to the day when I can haul all my belongings to my new spot in one car load.
Vita Reid´s last blog ..Perfect Imperfection Is Better Than Nothing At All!