Minimalism takes on new meaning when you are preparing for a move. This move is not a joyful one – it’s not happiness about a new location or some other positive attribute that prompted the move. This is a move of necessity for safety. What makes it even more precarious is that we need a new place to live. I don’t know where we are going. I just know we need to leave.

This move will need to be done as quickly and as easily as possible. To be honest, when I bought this house, I thought it was my forever home. I truly thought we would be here for the rest of our lives and never move again. Never say never.  Hopefully the move coming up this summer will be the final move. Fingers crossed. 

I’ve been on this minimalist journey for a while now, but it’s different when you are moving. Here is what’s happening:

There were a lot of items in this house from the previous owner when I purchased it. The person had passed away, family members inherited it, and they did not clean it out completely. A few years ago, I hired a junk truck to take most of the items that had been left in the basement – rusted and broken tools, and items that were decades old. I found a very interesting fire alarm circa 1950s that I tried to donate to the Historical Society. 

There are still items in this house (mainly the garage) from the prior owner. I do not want to do to the next owners of this house what was done to me and leave a bunch of junk behind.

Everything in this house will either be going with me, donated, or junked. Obviously, the preference is donation, but broken items and many of the items from the previous owner need to be junked. 

In packing for the move, I am only taking with me what is necessary. I am getting rid of a lot of stuff. Some of it is stuff I like and use but am not willing to move. A lot of things I’m getting rid of because they are associated with this house, and I do not want to take things with me that remind me of this place. Some items I would keep if we were staying in this house, but I don’t want to move them.

You don’t realize how much stuff you have until you are trying to get it down into the smallest space possible. Most of the items moving with me are winter items like blankets. Winter blankets are bulky and take up space. 

Some things that are leaving:

Teaching Supplies – I’m getting rid of all my teaching supplies. Honestly, this is hard. As you may know, many teachers purchase supplies using their own funds. While I enjoyed teaching, I lost my teaching job because no one could hear me. (No, “noise canceling headphones” did not help with the level of noise coming from vehicles here). I would like to volunteer my time to teach English as a Second Language again moving forward but now is not the time. We need to be someplace safe first.

My 23-year-old TV set – This one is hard. I have never had cable, but I have used the TV to watch DVDs. That is, when I can hear the TV. A few months ago, I thought the TV was starting to die – it had some discoloration in the bottom right corner of the screen. Then the discoloration went away, and it has acted normally. It is possible there is a tube going in the TV. At any rate, I don’t think it will survive another move. Even if it did survive another move, I don’t want to move it. I haven’t been able to enjoy my DVDs in two years now; I will go without. A TV is not something that’s important when you are leaving a bad situation. 

My under desk / walking pad treadmill. This is in the basement. I got it so I would be able to run inside. When I go outside, I have been chased and taunted by children on bicycles (they were upset my security alarm went off when they were throwing rocks at my car and they were told to stop). It has been safer to try to run inside. It works, but I have no intention of moving it with me. Wherever we go, it will be safe to walk around outside again.

Tech Waste – There is tech waste in this home that should have left sooner but has been languishing in a “tech graveyard.” My microwave broke last fall. The broken microwave needs to leave. There is a laptop from 15 years ago and a broken robot vacuum. 

A note on robot vacuums: I did enjoy the robot vacuum and felt like it helped me. However, after the robot vacuum broke, and now that I am faced with properly disposing of it, I am realizing it did not help me as much as I thought. Whether you use a traditional or a robot vacuum, you still must pick things up off the floor and move items around to be sure everything is cleaned. The robot vacuum often gets stuck on things like heat vents, so you must be alerted to rescue it. The robot vacuum was more work than it was help. It’s quicker to just use the traditional vacuum and do it yourself. 

I will be much more thoughtful moving forward before purchasing technology and small appliances. 

I am proud to say that I have minimized items enough that when I packed up CDs, DVDs and books, I only had one box each. In the case of books, the box was not even full, so I put other light items in there with the books. To be honest, DVDs and CDs are not things I have been able to enjoy the past two years here. I have been able to sit and relax with a book when things are calm. It’s been nice to get lost in a novel when things are challenging. 

I am grateful that due to my minimizing efforts over the past several years, I only have one box of Christmas items to move. I am looking forward to being able to enjoy Christmas this year in a new, safe location. 

Many things have already been downsized and donated, so in going through items now, it is truly a matter of “I don’t want to move this,” or “this is not necessary for survival in an emergency situation.” Once we get to a new location and can relax and enjoy a living space again, then I may decide that I want new items to enjoy. For now, this is about survival.

Of course, the most important part of the entire equation is keeping the cats and I together. I had bought this house to keep us together. We need a new place to live. That is the only thing that matters.

When it is time to move this summer, I currently have everything packed except for the kitchen, my clothes, and work. This entire process is stressful and disruptive. I am hoping that things come together for us to obtain new housing soon. 

I’m trying to make this move as small and as efficient as possible. I remember when we moved from the apartment to this house, the people who helped me move commented on how organized it was. Everything was moved in a day. I have always done a DIY move. This will be the first move that I am unable to DIY due to my health.

 I will need to pay professional movers for this one who can load a truck, drive a truck, and unload the truck for me. I can get most things packed (except for large items like furniture, microwave, vacuum cleaner and cat towers). I am not going to be able to drive a moving truck or do any loading again. My health is too precarious right now for that. 

Any tips for deciding what to move with you when planning a big move? Any items that you recommend you can do without until you get to the new location? I’m sure there are frivolous things I have packed that could have been donated. 

Packing has helped me to feel like I am doing something to move forward in a positive way. It is hard when you feel powerless in a situation. I may not know yet where we are going, but I know we need to move. 

Of course, if necessary, I will leave it all behind just to get the cats and I out of here safely to a new location. Finding a place to live is the challenge. 

This is going to be the most difficult move of my life, but it needs to be done. I am not sure where we are going, but I am preparing to leave. We need a place to live.