Shauk

ok so lets say I'm lazy (not a stretch) and cheap (a stretch, but i'm saving at the moment) and I found a place to live for an affordable amount that gets me the hell out of here.

lets say I wanted to condense to 1 carload of stuff and convert everything else to money (as in sell it off)

I'm having a hard time prioritizing what I want to keep/sell.

Half of me wants to "sell my life" and just take pictures of everything I own, pop it up on TFP and have you guys go at it like an internet rummage sale to send me packing on my way to the new life.

I don't own much, clothing, computer junk, but I think I may have an excess of audio gear

see http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/686/dsc00716lc4.jpg

obviously that wont all fit into my car (to give you a frame of reference, that speaker box in the upper right takes up the entire trunk of my car)

My thing is, most of this stuff is fairly spendy, and has a horrible resale value. should I just suck it up and deal with it or be a packrat?

this is just one "wall" of stuff to sort through, I still have another "wall" of computer crap followed by another call of stuff in my closet. *sigh*

How do you prioritize when cutting down on stuff? (note, the records aren't going anywhere, stuff is expensive (10-15$ a pop) irreplaceable, and so niche it'd be hard to find a buyer for each one.

Midnight

Having had the grand pleasure of relocating/moving 8 times in 14 years, and moving up and down from two bedroom apartments, to a single room, to 3 bedroom houses to one bedroom apartments, to 2 rooms and so on, I can understand needing to "get rid of junk/consolidate" but this is all you are complaining about? This is nothing. lol. feel free to give me a call when you are worrying about having to put a 2800sq ft house into a 1000sq ft apartment. THEN you need to pare down and consolidate.

selling stuff you dont have to.... lol... *mutters incoherently to self....*

Shauk

I'd still say your 1000sq ft apt is bigger than the trunk of my car if you get my meaning.

ubertuber

Shauk - keep your records and basic audio equipment. Sell the rest. I just liquidated my life to what fit in my car and moved 3000 miles. It was the most liberating feeling I've had in a long time. I felt like I had more space in my head, not just my apt. The funny thing is that I don't miss very many things that I got rid of, and for the most part I haven't had urges to buy more thing to fill my life with.

I feel empty, lightweight, and effortless.

Isn't that feeling of starting over what you're after?

__________________
Cogito ergo spud -- I think, therefore I yam

Shauk

yeah I think the reason the audio stuff gives me such a pause is because I'm using a lot of it for my music n such. (I almost bought more but then i was like "noo nooo no get the fuck OUT OF HERE first man!")

it doesn't help me at all that reason 4 was released last night, damn 500$ peice of software, taunting me. lol.

anyways I'm off tomorrow and saturday and I think I'll spend the time putting stuff up on craigslist.

now that I think about it, my back seats lay down so I might actually be able to get a good portion of my stuff in there (especially since I condensed from a full size tower to a laptop)

I should probably sort through my clothes though too, I'm a big guy so all those pants for the 6'6" type take up space, but a lot of them have rips i the pockets or are just really ratty,I could probably stand to reduce my wardrobe and update it too if i'm going to be spending a bit of time hitting interviews too huh? gotta dress to impress, as they say....

I'll try to remember to post pictures of my car being stuffed in a month with my stuff

ubertuber

Reduce the wardrobe and then get vacuum compressing space saver bags from Bed Bath and Beyond.

__________________
Cogito ergo spud -- I think, therefore I yam

Shauk

those things actually work? hunh...

guess ill go see if the local one has those handy

Hyacinthe

Get rid of any computer / audio stuff that doesn't work or isn't needed (if it will run without it sell it)

Same for clothes - doesn't fit? Ripped? Haven't worn it in last 6 months (excluding weather concerns which don't really apply here) get rid of them - sellf them second hand, give to charity or just plain throw them away.

Get rid of any momentoes of ex's (my friends seem to collect them for some reason) clothes they left there, presents, toiletries, dvd's, books.

All I can think of atm. I'm a clutterbug though I could never fit all the stuff I would want if I moved into one car.

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Push-Pull

Would renting a small truck be out of the question? Not a big fan of U-Haul (just google "u-haul sucks" and see for yourself) but there are other rental companies. A pickup truck could make your life tons easier.

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Cynthetiq

I moved from LA to NYC with a suitcase and 2 boxes. The boxes were my computer and CRT monitor.

Everything else I gave away including my car. (sold it and carried payments signed the papers at the airport, which my friend drove me in that very car.)

recent moves have included moving companies, so I have a lot of extra stuff, so much that we have a storage room in Long Island with misc crap that really would be best have been purchased again.

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Racnad

The fact that you described some of your stuff as "crap" means that you don't need all of it. Imagine that your apartment burned to the ground while you were out at a bar. What stuff would you replace, and what stuff would you not bother to buy again?

Keep the stuff your would re-purchase, and sell/give away the stuff you wouldn't replace. It sounds like you're moving far enough that you don't want to drive back & forth. Pack clothes you want to keep but don't want to wear in the next week or so into a box and ship them via UPS to your new new address. Clothes are fairly lightweight so it won't cost that much, and it will free up a lot of room in your car.

If you have items that are heavy, somewhat fragile and are due for replacement, this is a good time to do that. When my wife & I moved 900 miles, we got rid of our dish set, and ordered a new set on the Bed & Bath & Beyond website to be delivered to new address a day or two after our move in.

Shauk

well I have almost no furniture so thats kind of a nice perk. I have that entertainment center just holding everything up in that picture, a computer desk, and a futon. thats it

I'll prolly wind up selling all 3

ubertuber

I say do it. This cleansing and starting over is symbolic.

It's a good marker for your life-changes.

__________________
Cogito ergo spud -- I think, therefore I yam

Jetée

Alll things considered, most of the advice given above is in the unwritten law of moving on; Shape Up, Strip Off, Pack Up, and Move Out.

Last step is to settle comfortably.

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xxxafterglow

Shauk,

Keep the audio stuff you need for your work, especially if it's hard to replace. Trust me, you will REGRET throwing that out and you will appreciate its company in your new home!

I second ubertuber, releasing all that baggage and feeling free and unfettered by material goods... no better sensation! Have a big yard sale (I banked majorly and it helped a lot when I had to make the big Ikea trip in my new city).

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Uh huh her.

shesus

Just did this...it was tough. We lost a lot of money because resale value sucked and we were crunched on time.

I still feel like I have too much, but there is still stuff to replace. That is what got me...the cost of getting things that I thought I could do without for awhile. It gets old sitting on the floor. See if there is a Cort in the area you're moving to. They have cheap furniture and will barter with you. We got a sofa and chair for under $300.

I put our stuff on craig's list and everything sold. The rest we took to the Salvation Army. And other stuff, we just tossed. Good luck!`

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xxxafterglow

Bummer Shesus... yeah, Craigslist (esp. the free section) saved the day for us... hope you're moving to a good CL city!

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Uh huh her.

Shauk

yeah I put my speaker/amp setup for the car on CL and no one has bitten. I think this area is a technological black hole at times....