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mirren_gw

Starting New and Fresh

mirren
18 years ago

Well after living in this mobile home park for 33 years (actually four successive mini-homes) we have sold and are moving to an apt. We will actually have more sq ft in the apt than the mini-home but we did have three large sheds with the mini-home. I have been purging while packing and plan to do more when we arrive in the apt. My motto is if it doesnt fit in the apt it goes out. I hope to be able to use flylady zones because everything is already fresh, clean and new in the apt. I wonder what I will be saying a year from now. I sure know how to mess things up.

Comments (5)

  • talley_sue_nyc
    18 years ago

    yay, yay, mirren!

    I have stuff I want to say--advice, of course (I always have advice), and encouragement and cheering.

    But I'm swamped, and I won't be able to post tonight either. But I will, in a day or two.

    I just don't want you to think your great new situation is going unnoticed--and I know other folks will have some good advice.

  • shirleyinadirondacks
    18 years ago

    hi mirren,

    DH and I have downsized our living quarters a lot. We were using all the space in a 2000 sq ft house and are down to using only 1000. that includes a utility room with furnace, water heater etc.

    We have an eating counter and not a lot of company for meals, so we got rid of our dining room table. I miss the table, but since it was a catch-all, we're better without it. In the dining area (open floor plan), we have set up our desks and computers. Strictly for fun, not work.

    We also got rid of our sofas. We have our recliners, which WE used, and enough chairs for any company. Our company usually consists of couples. Most of us have adult children with late teens for grandkids. They love us but their interests are with people their own age.

    We have a combination laundry room and pantry and a pretty good sized kitchen. What we have had to econimize on, was our bedroom. It's only large enough for a queen sized bed(we had a king)and a couple of night stands. Across from the door is another small room which we have as a dressing room, library and gun cabinet. DH is a hunter.

    I really went thru and got rid of a LOT of stuff. If I couldn't find someone to take it, we took it to the reuse center. DH has had more troouble with letting go of stuff than I have. He has squirreled away a lot of s**t in a couple of small sheds, but he finally got rid of our greenhouse. I refuse to start from seed anymore cause the summers are just too hot and steamy for my asthma. (pneumonia twice in less than six months this year)

    There a lot of changes to getting into a smaller space and the best you can do is get rid of STUFF. make a list of the bare minimums of what you need and another of what you want. You probably won't have to worry about a furnace or water pump etc, so that will allow a lot of room. Will you be having a washer and dryer or is that in the complex? Will you be having outdoor living space or will it all be inside?

    Well, I certainly wrote enough about what we did, I just hope you're able to use some of it.
    good luck and enjoy your new home
    shirley

  • mirren
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks for your post Shirley. We are currently in a minihome 1080 sq ft and the apt is 1360 sq ft so we are not losing room that way. We have a storage room in the apt with washer and dryer in it. It is quite large. The linen closet is larger than ours and opens into a hallway so I plan to store the vacuum in the bottom of that. My linen closeet now is in the bathroom as are my washer and dryer. We will have a very small balcony and I need to adjust to that as I have gardened for many years here. This balcony will hold two chairs a small bbq and maybe a couple of pots. I also gave my dining room set away to my sister. Hope I didnt make a mistake there. It's funny you should mention recliners and a couch. We were out looking this morning. We have a lazy boy recliner that we have had sine 1987. It is in great shape although it could use a good cleaning. We were looking for another one today and we did look at some couches. I didnt think about just forgetting about a couch. We dont have a lot of company either and have other chairs. I need to think about that idea. My problem I think would be too many colours in the room. Our old recliner and then a new one which would be a different colour and then a couch which probably wouldnt the same as either. I mentioned recovering our existing recliner but the salesman said it might cost as much as buying a new one. I have purged a lot and plan to do more when we move in (Sept 2) and I just hope I can get routines in place right away and keep the place as nice and clean as it is now.

  • jannie
    18 years ago

    Purging as you pack seems a wonderful thing to do, as long as you have the time to do it. My sister in law moved from a Cape Cod house with full basement to a two-room apartment in July. She started in January and spent all her spare time packing, sorting, and disposing of unneeded things. My hat is off to her!

  • talley_sue_nyc
    18 years ago

    OK, here are my thoughts--you may not need them. But I had them. Mostly bcs we are thinking of moving to a slightly larger apartment (trying for a 3BR at 1,200 sq ft instead of 2 at 1,100).

    Think about what storage and organizing infrastructure you'll need first, and install it. Coat racks, or hooks. Shelving that works. (hopefully you'll be able to make a hole or two in the wall--renters often can't) Especially in that storge room.

    It's easier to rearrange the decorative furniture than it is to try to create storage solutions after the fact.

    Our biggest problem has been the backpacks and snow boots. There is just no place to put them. So we've make a cubby system right by the entry door; it's not that attractive, bcs it's packed w/ all that stuff, but at least the stuff has a PLACE.

    I was talking to DH and said, "we should figure out how to handle that stuff in the new space BEFORE we move in." We could use the same piece of furniture, or we could get one made much like it, but w/ some tweaks. or we could have something similar but *smaller* made for the kids in their rooms (bcs presumably they'll have a tad more space in their rooms once they're not sharing).

    You're lucky to get an apartment with so much storage, and with a laundry room! Lucky you! That'll make the organizing part SO much easier! All the apts in my neck of the woods have relatively little storage space, actually. Hence the need to plan for how to store stuff so early.

    But with that dedicated storage space, I bet you'll find it even easier to keep the place neat and organized!

    I'm sure you'll miss gardening, but I bet you won't miss shoveling snow or raking leaves! Apartment life has that advantage.

    I mentioned recovering our existing recliner but the salesman said it might cost as much as buying a new one.

    It could, easily--however, furniture made even 7 years ago is often BETTER MADE--better wood, better construction, etc. I refinished a sofabed for the exact same price a new one would have cost--except that a new one would be made with 10-years-ago materials and techniques. I figured, once I was done, I'd has as good as, or better, a sofabed as I could buy. It has all new padding, so that's new. Its frame and mechanism aren't new, but they're better QUALITY than new, and they mechanism is oiled, etc. And the fabric is new. The total effect is the same as new.

    If you really like your recliner, in size, style, proportion, mechanism, go ahead and get it reupholstered. It'll cost the SAME, not more, and you'll have a new recliner.