What "just couldn't part with it" items did you bring when you relocated to Sun City?

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The only furniture I brought was my recliner, sewing machine, & sewing cabinet.
I did bring kitchen ware, linens, pictures, and computer setup.
As I mentioned in another post, I donated my furniture to Habitat for Humanity.

I had a large truck that pulled my car. My son drove it from Washington to Arizona.
I flew down. I could have gotten by with my car pulling a trailer.

 

We are in the decision making process now, and there is an initial list - everything from family pieces (because the passing of the parent(s) is too recent to part with the things), to 3 boxes of beer tap handles and "classic" neon signs.

The next 6 months will be full of negotiations, and civilized conversations. Bahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

Bargain hard V; what you haul will most likely end up at those thrift stores as donations. We hired movers, even though we had furnished this place for rental purposes. We did sell most of the furniture, but we hauled some of it down, and paid a pretty penny to do so (though nowhere near as bad as today's rates). Winter coats, yup. Suits and ties, yup. Christmas stuff, yup.

Now don't get me wrong, Christmas is still celebrated here, but really, how much of that do you need? We had this massive Enesco North Pole Village set and it's been up once in 11 years. Every year I look at ebay prices on the stuff and lament not having sold it before we came. The collectible market is finicky and unless you love it, have to have it and will actually put it up, think seriously about parting ways with it before you come.

The best story though is my dad. They pulled a big old Uhaul trailer packed to the brim. To the day he died, he was still trying to figure out why he brought the ugly redwood pick-nick table with them. The damn thing was painted grey and cracking all over. I don't think the thrift stores would even take it.

 

Now this is a funny thread to some extent, but also a bit of reality.
We moved from CA to CO in a corporate move 18 years ago. We had a bit of a flood in our basement last year and had to move things around to clean up. I found 1/2 dozen boxes that had never been opened from the move, how sad is that?
Now 18 years later we have accumulated a bunch more crap. Plus the mrs loves her Christmas stuff. I keep trying to pry this stuff out of her hands and I have told her most of it will NOT go to AZ... we will see how that really plays out. ;-)
This thread is good stuff though because I think I need to start downsizing now to get us ready for our AZ relo in a few years. Negotiations will take at least that long. ;-)
The good news is that my better half has admitted we need to get rid of a lot of stuff, but so far she is not ready to do it. We even have the basket full of stuffed toys that our dog loved in the basement, she passed in 2002. The bad part is when I look at that basket and know I need to throw it away I just can't do it.
A garage full of camping equipment and yard tools, etc., etc., just have to go. At least I know I can get rid of the lawn mower and snow blower... yahoo!!!

 

Dog toys? I had 6 dogs medical records (many years gone). I held on to stuff from travels, my childhood etc. but all of a sudden I don't care about most of them. I like to see them go our the door. I free free. The problem I have is what to do with them. Hard to toss stuff in the trash but will anyone really want all this stuff if I donate? I've rid myself of 30% of a 25 year collection in the past 2 months. I'll be down to 10% before I move...pointless to keep it now. Moving is a good excuse to start fresh.

 

I can't believe you brought all that with you here. Sorry, but I feel better about myself now.

 

Just finished watching the movie Wild That song fits.

 

You're just saying that because it's true E.

 

We downsized from a 3800 sq ft home in the midwest to a 1400 sq ft home here in Sun City. We bought this house fully furnished and were winter visitors for a 6 years until becoming full year almost 10 years ago. We had a couple garage sales up north, a couple garage sales here in AZ and then another when our moving van arrived with what we wanted to keep from our northern home. Then.....had to have another garage sale to sell what couldn't fit.

It's important to figure out the cost of buying new against keeping what you have. Family heirlooms, expensive furniture and some electronics are good keepers. We used 1/3 of a big moving van and it worked out great.

My weakness is framed pictures and artwork. I have a gallery stored in closets and rotate pictures every so often which makes each room look a little different without major renovations.

 

With all those garage sales aggie, I may have to report you to SCHOA :biggrin-new: I would be curious to know if the stuff you paid to haul down here sold for enough to pay for the transport? My folks had garage sales at home and here and they found they got far more here than in Minnesota.

 

I think the statutes of limitation have run out on our garage sale offenses.:tennis: We were very careful in what we selected to have moved down here. The only thing I regret dragging around is my in-laws huge set of old china. It's moved 4 times with us without being used. Wish that would have disappeared along the way.....

 

Rotating art is de rigueur. And then five years have passed and I still have the same ones on the walls.

 

I'm still moving my grandmother's china around with me. Its not an obnoxious pattern, it's quite subtle. I like it but still its hard to move it. All my family ate on it when I was growing up and then she left it to me when she died. I tried to hand it off to cousins last year but they refused. I wish I knew what to do with it. I'm thinking of trying to give one place setting to many family members and see it that would work. Maybe one setting would survive and I would be relieved from being the lone memory keeper.