Downsize me

February 28, 2008 4:10 AM

I want everything I own to fit in a Corolla. After spending nearly a week to move 3 blocks, I decided I'd like to pare down my belongings so they'd all fit in my car at once (minus the furniture). Mainly because I will be driving somewhere else to live soon. What creative ways have you cut down the size of your stuff?

Downsizing already done:
- Landline phone -> nothing
- Shampoo + Conditioner -> Shampoo-Conditioner in 1
- 12 piece cookware -> 5 piece cookware that I actually use
- unused clothing -> donated
- books -> given away except 2
- DVDs and CDs -> ripped to computer and given away
- trash can -> trader joe's paper bags (flattened they take up no space)

Downsizing planned:
- 25" TV -> projector
- Entertainment center -> put on craigslist
- packaging for some electronics (reluctant because of warranty/return issues)
- paper documents -> scan and shred
- 3 boxes of swag from conferences and job fairs -> should give away, but some toys are too cute

Other large things I have
- xbox & games (I don't want to give this up because I watch movies on it, but maybe with the projector, I can watch them on my laptop?)
- 2 slim desktops (server and workstation) [1 box]
- computer monitor [1 box]
- 2 suitcases
- 5 boxes of clothes
- 1 box of shoes
- 1 box of silverware/dishes
- 1 padded box glasses and cups
- 1 box of toilettries + shower curtain
- 2 backpacks (1 for my laptop)
- 1 box of toys I like
- 1 box pillows and sheets
- 1 vacuum cleaner
- 1 toolkit
- 1 box board games
- 3 table lamps
- 1 boxable floorlamp
- 1 tote bag misc (car stuff, manuals, keys)
- 1 large box kitchen appliances (blender, electric kettle, knife block, cheese grater, cutting board)
- 1 small box kitchen misc (detergent, soap, paper towels)
- most things normal people own

Right now, I can fit everything in about 2 cars. So I'd like to reduce the volume down by half if possible. I can sell and rebuy the furniture when I arrive, and I don't have particularly nice furniture anyways. Would love to hear anyone's suggestions of how they own less stuff.

PS: My car is actually a Focus, but I figured more people would recognize the dimensions of a Corolla.

posted by lpctstr; to grab bag (38 comments total)

i would ditch the cheap and/or easily replaceable--the dishes, toiletries, the shower curtain, the lamps, the kitchen appliances, bedding. i'd ditch the swag except for things you really love.
posted by thinkingwoman at 4:23 AM on February 28

- packaging for some electronics (trash them, it's junk most people don't save)
- 3 boxes of swag from conferences and job fairs (trash/sell it *all*)

Other large things I have
- xbox & games (keep it. do you sell games? if not, ditch the boxes)
- 2 suitcases (empty? sell)
- 5 boxes of clothes
- 1 box of shoes (could be slimmed town to three pairs.. i own one pair)
- 1 box of silverware/dishes (trash. ikea)
- 1 padded box glasses and cups (trash. ikea)
- 1 box of toilettries + shower curtain (trash)
- 2 backpacks (1 for my laptop)
- 1 box of toys I like (do you really *need* these?)
- 1 box pillows and sheets (pillows could be replaced)
- 1 vacuum cleaner (sell)
- 1 toolkit
- 1 box board games (how often do you use these?)
- 3 table lamps (sell)
- 1 boxable floorlamp (sell)
- 1 tote bag misc (do you need a tote *and* a backpack?)
- 1 large box kitchen appliances (ikea)
- 1 small box kitchen misc (whatever can fit into a large plastic baggie)
- most things normal people own (most things normal people own can be lived without)
posted by Sufi at 4:31 AM on February 28

1 small box kitchen misc (whatever can fit into a large plastic baggie)
i misread this one. trash it
posted by Sufi at 4:33 AM on February 28

Unless you're preparing for a nomadic lifestyle, it might be more cost effective to box half of the stuff and ship it wherever you plan to live. Otherwise you'll either spend even more than the shipping cost to buy new stuff on the other end of your move, or you'll spend a lot of time shopping for used stuff.
posted by jon1270 at 4:35 AM on February 28

Replace the vacuum with a Roomba? (disclaimer: I am a roomba fangirl.)

You have a laptop + two desktop boxes... can you get rid of the workstation and just keep the server? (As an owner of two computers myself, I know this may not be desirable) Is the computer monitor CRT or LCD? (LCD obviously fitting better)

This isn't getting rid of things, but if you had a vacuum sealer (which would require you still have your vacuum and not a roomba) you could vacuum pack your sheets/pillows/some of the bulkier clothes for better fit in your car.

Also more about "condensing" than "eliminating": What's in the suitcases if/when they go in your car? Can you pack them full of clothes and eliminate some of the boxes?

How many sets of dishes/silverware do you have? Can you eliminate some?
posted by olinerd at 4:37 AM on February 28

Get a set of the large Space Bags (the vacuum sealed storage bags) and smoosh your pillows, bedding and clothes down to 1/3 the size. There are some on the market that you can use your vacuum cleaner to suck out the air. Also stuff soft items into larger items to conserve space, like a package of sweaters in the lampshades, etc.
posted by Acacia at 4:38 AM on February 28

- 2 suitcases (empty? sell)
If the suitcases are empty - why aren't the 5 boxes of clothes in the suitcases?
posted by missmagenta at 4:49 AM on February 28

Ditto jon1270 on considering shipping some things if possible. Especially if you have seasonal area and won't need a part of your wardrobe anytime soon (eg. if you move spring/ summer, then box and ship your winter clothing).

My criteria on what items to ditch? Anything that can be replaced on a trip to Wal-Mart/ Target/ Ikea can go... provided they are available in the area of your new home. This is especially true if what you own wasn't very high quality in the first place. My personal experience is if it costs less than $25 to purchase a new version of what you own, the old one is worth chucking for the move. This should reduce the items down to mostly personal electronics and clothes.
posted by kitkatcathy at 5:01 AM on February 28

One trick I've used is to have a box in the closet of "stuff to maybe give away." If I haven't used (played with, worn, etc) something in a while, I'll throw it in the box. This isn't a promise to give it away, but if I don't miss it over the next few months and get it out of the box, then to the salvation army it goes. I figure if I can't remember I had it, then I certainly don't need it.

I'm also an ebay nut. It's easier to get rid of things when you're getting paid to do it.
posted by letahl at 5:26 AM on February 28

I'm not so sure that ikea is a good answer for your housewares problems--I certainly wouldn't want to replace good dishes and silverware with mediocre ones.

I think the "things most people own" is pretty vague, and that backpacks in multiple seem not terribly useful. The suitcases should definitely be filled with something if they aren't.

Also, how big are your boxes? 1' cube? Bigger? Perhaps you could downsize your box size, and require that some things fit in them (toys, swag 1 small box each, etc).

I would throw away all kitchen spices and food products. If you keep bringing them from house to house you end up like my parents who brought 25-year-old cocoa with them to a new house. "Misc." in general implies "not particularly important stuff."

Another option is to unbox some of that stuff and use it to fill cracks and crevices. Board games generally come in their own boxes, and can fit in lots of smaller spaces. Ditto for pillows and blankets. Just stuff them in spaces and they'll take up less room overall.
posted by that girl at 5:34 AM on February 28

What creative ways have you cut down the size of your stuff?

There's nothing creative about it -- you just ruthlessly get rid of shit. There are three kinds of things that people tend to own a lot of, and can never seem to get rid of:

-- Sentimental keepsakes (like your boxes of conference toys) -- these almost never have a financial value, but they are direct reminders of people and events in our past. That said, could ONE really cool conference toy provide the sentimental value currently being provided by your three boxes of this stuff?

-- "Just in case" stuff -- your electronics packaging is a great example; a lot of clothes fall into this category as well (clothes for the life you never actually lead, like that mountaineering gear or the retro lounge jacket). If you need it, you can borrow or buy it; you don't need to own it just in case.

-- Rarely-used luxuries -- most kitchen appliances fall into this category. A few people make themselves smoothies every morning, but for most people a blender is something used every three months and forgotten in between, for example. This category overlaps heavily with the "just in case" stuff -- if you want to have less stuff, you will need to dump lots from these two categories.

So overall, if you are really serious about paring down your stuff, you just need less of it at every turn. One suitcase of clothes, not five boxes. Two or three pairs of shoes that together meet 90% of your footwear needs, not 10 pairs to meet 100% of the need. Five pots for one person? Try frying pan plus saucepan plus larger pot for pasta/soup/chili; special baking stuff only if you are actually doing that often (and since a cast iron frying pan can go in the oven, a lot of baking can be done with that).

My personal experience is if it costs less than $25 to purchase a new version of what you own, the old one is worth chucking for the move. This should reduce the items down to mostly personal electronics and clothes.

This is really good advice -- Ikea and Target have decent-quality stuff at such low prices that shipping your old stuff can sometimes not make any sense. I'm not defending that on environmental grounds, but on practical grounds the sheer cheapness of basic household stuff means that you can treat it as disposable rather than as valued possessions that need to be sorted, boxed, and lovingly transported.
posted by Forktine at 5:35 AM on February 28 [2 favorites]

You could try replacing most cleaners/detergents in your house with Campsuds. It supposedly works on your body, hair, clothes, and dishes while you are camping. I don't know how it would work in a washing machine. I also can't vouch for it. I've seen it several times and I am fascinated by it, but I have never used the stuff.
posted by battlecj at 6:21 AM on February 28

You use the term "box," and I'm not sure if you are being literal in all cases, but-
you can pack soft stuff like clothes and bedding in trash bags rather than boxes, and that will save a lot of space when packing the car as they can be "squished" down. Or, you could also get some of those vacuum storage bags and flatten your soft items down to almost nothing to make more room for the stuff you don't want to get rid of.
posted by coollibrarian at 6:23 AM on February 28

Have you considered taking pictures of your sentimental items and storing them in iPhoto or Picasa or something? If seeing it is what reminds you of a good memory, like a ticket stub or something, then presumably a photo would work just as well.
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:40 AM on February 28 [1 favorite]

This may not be helpful, but just remember that it can be cheap to mail boxes if after the slaughter you still can't fit everything in the car. A 30 lb box of Media Mail (just books, papers, CDs) goes from DC to Los Angelos for $11.99. I used to "move" from college back home for the summers almost entirely by media mail. USPS has gotten more strict about only media being sent via media mail (and Parcel Post, your next cheapest option, is about three times as expensive), but this could be a good way to move some stuff if the car ends up being too small.
posted by bluenausea at 6:52 AM on February 28

Get rid of the boxes the hold your clothes and use garbage bags. They take up a lot less room and can be squished.
posted by bleucube at 7:10 AM on February 28

Do you really wear all the clothes you've kept regularly? For a male living in the bay area (i.e. only a limited amount of cold weather clothes is really needed), I'd guess there's room to get rid of some more if you can bring yourself to be picky. Ask when the last time you wore each item was, and when you will probably wear it again. If the answer to the second question is "probably... at some point" or less, get rid of it. If you really want to clear some stuff out, get rid of anything where the answer is "definitely at some point. I just don't know when." or less. If you aren't poor, you can get rid of anything soap-ish (dish soap, shampoo, cleaning products, toiletries, etc.) The challenge, that you may have considered, is finding someone to give it to, if you're concerned about harm to the environment from just tossing it. Alternatively, find a friend to store a few boxes while you move, since you'd be buying replacements for all that soap first thing when you're settled. As far as the toys, ask yourself when you'll use those next as well. Try giving the board games to friends maybe. They're who you'd be playing them with anyway.
posted by gauchodaspampas at 7:13 AM on February 28

I have been roaming the country for the past year, living out of Honda Fit (small hatchback).

-- I learned in the first 500 miles that boxes are inefficient ways to fill a car. I had those plastic rubbermaid tubs, but there was way too many crevices left empty and wasted. Now everything is in duffel bags that can morph to fill the nooks and crannies.

-- Everyone knows that sentimental crap needs to go. The problem is how to let go. My solution is to realize that the memories the crap brings forth are what you actually want, not the plastic itself. Take a picture of the chotchke, then toss it. Go from a few hundred liters of space to a few hundred k of hard drive space.

-- consider a LCD monitor instead of a projector if $$$ is an issue.

-- you need, at most, 1 fork, 1 spoon, and 1 knife. same for plates, bowls, glasses.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 7:24 AM on February 28 [1 favorite]

I moved across the country in my Honda accord last year. And yeah, there aren't many tricks, you do just sort of have to ruthelessly get rid of stuff. I would stop looking at what's 'useful' and considering what's 'replaceable'.

Clothes? Shoes? That stuff I hung on to, since building up a good wardrobe takes luck and time.

But a vacuum? Toss it.
Kitchen appliances? Toss them.
Plates/glasses? Let them go.
Pillows and sheets? Pillows take up lots of space and are really easy to replace.

Other than that, I would consider shipping a few boxes - books/movies/video games/any media can be sent via USPS media mail, which is way cheap, and can free up alot of space in your car.
posted by lastyearsfad at 7:43 AM on February 28

I don't know what type of boards games you're into, but a Eureka moment for me was realizing that I only needed one set of dice and game pieces for all mine. Put that set in a baggie. Instructions can be memorized (and are often online, anyway), and the actual boards fold flat of course. Toss the boxes and all the packaging bulky "organizing" cardboard inserts.

And if for some reason you don't want to stuff your clothes into both your suitcases, you might think of stuffing some into the smaller of the two suitcases and putting that one in the larger.

Also consider using less important clothes as packing material for things like dishes and to generally fill out the crevices in boxes. Socks, underwear, and t-shirts can be stuffed into shoes, mugs, and a number of other things.
posted by aswego at 8:02 AM on February 28

you need, at most, 1 fork, 1 spoon, and 1 knife. same for plates, bowls, glasses.

Unless you want to have friends/a date over. Better make it two of each.
posted by JDHarper at 8:06 AM on February 28

2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner is a really bad call. I don't understand why you'dconsign yourself to a lifetime of suboptimal hair just to to take one additional trip in a car, or pay for shipping, w/e.

Are you seriously anticipating having your car so packed that it can't fit a single bottle of conditioner? You're being logical, but you're not being reasonable.
posted by 1 at 8:08 AM on February 28

2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner is a really bad call.

Depends on his hair. For some people, sure, 2 in 1 doesn't do the job. For me, it makes no difference. So not only is it logical and reasonable it saves money.
posted by justgary at 8:40 AM on February 28

I saw a house tidying system on the TV a while back. You go through all your stuff and divide it into 4 categories:

1. "Good", stuff that you use a lot (kettle, toaster, road map)
2. "Bad", things are broken, don't work and you've been meaning to repair (jeans with broken zip, spare-spare crockery, blunt scissors)
3. "Happy", things that have happy feeling associated with them (family photos, yearbooks, etc)
4. "Sad", unhappy-associated items (pictures of your ex, broken toys, etc)

Then you keep the Good and Happy items and throw away the Sad and Bad items. It's one way to get rid of crap and save space.

I also recently moved to Canada and whilst going through my stuff I ended up boxing up about 1/3 of my stuff for storage, keeping 1/3 to take with me and giving the other 1/3 away to charity. I never realised how much stuff that I had but I just hadn't touched in years, so the decision was made to get rid of it. Now I've only got clothes that I really like to wear and I don't have tons of crap littering the house. You just have to be practical about what you want to keep and not sentimental about it (especially if it fits into the "bad" category).
posted by gaby at 8:51 AM on February 28 [1 favorite]

Nth the Space Bags- clothes can be the bulkiest things you own, especially if you have any heavy coats, and you can shrink them to a fraction of the size. The same goes for pillows. I wouldn't be so quick to thrown out lamps and kitchen appliances, though. Unless you plan to be on the move near constantly, it will be worth your time and money to pack effectively and keep this kind of stuff until it breaks. The same goes for earlier advice about getting rid of, say, a tote bag. Better to use containers than to get rid of them. Worse comes to worse, you could always buy a storage device for your roof rack.
posted by farishta at 8:55 AM on February 28

My trick for getting rid of things with sentimental value is to ask if I will remember that I did event x without it. If I will remember, I throw it out. If I won't, I keep it or (if I am in your shoes) take a picture.

As for getting rid of stuff, after tossing or using in a dual role the obvious things that everyone has mentioned (dish soap, cheap things, pillows), I would adjust my mindset. Instead of thinking, "I'm moving out and I'm going to live permanently in a new place," I would imagine that I was moving out just for a while. When I move out to college or for the summer, I only take the things that I know I will need and use often. When I come back to my parent's house, I'm always surprised by the things I left behind and forgot about.

Another thing I would try, if I had time, would be to pack away everything but the things I would need for, say, a week, and then see if I could survive on it. When I was done, I might have more clarity - I'd know what I actually used and what I missed.

(5 boxes of clothes would be excessive for me. Shoes can be tucked in with other stuff. Toilitries could be put into travel-sized containers from Target. Having both cups and glasses is redundant.)
posted by ramenopres at 9:33 AM on February 28

By toss, I'm sure everyone means post a for free on craigslist.
posted by ngn01 at 10:02 AM on February 28 [2 favorites]

Isn't there a way to store games on the xbox? If so, you can do that, and sell the games. Saves you a LITTLE space.

Go through the clothes again...see what you NEED and what you never wear. I just did that, saved a WHOLE bunch of space.
posted by hal_c_on at 10:25 AM on February 28

By toss, I'm sure everyone means post a for free on craigslist.

Or your local Freecycle.
posted by regicide is good for you at 10:35 AM on February 28

A few months ago I moved across the country... in my Corolla.

Take a day or two to really notice everything you touch/play with on a daily basis. The rest of the stuff - you really can live without. For me... the list was tiny. Toiletries, clothes, computer (and peripherals!).

Then I got rid of everything else. I made a few exceptions for stuff that really was tiny (I kept an ice-cream scoop and egg slicer. I haven't used either in 6 months, and now I think I didn't even need to bring those.) and confined myself to one box of books/dvds/videogames. Brought my comforter b/c it was expensive, dammit.

And that's pretty much all I brought with me. When I got to my new residence, I picked up a full-sized bed from Craig's list ($80!) and a desk and some lamps from IKEA. Ding! Done.

Sentimental stuff: Be zen. Live in the here and now. Chunk it all.

(Alternately, put it all in a box, give to a friend, realize after 2 weeks that you are at peace even without all the trinkets you considered essential.)

It's an awesome, liberating feeling to basically own nothing. Think of it as an adventure!
posted by reebear at 12:06 PM on February 28

Thanks for all the great responses.

I'll be doing some of these immediately: vacuum sealing and/or roomba (I have never heard of this before) and condensing the board games. I'll convert as much of my boxed stuff to bagged stuff as I can.

I might have accidentally phrased it like "what do I toss for my future move?" rather than "what do I toss to fit everything into my car and still live normally?" My goal is to reduce the size of my stuff, so what I don't want to do is chuck stuff le toilettries and then rebuy.
posted by lpctstr; at 12:48 PM on February 28

Roombas are great, but they also cost $300-400. Which, for most people, is a LOT of money for a vacuum.
posted by Jemstar at 1:28 PM on February 28

Instead of re-purchasing things that won't fit in a Corolla, you could go the other way: buy enough moving boxes (<>
Taking many trips (down the stairs, up the stairs, down the elevator, up the elevator, back and forth in the car) sucks. But taking many trips is not the same thing as moving many objects.
posted by hAndrew at 6:22 PM on February 28

I just moved most of what I own across the country in a Corolla. I took a rather extreme approach, but you could find that this works for you. Oh, I also, I kept a bunch of crap at my parents' house on the east coast. Don't know if you have storage options, but I would have been okay with tossing some of what I left behind or stuffing it into my backseat (and thus rendering my rearview mirror useless).

I left all furniture. I took one box of kitchen stuff/cookware/flatware/glasses.

Things to consider dropping and finding anew on craigslist if you're making a big move:

Lamps. Appliances. Vacuum cleaner. Many toiletries/shower curtain (keep what you need, but try to cut down on having so much extra). I left most of my toys behind, but kept a few that I really liked. Good call on leaving the TV, it takes up way too much space. I just found one that's comparable to what I left behind for 30 bucks on craigslist.

Also, try to ditch the clothes that you never wear. I have a lot of trouble with this, but be honest with yourself when you do it. A lot of people have shirts/pants that they own and always see, but never actually wear.
posted by MidAtlantic at 9:23 PM on February 28

Buy a swag and a decent pillow and get rid of the rest of your furniture. Cook everything in a non-stick rice or slow cooker and eat from it using the plastic spoon thingy that came with it. Buy a laptop with a wireless connection and TV tuner. Now you can sleep, eat and play for the rest of your life with just three things.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 3:38 AM on February 29

(Incidentally, my wife and I actually lived like this for a while when we were at uni. We lived in a hotel room, paying a cheap weekly rate, cooked our food on electric barbecues in the park and kept it in the mini-fridge, read books from the library, went for walks, rode our bikes or watched the room's TV. Everything else we owned - which was just clothes and toiletries - fit in two stripey plastic bag thingies from a $2 shop. Eventually, we upgraded to a single electric hotplate and a cheap carbon steel wok, and cooked in our hotel room. We could still fit everything we owned on the back racks of our pushbikes. Good times.)
posted by obiwanwasabi at 3:42 AM on February 29

FWIW, I have moved everything I own in a Corolla.
Other people have done well on the 'stuff' aspect, I'll touch on the packing aspect.

Stop looking at your boxes and start looking at the space in your car. I packed everything in those TJ paper bags because they were easily moldable to the space of the trunk, to themselves, and were small enough that I could easily carry them by myself.
Forget those vacuum bags, they're helpful, but heavy-duty trash bags work just as well.
posted by lilithim at 11:02 AM on February 29

Check out unclutterer for good tips and links to other similar sites.
posted by attercoppe at 10:23 AM on March 7