28 days remain before I vacate my apartment of close to 5 years. I felt a taste of impending freedom when I turned in my last rent check, and after much debate, reserved a storage unit through Extra Space.
Initially, I had settled on a 5'x5' climate-controlled space, however my Dad had recently put the idea in my head that I should keep my queen-size Sealy mattress and box spring (bought new less than 10 months ago). Perhaps it was thinking about whether to keep them, while comfortably laying on them each night, that did me in. At any rate, there was only a $17/month difference between the 5'x5' and 10'x5' units, so after a few quick calculations, I doubled my order to 50 square feet.
The space will cost me $90/month, however by signing a 12-month lease and paying up front, I can get the first 2 months free. Total cost for the first year is then $900.
My friend Phil has graciously agreed to store my kitchen table/chairs (which was a gift from my parents) and leather love seat in his basement. My parent's expressed an interest in my TV (also a gift from them), which makes for one less thing to sell. I put my headboard (sorry mom) up for sale on Craig's List and had 3 responses within the first 30 minutes, so there's certainly a feisty group of shoppers out there. No such luck with my carpet steam cleaner!
Laura says
I'm in the midst of the same process... I have a storage closet and am trying to minimize, if not completely eliminate, my need for it. I use Craisglist to sell stuff. I also have TONS of things I couldn't conceive of asking money for but I don't want to toss them into a landfill. That's where freecycle.org comes in handy. I'm sure there's a group in your DC 'hood. I got rid of so much over the past few days -- it feels great. I actually created a website which lists my offerings which I update daily. I've even created a database to track my items and the 100 interested recipients! And it's amazing how wonderful most of the FreeCylclers are. True, I had to add a "Flaked?" flag to my database for an individual or two who either didn't show up or didn't respond to me in a timely fashion, but overall, it has been a wonderful community to interact with. I got GREAT travel tips from one couple, blessings in the name of Gaia from a single mother -- it's pretty cool. But I have much more to go. Materialism has a way of catching up with you and causing complications!
Funny -- your carpet steam cleaner would go great with the rugs I'm trying to get rid of! They are in dire need of heavy-duty cleaning, as I've warned people.
Good luck!
Dave says
Thanks for the tip Laura. I'd heard of FreeCycling, however hadn't looked into it. I just signed up for the Arlington, VA group per your suggestion.
One of the reasons I kept a small apartment was to ensure I didn't collect a lot of stuff while saving for my trip.
I had been thinking of adding a "garage sale" page to my website, or creating a set on Flickr to showcase my stuff, however I'm starting to feel good about skipping that step altogether, except for maybe my car.
The Salvation Army has been the recipient of all my unused clothes.
Laura says
I'm in the midst of the same process... I have a storage closet and am trying to minimize, if not completely eliminate, my need for it. I use Craisglist to sell stuff. I also have TONS of things I couldn't conceive of asking money for but I don't want to toss them into a landfill. That's where freecycle.org comes in handy. I'm sure there's a group in your DC 'hood. I got rid of so much over the past few days -- it feels great. I actually created a website which lists my offerings which I update daily. I've even created a database to track my items and the 100 interested recipients! And it's amazing how wonderful most of the FreeCylclers are. True, I had to add a "Flaked?" flag to my database for an individual or two who either didn't show up or didn't respond to me in a timely fashion, but overall, it has been a wonderful community to interact with. I got GREAT travel tips from one couple, blessings in the name of Gaia from a single mother -- it's pretty cool. But I have much more to go. Materialism has a way of catching up with you and causing complications!
Funny -- your carpet steam cleaner would go great with the rugs I'm trying to get rid of! They are in dire need of heavy-duty cleaning, as I've warned people.
Good luck!
Dave says
Thanks for the tip Laura. I'd heard of FreeCycling, however hadn't looked into it. I just signed up for the Arlington, VA group per your suggestion.
One of the reasons I kept a small apartment was to ensure I didn't collect a lot of stuff while saving for my trip.
I had been thinking of adding a "garage sale" page to my website, or creating a set on Flickr to showcase my stuff, however I'm starting to feel good about skipping that step altogether, except for maybe my car.
The Salvation Army has been the recipient of all my unused clothes.
Dan says
Man your getting close now, I'm getting excited for you. I'm really starting to go nuts now, 11 months just seems to far away for me.
Dave says
It's funny how I use to say the same thing to others posting on BootsnAll when they were close to departure! I'm really trying to enjoy this feeling after working so hard to get to this point. :)
:smile:
Dan says
Man your getting close now, I'm getting excited for you. I'm really starting to go nuts now, 11 months just seems to far away for me.
Dave says
It's funny how I use to say the same thing to others posting on BootsnAll when they were close to departure! I'm really trying to enjoy this feeling after working so hard to get to this point. :)
:smile:
Abercrombie Online says
everyone. Only a quick note. When youve seen your recent floods and wish to help, please go to RedCross.org. They need donations and volunteers.