Welcome to Episode 1 of our downsizing journey! I'm walking you through every room of our home before the big declutter begins - the good, the bad, and the craft room.
If you've ever looked around your house and thought "how did we accumulate ALL of this?"... welcome! You are in the right place.
This is our home. We've lived here for 10 years, loved every inch of it, and now we are leaving it behind to downsize from 3,300 square feet to under 1,500. That means getting rid of - deep breath - 90% of our belongings.
My husband Johnny came up with the 90% rule. And the more time I spend walking through these rooms with fresh eyes, the more I think he's right.
Let me take you on the tour....
Video Walkthrough of the "Before Times"
The Garage: Baby Stuff, Woodworking, and a Lot of Honesty
We have a three-car garage, which sounds luxurious until you realize it's basically become a storage unit we park in. There's baby gear, strollers, and then Johnny's entire woodworking setup taking up a significant chunk of real estate. There's a big storage area in the back that - I'll be honest - I'm not sure we've touched in years.
I did do a big clean-out recently, so my section is looking better. But if I'm calling a spade a spade? A good half of this garage could probably just go!
The Front Room: The Beagle Couch and Suki
This room has a sweet little girl area, a couch we've had since Colorado (Suki has claimed it), and a couple of dressers. The blue dresser is coming with us. The other one? No.
This space also has what I lovingly call the junk collecting area - a dresser that is definitely not making the move, some old bookcases from when my office used to live here, my son's weightlifting setup, and a white cupboard that I adore the look of but is frankly too shallow to hold anything useful.
And then there's the desk. A hand-painted desk done by an actual artist. It's beautiful. It is also not coming with us, and that one stings a little!
Johnny's Office: The Minimalist in His Natural Habitat
Johnny has a standing desk and a beautiful set of bookshelves he built himself. That's basically it. The man has stuff but not nearly the stuff I have, and I say that with full love and zero resentment.
The bookshelves will likely stay with the house. The standing desk is probably coming.
The Primary Bedroom: Bigger Than Some Apartments
This room is about 20 feet long. It is, genuinely, bigger than some apartments I've seen listed. My side has stuff. Johnny's side has nothing. This tells you everything you need to know about us as people.
The dresser I refinished and wax painted is coming with us - it's going to hold the TV in the new place. Some of the Halloween decor will have to go. The wrapping paper situation needs addressing. And my lovely chair - we'll see (I am thinking about getting a new one... this one is 10 years old and a little worse for wear!)
The Walk-In Closet: A Tale of Two Wardrobes
I have a giant walk-in closet. The clothes I actually wear live near the front. The clothes I hardly ever wear anymore live in the back, which - if you think about it - is the closet's way of telling me exactly what to donate!
The dresser in the closet is not coming. Some of the cubbies probably will. And Kitty made a cameo. She did not sign the waiver!
The Kitchen: We Are Now Appliance People
Once upon a time, Johnny and I were staunchly anti-appliance. Minimalist kitchen people. And then... we got them all. Every single one. So that's going to require some honest conversations about which appliances actually earn their counter space in a smaller kitchen.
I love my Christmas alligator and he is coming with me. The rest of the Christmas kitchen stuff? Probably not.
The Dining and Living Room: The 20-Year Table
We have a tall table we've had for about 20 years. Love it, but it's going - we need something shorter so we can seat more people in a smaller space.
There's a gorgeous bookcase, some shelving loaded with stuff, the fire lamp that was my mom's (that one is absolutely coming), and at least one very elderly dog making an appearance.
The Upstairs Storage Room
Kids' stuff. Lots of it. Not a lot of it coming with us. This is going to be one of the easier rooms to clear out, honestly - when it's been in storage this long, the decision usually makes itself.
The Giant Closet of Mystery
There is a closet in this house that is 20 feet long. Twenty feet. And it is full of things I haven't touched in a very long time. This is going to be a prime 90%-goes zone. I can feel it!
The Craft Room: My Biggest Challenge
Okay. Let's talk about the craft room.
This is the area I'm going to have to be the most ruthless about, and I already know it. I'm aiming to get rid of at least 50% - and I'm going to try to push past that. There's a lifetime of collected supplies in here: painting stuff, fabric supplies I always think I'm going to use but never do, ribbons, ephemera, and more.
Here's my honest self-assessment: I am a paper crafter. That is what I actually do. Everything else is aspirational. And aspirational crafts are going to need to find a new home.
My plan is to curate flat-rate boxes of supplies and sell them to my crafting community - so if you're interested in getting some great supplies at a great price, stay tuned!
So. Where Are We Starting?
Everywhere, a little bit at a time. But the plan is to start with the quick wins - the spaces that are least emotional, least complicated - and build momentum toward the bigger decisions.
If you're on a similar journey, I would love to hear from you [email protected]. What's the hardest room for you to tackle? What have you already let go of that surprised you?
This is just the beginning. Subscribe so you don't miss a single step!
Next up: Invite your bossy Irish Realtor in to tell you what you need to do!
