[Ohiogirl]

We moved our 2nd truckload down in September. Now back in Ohio until early November. Had it has a rental for 4 plus years, now going to be snowbirds. I am not recommending doing this twice, but for us, it made sense (I think).

We did end up with some extra "stuff" that we donated to Habitat for Humanity. My advice would be to maybe leave it (the extra stuff) in the garage for a week to make sure you're not going to use it, then get rid of it. I've met a large # of people who either rent storage space or stack it in their 3rd bedroom/den or in the garage - sometimes for years. Why? The house is not going to get bigger or grow a basement. I agree with the purge, purge, purge advice, but almost everyone will move some stuff they think they might need and don't, or that they think their children will surely want (most of them don't).

Even if you're one of those Villagers (heaven help me if I am) who moves 3 times, you are likely not going to use this stuff in the next house, either. And if you can move 3 times, you can probably afford to buy a few new things anyway.

What really helped in our move was having the closets customized BEFORE the move. It was amazing how things fit with this being done ahead of time.

We still have a short list of things to do once we get back, but thankfully it's very short. It did help to have visited many times to see how we live differently in Florida, and it probably did help that I have moved quite a bit over the years, and much as I hate to admit it, it also helped that Ohioboy was absolutely driven to unpack and get everything set up in a very short time, although it is true we already had the place pretty much furnished.

Our 2nd move was probably akin to buying a furnished place. Some stuff that was in it when a rental was not stuff we wanted to keep once there. There were certain pieces/family heirlooms that we didn't move down for use as a rental. But mostly, it was "stuff." Clothes, more kitchen stuff, hobby stuff, etc. A pretty good truckload, though.

We actually still have some space in the kitchen and the master bedroom closet, although I'm sure not for long. I think it's an unwritten rule that most of us expand to fill our space, no matter how big.

Anyway - if you possibly can, customize your closets yourself or have it done before you do anything else. We still have to take out one of the pull-out shelves in the kitchen (tiny 10 inch cabinet between the fridge and range - should have been made into a tray cabinet) but are really glad we sprung for the closets.