Pack and move it, or sell it all and buy new?
 

Question: When contemplating a move to Lower Paradise, is it better to plan to pack and move every stick of furniture that you own, or sell all/most of it and buy new when you get there?

I've heard that "it's easier to pack a checkbook than a moving van...". :)

The last time we moved to Florida we sold all of our northern furniture at an auction and only packed up the personal items as Mayflower Movers charged by the pound as do they all............we rebought all new furniture, etc. to fit the place we purchased, a condo on the beach.

With the thought of it looming "to do it all over again" I would still do the same thing..........unless you are very attached to your furniture. Most recently we even replaced many things, so we'd be re selling fairly new items.
But, not all northern furniture goes well with the Florida decor. Good Luck.

Sell, give away, throw away and buy new. We DID NOT and what a mess. Seems that everyone brings to much and ends up tossing it anyway. Better NOT to pay for moving stuff that you are going to have to toss.

We brought our bed - bought a new mattress set.

China cabinet was also brought with us.

That's all for furniture.


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So true. Everyone accumulates so many things over the years, even if they had downsized in the past, it all seems to accumulate again, thanks to grandchildren, etc. We had asked our adult children to take whatever they wanted of their childhood toys, etc. before disposing of the rest, and now we have all "new stuff" back again so they can play while visiting......I can't believe it's all back again. We all have to much stuff so better to either avoid the clutter in the first place or downsize before moving to TV.

p.s. WE used to have a huge collection of books that we would pack up each time we moved.
Now, I've given away most of them and we are using our Kindles. Less is more.

We also just bought in the Villages-we are going to bring almost nothing from our home up north. It is a great time to downsize poccessions and truly get a fresh start. I have seen too many homes with furniture that does not fit into the Florida style.

Donated what we had to a christian furniture outlet and started new here. Worked best for us.

Buy new, here. Don't take this personally, but often, the furniture and accessories people bring from their past life says "Grannyville" or "Old People".

It can't say but so old...I'm only 45! Though I do have to admit to owning an early 20th century bedroom suit that was mine as a child -- my grandmother's first purchase when she graduated teachers' college in Farmville -- which is currently sporting a lovely brand new teal silk comforter ensemble embroidered with peacock feathers.

But seriously...I get that the traditional southern "sitting room" is a no-no, but what else won't fly in decor de Florida? (Somebody PLEASE tell me Disney cels are allowed...I've been collecting for years)

I've envisioned something between a Victorian beach cottage in Nags Head and a Spanish villa, with a little Margaritaville thrown in for good measure. Am I close? If this is indeed the case, my packing list will be short (bedroom suit, Tiffany light fixture, Disney stuff, flat-screen tv...and a toothbrush)! :thumbup:

Now all I need to do is get the hubs down for a lifestyle visit and pick out a CYV! Easy, right?:pray:

We used PODS and only brought mostly personal stuff since we bought our house here 2 years before we moved in and it was rented out some times, so it had to be furnished . Just didn't figure we'd want or need any of our old stuff.
That being said, it ended up we wish we had brought some of our favorite pieces. I had a leather wing back with ottoman. Loved it! Didnt' think I'd like leather but now I own a leather Stressless recliner. Don't get me wrong - love the Stressless but......
Also outfitted the home with king size bed and 'adequate' bedroom set. Now I know both of us wish we brought our Thomasville French Provincial set.

So if you REALLY like something, bring it.

I also think it is easier to resell things here for greater value than up north.

:welcome:

mrs:

This is, of course, a very personal decision. Particularly for such a youngster as you! :D

When I came six years ago, I did bring most of my "up north" furniture because I'd been living with it for more than 40 years and it was comfortable. And, I must admit to having thought about what my late wife would have done, and knew that her "treasures" would come to Florida, too!

I still have that old stuff. My antiques-savvy niece says most of it is indeed antique and worth good money. Since my daughters didn't want any of it when I moved, I'm betting that they'll enjoy the money it'll bring when I'm gone!

The fact that my living room and dining room furniture doesn't meet "Florida lifestyle guidelines" bothers me not one whit! :D

From a purely practical point of view, moving lots of furniture may conceivably cost you more than buying new!

Welcome to TOTV. Enjoy!

SWR
:beer3:

Home Organizer?
 

Leave it or Pack it - just wondering if hiring a Professional Home Organizer would be easier.

We are moving to TV in three weeks, and we are moving internationally. Because of the high price of the move we are only brining our art collection and a few sentimental furniture items. The boss is SO excited about going new furniture shopping!

We brought some furniture, but mostly the pieces we had commissioned in New Mexico. I debated leaving it, but I won over myself and we brought it. The only oldish thing that is bordering on grannyish is the bedroom set. Other pieces are family pieces I could not bear to leave. But we got rid of sofas, bookcases (the lord blesses kindles!), shelving units, breakfronts, filing cabinets, etc. That said, I am glad we brought the furniture that we did, but oh my gosh, did we bring too much STUFF. STUFF of every kind that now when I unpack it, I look at it and think...WHY did I just pay to ship this thing? The house is almost full and we probably have 80 boxes in the garage. I think that although there was much joy in coming here, there was a sense of seperation and loss as well. Sometimes a gal just needs her things around to ground her in this transition. That is my story and I am going to stick with it (just in case hubby reads this)....You can always get rid of things later, but you can not get them back..if there is something you love, bring it and who the heck cares if it is Florida life style appropriate?

We brought many things with us even after downsizing our possessions. Had our house for a bit and knew the dimensions of each room so we knew what was going to fit, what wasn't needed. Many of the furniture pieces we brought were fairly new and the style we enjoy.

Once here, we bought a few new pieces to fill in the empty spaces. We have also replaced a few things since moving, but our "discards" were eagerly accepted by our son and his family.

If you know what size house you have and think you like the "style" of furniture you have, then bring what you want. If you want to start over, buy new, but do realize that some things might take a little while to be delivered. Either way, setting up a new household is lots of work, but it's FUN!

Every thing in our TV house is new (or at least new to us:)). We are packing only personal items and some tools and garden stuff. We should fit it all in one, no more than two, ABF relo crates.

It was time for a change anyway.

At this point I am bringing very little furniture when I move. A twin bed that will go in guest room so I at least have a bed to sleep on till I find a new bedroom set for my self, my sewing and craft room furniture and supplies, small kitchen appliances like my toaster and coffee pot, and yes I will be bringing books and a book shelf or two. Other than that all will be "new to me". I keep watching all the furniture for sale through TOTV here and figure I can furnish my house that way if I can't afford new. I'm hoping what I bring will fit into a rented U-Haul that my two sons and Daughter-in law say they will drive down for me. Now I just need a date and a home to rent for my first year in TV.....oops I suppose I should dispose of house here in MD first huh.....shucks!

declutter your life and mind
 

We sold or donated most of our "stuff." One of the first things to go was a big old collection of silver, crystal, and antique china. I was tired of polishing and hand washing. I did not want to do that in my new life. Rather than taking what I thought I loved, I tried to visualize where it would go in our new home.

It was fun when we got down here last July to find treasures to feather our new nest, kind of like we did as newly weds. In retrospect, I did regret getting rid of a few things, and some of the things I brought did not fit.

We also really purged our clothes. Life down here is just different. The suits, heels, and fancy things are gone. My husband, who always dressed beautifully for work, actually forgot for a moment, how to tie a tie when we went to a wedding!

Mayflower charged us .50 a pound to move. I would hold something and ask myself if it was worth that .50 a pound. If it cost $5.00 to move and $3 to replace, it was gone. Have fun with your move. Try to breathe, and enjoy this new exciting adventure. Be sure to check out the "nuts and Bolts" section of totv qwhich has lots of helful info for newbies.

I didn't know you had a choice. My wife told me there was a rule against bringing furniture from the North. You had to buy all new from Southern Lifestyles.

Funny "under55"! :D I was truly tired of our old stuff and was happy that the nice young couple that bought our house needed "stuff" and was tickled to get ours! I kept justifying that we might buy "turnkey" anyway so we moved everything we couldn't part with in a 16' POD. Just that was almost $3,000 and a lot of it wasn't worth it but it was things I didn't feel like I could do without!

Guess what? We did buy a furnished villa and after closing and taking another look I got rid of all that "stuff" too and bought new at Showcase Direct. That was delivered today and it feels so good to have all new, clean smelling "stuff". With no little ones to jump on it and considering our ages I didn't feel like I had to look for the best quality "stuff" and we are hoping it will last as long as we do!

Whatever you decide, you will be happy to be here! Welcome:highfive:

You didn't get the memo? :D:D:D

Southern Lifestyles closed?


We bought the mattress set and a loveseat on sale from JC Penney in Calif and it was delivered free from their warehouse somewhere in Georgia. They make one run in this area a month. Same stuff in Southern Livestyles cost twice as much (I checked - they said that their policy of beating any price only applied to local stores).


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Boy, did YOU get hornswoggled!! :thumbup: Ha-ha!! But you're probably best to not tell her you've uncovered her "game". "If the wife's happy, then I'm happy" - that's the way things work best around our place!! :pepper2:

Bill :)

I'm pretty sure that's true... *looking around* Can hubby see this???

notice how many resell shops in the area,
from all the extra furniture and items that people have paid to transport to TV.
we found great items at showcase direct and free delivery and set up.
once you have a feel for your new house, you can choose the furniture instead of trying to make items "work".

Amazing
 

She even made me think it was my idea. :confused:

Just sell and save the money on the moving van to buy new here. Happy wife, happy life!!!!!!!!!!

Listen to your wife.

"Happy wife.....Happy life!!!!!"

thanks for your ideas on this ....
 

I was just thinking about this topic again the other day. Would love to buy new some day but new is so expensive too and some not as good a quality. My furniture is not too old but think I want to change the colors etc. One thing I know I will bring down is our tempurpedic mattress!!! It's not too old but what a life saver. Now if only I could get my husband to realize the importance of buying new.... :)

Also what happens to all the furniture that is included in a 'furniture available separatley" resale home if the buyer does not want it ??? Garage sale, Craigs list, bargain resale stores? I have seen it all but wonder how many of these are truely a good purchase?

under55, remember the golden rule . . . happy wife = happy life! :wave:

ilovetv -- oops I just duplicated your post! See what happens when I stay up past my bedtime :).

Wow. Thanks, everybody, for your opinions and advice. We certainly have a lot to think about as we work toward becoming full-time Floridians in the next few years...but I'm going to continue scaling back a little bit at a time (just in case).

:wave:

Sure wish my ex-hubby felt that way.....:(...his motto was "my way or the highway". Then he took the highway......
Suzanne

Wish we had packed
 

our underwear only (and may have left some of that in NC also, giggle) but we brought tons of stuff here and then dumped the majority of it in the driveway to be hauled away by the very guy that moved us here, that was dumb, Huh?.....Word to the wise, more than likely you are starting a new life, why not start from scratch.....Bet this home style will be totally different....Of course bring anything that is sentimental but more than that enjoy, enjoy, enjoy the journey and hurry on down to paradise!

I just joined the forum today and so glad I did. My wife and I are in the process of getting our house ready for sale so we can move to The Villages, and I have been thinking about whether to move our furniture or buy new. You guys have been a big help, we will buy when we get there.

ghenley -- Welcome to TOTV. Keep reading and keep posting and you will learn a lot about living in The Villages. :welcome:

If you do use a moving company to bring your things anywhere make sure you take the time to take pictures of what you are sending. If you pack any bins yourself label and put your name on them, put duct tape around them and number them. We just had the move from **^%#. Some of our furniture arrived wet and warped, glass table top broken, damp rugs and missing parts to some items. Some of our boxes even had grass stain on them.

Move or not to move - furniture
 

If the pieces have special meaning and you would always look for that item, then I would say keep it, or take a picture of it and put it in a special photo album if it wouldn't make the move.

Antiques - some peoples lifestyles are to be on the fly and not worry about keeping the dust bunnies at bay. That seems to be the lifestyle of TV. Antiques need care, they don't usually like humidity, and cleaning them can become a chore.

Please - decide if you would wish to go shopping for something brand new to you - that you would have to 'break in'. Is shopping fun for you? Then just bring your photos and toothbrush - shoot - we've got Walgreen's down here and you can buy a new toothbrush.

BUT - if you detest any type of shopping and you aren't looking to have a home where you want a designer to salivate but you are comfortable, then perhaps the less stress of shipping your present furniture is more inviting.

MANY people move down here with their 'treasures' and decide they want a change, there is not enough room, or they just couldn't choose at that time. Then they put their items into storage and make the decision later. That costs for the moving and for the storage. BUT you are able to postpone the big decision until you decide what lifestyle you will have and sometimes with a small budget you can replace a piece at a time......

My brain hurts - too much thinking for a Friday afternoon - Hope this helped!

One suggestion - important - when packing up boxes, make a list of EVERYTHING in the box and then number the box. - Make a copy of the list and mail it to a neighbor or friend in case you lose your copy. In numbering the boxes, you may then A.) re-use the box in the future for anything; B.) YOU know what's in the box and no one else will; C.) You will know which boxes you will need immediately as they will be a higher number! teehee!:highfive::thumbup:

I love my house here, but it is not meant for storage. Since we had so much "stuff" to move, I used the old 5 second rule. If I couldn't figure out where to use it or store it, it went into the donate,sell, or trash pile. It's been 5 years now and I don't regret taking so little from up north and bringing it here. I brought my bar because I couldn't find another like it. Brought some clothes and my Oral B and that was it. Oh, yeah, I brought Mr. Mac9 too!

I know when my wife were down in June looking at homes, the real estate agent mention I believe I am correct that the Villages will line up movers for you. Is this correct? And has anyone used this service?