Making a big life decision. We’re embracing minimalism, downsizing our 2400 sqft house and will be moving into 1600 sqft. This change has happened upon me and the family very quickly. Over the past few months I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos about downsizing and minimalism, and organization tips and tricks, laced with ideas for redecorating our house. The universe must have been listening… and although I was hoping to do a moderate cleanup and tip my toes into the minimalism pool, I’m now jumping into the deep end. We have less than 20 days before our BIG move to a smaller house. Wish me luck!
During the month of August I’ve been negotiating our monthly rent and leasing options.
Here in Austin, TX, rental rates are on the rise. It’s ridiculously expensive to live here, but living in a capital city with all it has to offer both the good and the bad… we’re not quite ready to relocate just yet. Austin is great for tech, has a lot of creature comforts. One of those being cookie delivery from Tiff’s Treats… I mean why would I want to leave a city that offers freshly baked warm cookies to my doorstep? I don’t, not just yet.
We currently live in the suburbs in Austin, and life here in the suburbs is quite nice. It suits our family at the time present. Things are fairly convenient, HOA keeps the neighborhood looking nice, and the surrounding amenities are an added plus for remaining where we are. We’re in a 2400 sqft house, so we have quite a bit of room for the 3 of us. Hubs has an office which is necessary since he works from home. We have a dedicated school room. Our garage is large enough for holiday stuff and to park both our vehicles. There’s even room enough for maybe a new dog soon? MAYBE… I’m still thinking that decision through.
However at renewal, our rent went up $450 a month. I was shook! I managed to negotiate with the homeowner and property management company a $300 increase per month, and asked for a 1 or 2 year lease term. JUST before our lease was to be renewed at the 30 day mark, we got the new lease with only an 8 month term. Of course I knew exactly what they were wanting… more money in 8 months. Now, we’ve been great tenants. Took care of the place like it was our own. And well, that just doesn’t matter, it’s all about the dollars and cents. Read that in the new lease term agreement loud and clear.
So I mentioned this to a friend. She hopped online, and through one of her FB groups she found someone that had a place that JUST found out her tenants have to move, and has a house that will be available in 25 days. We got the owner’s info and I texted her the next day. Thankfully the current tenant was nice enough to allow us access to walk through the place, to see the floorpan and see the inside of the house. Don’t worry, I gave her a Starbucks gift card so she could grab coffee and snacks for herself and the kids! 😉
So the house is cozy. Has a bit of weird of feng shui but I think we can make it work. OH! and did I mention that it’s only 1600sqft. Yeah, we’re downsizing. I’m embracing minimalism! HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA
Yeah, that’s the sound of laughter, my cackling, my giggle that really means: Oh Universe, you listen, but have extremely ironic timing.
So yeah, we’re loosing 800 sqft. This mean no more jenden, no more school lounge, we’ll be down 3 closets. Rooms in the new house are a bit smaller… BUT- rent will be a bit less expensive than what our updated rent would have been. We’l still be in a great neighborhood, and our new landlord seems really nice.
We’re currently boxing things up. And letting some stuff go. The lady at the donation station and I have become friendly. I’m there 3-4 days a week dropping 2-3 bags of home decor, clothes, electronics… I mean, we really don’t have that much stuff… but we have a lot of unnecessary things that honestly, we just need to get rid of.
Letting go is tough, because I’m always looking at stuff and thinking, I have space to hold onto that thing, and I might need that thing for a time or place in the future. However now I won’t have the actual physical space to hold onto some of the “I might need that down the road” stuff. I’m putting stuff in a black garbage bag, because out of sight, out of mind. I go to the donation station every other day with more stuff that I know I really don’t need. I stilll have a lot of stuff that will need to be moved. And on that note, I need to get back to packing stuff up! There’s much to do and less than 20 days to get it all packed and ready.