'Downsizing'

Downsizing is typically what people do when they retire, start worrying about their money running out before they die, and then try to lower their outgoings.  I could be mistaken, but one of my dad's favourite pastimes is 'downsizing'.  Or, more accurately, putting absolutely everything on a graph/flow chart/spreadsheet and analysing the shit out of it, trying to find out how to make things more efficient.

I share this passion, but sadly lack the ongoing commitment for it to actually make much of a difference in the long run.  That's probably why my savings account grows at the rate of a 20 year old tree; steadily, but not noticeably.  I have, however, been trying to stay more on top of things recently.  I've shopped around for a better mobile phone contract, cancelled direct debits for things I don't really need, and pretty much abandoned any hope of being considered 'stylish' thanks to wearing the same 5 outfits on rotations, threadbare or not.

While I've been de-cluttering my finances, I've also been trying to de-clutter my apartment.  Reasons for this include:

• I can potentially make a little (definitely not a lot) of money by selling things I no longer need/use on eBay.
• There will be less shit to have to move when I sell my apartment/move into a new place.
• There will be somewhere for me to put the storage heater that currently lives on my living room floor.

While I have been soldiering on with this task for the last week, sadly it remains true that things start looking worse before they start looking better.  I currently feel claustrophobic in my normally roomy living room thanks to the contents of the storage cupboard being strewn across every possible surface for me to photograph/diligently check/throw out/sell.  

I really hate myself for going through that baking phase during which I felt I needed 20 different kinds of flour, countless piping options, and an array of themed cupcake holders.  Who actually has time for that?!

Anyway, I'm about 4 big black bin bags lighter than I was last week.  Progress is progress.

The Start

We all know moving is a bitch.  As if packing away all of your belongings wasn't enough of a pain, there's the added hassle of informing everyone that you are changing your address, and updating your details EVERYWHERE (bank, gym, work, council tax office, DVLA, that one thing you subscribed to ages ago and aren't sure how to cancel).  So why bother moving in the first place?  Well, sometimes your landlord is deciding on selling up.  Sometimes you're sick of your landlord.  Sometimes your flatmate gets a job in another city.  And sometimes, you buy a place of your own and think Thank fuck I don't have to do that again for a long time.

Until you start dating someone and then decide you want to get a (bigger) place.  Together.

So that's pretty much where I am just now.  Our goal is to get my apartment ready to sell early next year (March-ish, 2014), before moving my stuff into storage and living at his mother's (a whole other possible Pandora's box) while we look for our dream home.

Having dealt with a number of problems living in a tenement block over my adult years, there are a few things on our 'required' list for a place we'll eventually call home.  These are:

• The property must have its own front door.  No sharing.  Because I currently live in a block of flats where one of the flats is a brothel, I have no control over the 'clients' who frequent my building.  On more than one occasion, a 'client' has found himself knocking on my door mistakenly, only for me to have to let him down gently, and point him toward something he could actually afford.  I'm done with that.
• There can be no asbestos ANYWHERE in the property.  That stuff is bad for your health, and ridiculously expensive/problematic to get rid of.  Fuck that.
• Two bedrooms.  Since we're responsible adults, we might decide to have guests  (ie my parents when they visit the country).  I would like them to be able to stay with us.  Another option, if we're finding a little extra income would help, is that we could lease out the spare room to a friend on the cheap.
• Area.  We have a particular area in mind for where we want to live.  We also have particular areas that I refuse to live.  Some people might say this makes me snobby.  I don't care if they're right.
• Not a new build.  I think they're pretty tacky, and it seems a lot of the modern buildings are designed to fall apart in a decade or two.  I would rather avoid that.

In addition to the 'must haves', there are some things we would like the property to have, but if it doesn't, it might not necessarily be a deal breaker.  These are:

• An exclusive garden area.  Because who doesn't want that?
• A garage. Again, who doesn't want that?
• Stairs.  This is mainly just me.  I would LOVE to have an upstairs and a downstairs instead of being on just one level.  That would be cool.
• A bathtub AND a shower.  I haven't had a bath in so long, because my apartment only has a shower cubicle.  In truth, I'd probably only have 1-2 baths a year, but it's an extravagance I'd like the option of indulging in.

So yeah, we might be living with his mother longer than any of us will care for, but our goal is to be celebrating Christmas 2014 in our new home.  Feel free to stick around for the ride.

-R