Can we fit our apartment into the car?
March 5th, 2025
“Oh my, we have so much stuff,” Michael shakes his head and looks at me.
“I think it can fit…” I say, still in denial.
“Let’s just keep going,” Michael repeats our mantra from the past two days of packing. Our apartment is barren of all furniture, all except our $50 Amazon futon lying on what used to be the living room floor.
Our landlord inspected the place on Monday, when the furniture was gone, but a myriad other items were strewn across the floor.
“We hope to leave tomorrow,” Michael said, optimistically. Our landlord looked doubtful, but said the apartment seemed fine and to “Just make sure the kitchen is clean.”
Getting rid of the big furniture was easy. It was the endless sifting of small items in dressers, closets and cabinets that was taxing. We’d naively thought we could make it out of South Carolina on Tuesday, a day earlier than planned. Yet, here we were, bags full of small odds and ends, several bulky kitchen appliances, and of course the oddly shaped baby items that wouldn’t save any space.
We started loading up the car, first with the flat articles such as blankets and coats. We would try and stack the bulkier cases on top. However, it wasn’t long before we had to face the truth, and a weighty decision. We hadn’t gotten rid of enough, and the car certainly wouldn’t hold all of our worldly possessions.
The two of us sat slumped in an empty bedroom, going over our options. Either a U-Haul or downsizing even more. A U-Haul meant installing a hitch, and $500 out of our account. And since Michael had quit his electrical engineering job with no guaranteed income for a year, every dollar was precious.
We set more clothes aside as well as kitchen appliances and baby gear, then a gracious church friend picked it up for us that night. Even after all that, so many of our possessions sadly ended up by the dumpster. I did see a truck pull up to claim some of it before we left, which was slightly redeeming.
Done
Last Purge at Church
Surely now it would fit! Michael lugged load after load of bags down the stairs to our parked Acura, and each load I hoped would be the last. It was an intense round of Tetris, a kettle bell here, my scrapbook there. It seemed we had done the impossible!! Michael and I stayed up cleaning the kitchen and bathroom, then went to sleep, excited for the morning.
The next day brought rain, a soaked Michael, and a new discovery. The trunk wouldn’t close all the way. We pushed and prayed and prodded, but it was time to shed our final layer of skin. This one hurt. The things we didn’t need but REALLY wanted were placed in a “get rid of” pile: My complete set of Beatrix Potter Books, Michael’s rock climbing ropes, etc. These items would go to the church yard sale. Finally, the trunk clicked shut. Mabel was walled in by trash bags full of clothing, and slept contentedly for most of our two day drive to Fort Worth, Texas.
One last purge at Michael’s parent’s in Texas, and the car was finally not stuffed to the gills. Still, sometimes I don’t have room to rest my legs normally. That’s alright, we learned an important lesson from all this… you can never be too harsh the first round of downsizing.