Letting Go (Pt. 1): The Beginning of a Creative Reset
The emotional side of packing up a life and starting from scratch
We didn’t just sell our stuff and move. We unraveled a life we’d spent years building, not knowing exactly what would take its place.
I live in a one-bedroom apartment with Anita and Pookie now.
The sink is tiny—maybe a third of the size of our old one.
Ants crawl across the countertop daily. We can’t figure out where they’re coming from or what they’re after.
There’s barely any storage. Just enough room for the basics.
And honestly?
I’m living my best life.
After that fateful Valentine’s Day dinner, we walked out of the restaurant with a to-do list so long it felt like its own immigration document.
The biggest thing on that list?
Sell the house.
That alone felt like a full-time job.
Florida’s housing market had slowed to a crawl. “For Sale” signs sat in yards for weeks—sometimes months.
It was officially a buyer’s market. And we were trying to move on a deadline.
Luckily, our house had some serious selling points.
A new roof. Solar panels. A freshly installed fence.
Brand-new ducts, water heater, and A/C.
All the not-so-glamorous stuff that actually matters.
But we also had a huge problem on our hands:
We had stuff.
A lot of stuff.
Our house had been designed with a maximalist mindset—wall-to-wall art, decor in every corner, shelves full of books and collectibles.
It looked great when you were living in it.
But when you’re trying to sell? It’s overwhelming.
I was oddly excited to host a garage sale.
Back in college, my roommate and I made a whole weekend ritual of garage sale-hopping.
We’d map them out, hit as many as we could, and resell the treasures on eBay.
So I thought: This’ll be easy. People love garage sales.
We had great stuff. Quality stuff.
But the weekend came—and went—and barely anyone showed up.
We spent ten hours over two days sitting in our garage, watching the occasional car drive by without stopping.
The biggest "customer"?
A boy from the neighborhood who wandered in as we were packing up. We told him he could take whatever he wanted.
The next day he came back—with friends.
They took some stuff.
They broke some stuff.
Honestly? It was more trouble than it was worth.
At first, we weren’t too discouraged.
The point of the garage sale was to clear clutter, not to clear everything.
We figured we still had a nice, lived-in house—perfect for listing photos and walkthroughs.
But that’s when we learned one of the harshest lessons of selling a home:
Buyers don’t want to see your beautiful house.
They want to see their future house.
And that means empty. Bland. De-personalized.
Every comment we got from walkthroughs circled back to the same word:
“Too cluttered.”
It didn’t matter that everything was organized and intentional. What we saw as warm and curated, others saw as chaotic.
So we kicked things into overdrive.
One of the best parts of living in a one-bedroom apartment now is knowing this:
We’ll never go through that again— at least not for a while.
No more rooms filled with stuff we don’t use.
No more packing box after box wondering how it all even got there.
Just the essentials.
It’s simple. Lighter. Easier.
And a much better match for the life we’re building now.
That’s when the real purge began.
We stopped thinking like homeowners and started thinking like movers.
We had a ticking clock and a single mission:
Get the stuff out. Fast.
And we tried everything—Facebook Marketplace. eBay. Goodwill. Generous friends and family.
But that’s a story for next time.
Got a creative dream that’s nudging you to shift your life around? Drop a note in the comments.
Up next: Clearing Space for What’s Next
Series in Order:
We Weren’t Unhappy But We Left Anyway
Why We Left a Good Life Behind
Currently Reading: Letting Go (Pt. 1): The Beginning of a Creative Reset
Letting Go (Pt. 2): Clearing Space for What’s Next
Between Worlds (Pt. 1): The Messy Middle of a Creative Reset
Between Worlds (Pt. 2): Saying Goodbye to Our Old Lives
Final Farewell (Pt. 1): Saying Goodbye to Orlando
Final Farewell (Pt. 2): Our Last Days in Florida
Journey to San Jose (Pt. 1): The Not So Calm Before the Storm
Journey to San Jose (Pt. 2): We’ve Finally Made It
Journey to San Jose (Pt. 3): First Day Adventures
Finding Home (Pt. 1): Our First Big Decision
Finding Home (Pt. 2): The Race For Cash
Finding Home (Pt. 3): A New Start
Settling In (Pt. 1): Early Lessons & Adventures
Settling In (Pt. 2): So Many Curveballs
Settling In (Pt. 3): Everyday Moments That Make This Home
Settling In (Pt. 4): The End of the Beginning
I really relate to this! This feels a bit like when we were selling our house quick in London and then spent five months living in a mobile home. I really loved not having so much stuff. Weirdly, when our stuff came back to us, it was the art that I was the most happy to be reunited with! (We got rid of a lot though!)
Similar experience with getting rid of our stuff before our move. I braved the lawless wasteland that is Facebook Marketplace to sell some stuff.
Had the same idea about a garage sale and the effort was far greater than the outcome. Goodwill ended up with most of it.