Big Move

In July 2016 my family and I moved to Germany. We sold our home and cars and left our jobs to live a different way of life. One of our goals was to downsize our home.

I remember discussing with a friend the bonuses of having a smaller home/apartment, she said "You can clean the whole place in 1 and 1/2 hours!" She was right. That leaves so much more time to do other things.

A smaller home means less time spent cleaning, less time for maintenance, less stuff to fill it, less time used taking care of stuff, more time to visit and entertain friends and family, more time to go bicycling and hiking and visiting all the neat events and sites of Germany and Europe!

To prepare for our downsizing adventure we had 3 garage sales, posted craigslist ads, listed offer up sales and gave things away.

Next week our mission will be complete. We will have left a 2,556 square foot (237 m2) home and finally after 2 and 1/2 months move into a 936 square feet (87 m2) apartment. We are excited to move into our soon-to-be, super cute, minimalist, IKEA size apartment!

Bedroom

Hallway

Usually homes in Germany don't include kitchens, closets or cabinets. There are empty rooms for kitchens to be built and installed and its a BYOC (Bring Your Own Cabinets) culture. Luckily after negotiation and an increase in the monthly rent the apartment will come with a kitchen. We will just need to buy and install the lights, build some IKEA storage units and move in!

Kitchen & Dining Room (with no lights and no kitchen yet)

To prepare, we went on a marathon tour to IKEA. What a store of inspiration and creativity! I LOVE IKEA! This poster at IKEA really portrays the essence of minimalism.

Doesn't it inspire you to buy a little wooden house and live with your family in a white, winter, wonderland?
My husby said, "No."
Me: "hmm ... Are you sure you don't want to pick up reindeer herding like this guy?"

Husby: "No."
So after 7.5 hours of winding through the departments and testing out the lights, chairs, mattresses, shelves and cabinets we have our plan and a scheduled delivery :)

Cute entry way shoe cabinets

Desk for a little niche

Artsy light department

Cafe 

Here's to next week and finishing the BIG MOVE!