The Living Room Is Empty… So Naturally We Started on the Basement

 After getting rid of the couch, everything suddenly picked up speed. It’s funny how one big piece leaving the house can break the logjam. Once that thing was gone, it felt like the whole downsizing machine finally kicked into gear. We’ve been listing, selling, and giving away stuff nonstop — and apparently even the weird projects I built over the years have a place in someone else’s world.


    Case in point: the French‑cleat “pho wall TV hanger.”    We had no idea what to call it when we listed it, so we just threw up pictures and called it "lumber" and hoped for the best. The guy who came to get it said he wanted to use it for his TV… which, honestly, is exactly what I built it for. I walked him through how I had it mounted, and what he thought was going to be a whole project turned out to be exactly what he needed. Always nice when something you made gets a second life instead of ending up in a landfill.

    With the couch gone, the living room is completely empty — which you’d think would mean it’s time to start scraping ceilings and fixing walls. But no. Kamila and I looked at each other, looked at the basement, and decided that’s where we’re working next.

    So now the basement is getting sorted, and the “keep” pile is maybe 10% of everything we’ve gone through so far. The “get rid of” pile, on the other hand, is starting to fill the entire living room. At this point, it looks like the yard sale is going to have to happen before I can even think about redoing the ceiling and walls upstairs. Not a big deal — just a shift in the order of operations.

    The basement will probably get repainted before the living room now. Again, not the plan, but plans are more like suggestions at this stage anyway.

    Getting rid of the large items feels like massive progress, even though there are still hundreds of little things to deal with. Every big piece that leaves makes the house feel lighter, and it makes the next step a little easier to take.

    The cars are still listed. I’ve been adjusting prices here and there, but I’m not looking to give them away. I don’t mind taking my time with those. They’ll move when the right person comes along.

    All in all, it feels like we’re finally in that phase where the momentum is real. Stuff is leaving. Rooms are opening up. Decisions are getting easier. And every load out the door is one step closer to the next chapter.

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