Selling Everything We Own

Selling Everything We Own

We’re no strangers to downsizing. We gave up thousands of square feet when we sold the house and moved into the condo 8-years ago. This move out of the country, however, is a major downsize! 

When we first became serious about moving to Ecuador, we immediately sold our motorhome in December 2013.  It was a quick, easy sale to a great new owner.  That freed up our time to concentrate on getting our other ducks lined up to make the move.

Itasca Horizon "Winney"

We began the downsizing as soon as we put our condo on the market in July.  We did three sorts:  1) take to Ecuador, 2) sell, and 3) donate to Goodwill.

1.      First round was setting aside things we wanted to take to Ecuador.  (clothes, knickknacks, etc.)  Due to luggage size and weight restrictions, this selection was small.  We have done a lot of window shopping in Ecuador – in large malls and small shops – so we have a feel for what we can easily find in Ecuador.   Buying a fully furnished household already in Ecuador really helped narrow this list down.  More on the items going to Cuenca later.

2.       Second round was selling.  This was actually divided into 3 phases:

a.       Selling to the purchaser of the condo.  We gave her first dibs on anything in the condo. 

b.      Selling to our coworkers.  Between our two companies, we sold nearly everything.

c.       Selling to the public.  We sold the grand piano and a few remaining items on Craigslist.

3.      Third round was donating to Goodwill.  Anything left was donated to Goodwill.  We have already donated a lot of clothing to Goodwill.  We’ll donate the rest (office and dress clothes no longer needed) immediately prior to our departure.  Goodwill got some really nice things!

As of today, we only own our two cars and the items we are taking to Ecuador.   We already have buyers for the cars.  We’ll sell the Mini Cooper on February 14.  We’ll sell the Subaru Outback on Feb 20.  We fly to Ecuador on February 21.

It is odd going to a store and knowing that you have no house to put something AND there’s no room left to take something to Ecuador.  It certainly makes shopping easier!   We now look at everything from the perspective:  will we use it up by the time we leave?

What will we buy in Ecuador?  Once we get settled, we'll buy new furniture and artwork for the apartment in Cuenca.