I think we are in the same situation! I have a house 1800 miles away that I have been very slowly cleaning out for the past year (needless to say, it has been a very painful and sentimental task). Since I can only go out at a week's time, I have spaced out my trips every 4 months. There are items I want to keep, but most is good furniture that I want to sell at a fair price. Here is what I have done and my experiences: 1. Yard sales. Can be good, but very, very time consuming. Especially if you are going it alone. Good way to get rid of the small stuff. Promise yourself that whatever doesn't sell, DO NOT box it back up, but instead truck it over to a local charity. 2. Ebay. I have found that you really need to be on-site for at least 2 weeks: lots of stuff to do prior to auction end (writing the listings, taking initial photos and extra photos as requested by potential buyers, answering emails) and after auction end (waiting for payment, boxing and shipping items, followup emails). An example: I sold parts from a collector truck that my late husband dismantled. Listed as a 3 day auction, started most bids at 9.99 with a buy-it-now price, and (very important!) required payment within 3 days via Paypal (no checks - takes too long). I boxed/shipped small items and left large items (such as doors, windshields, engine parts, etc) to a professional shipping service to box and ship. Whew! It was a 2 week whirlwind of dirty truck parts that I knew nothing about, but it was a success: got most of the truck sold within my tight timeframe. An alternative is to use a Ebay agent: they will list, pack, and ship. I believe they charge around 30%. 3. Consignment Shops: good for big ticket items such as furniture. Most will pick up item for a fee, but if not sold within a specified timeframe, either you need to pick up yourself or they will donate it. Usually a 60/40 split, with most going to you. However, the longer it is in the store, the ratio may change. 4. Donate, donate, donate: Some items are just better to give away and get a tax beni than to deal with selling it. 5. I haven't used it, but am looking into it: renting a POD. They drop one off, you pack it at your leisure, then they move it to whatever state you want. Another similar option is ABF moving (you pack, they drive) - we used them to initially to move out west. Once I get most of the stuff cleared out that I don't want, large pieces I cannot move myself I will have POD or ABF handle. For the valuable, sentimental,breakable, etc things, I will take with me on a "cross-country adventure move" (have to play it up somehow). Since you will be out in September, use that short time to take photos of items for Ebay, maybe get stuff into consignment stores (you can pick up the stuff in November if it doesn't sell), call for quotes on movers (starting in October is usually their slow time so rates will be cheaper than the summer), check out the local ebay agents (in phone directory). Prior to your November trip, get your Ebay listings written with photos so you can list them on your first day (I have found people will email you throughout the auction asking for more info including aditional photos, so I have found that I really need to be where the item is during the auction.) Good luck to you. It can be very overwhelming, so try to break things up into manageable tasks.

I've been a Pacific Northwest guy for many years now. Olympia is a beautiful little town and the waterways are fantastic. Find a boat owner and become their friend. The town is not known for it's sophisticated eating choices so your focus needs to be about the other reasons to be there. Make food quests an adventure and a special treat when you visit Seattle. Great food abounds there but a bit of preliminary research will help you find them easier. You are very close to one of my favorite spots in the state, the Longbeach/Seaview area. This ocean community has stopped in time somewhere in the 70's and some absolutely fantastic food can be found there. A handful of high end chefs have migrated there for the lifestyle and opened little restaurants. Make your new town an adventure. Find the good stuff, it's there. Look up Batdorf and Bronson for some very good coffee. When I get back to NYC, I buy 50 bagels on flight day, get them home in a duffle bag, cut em in half and toss them in the freezer. It's not as nice as getting them at the corner bakery but it satisfies a longing and a memory. here's a couple links to some recommended eateries and my favorite at the ocean, The Depot, in Seaview: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g58653-Olympia_Washington.html http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/14743 http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g58733-Seaview_Washington.html michaelp

I'm in San Francisco on holiday and brought SWMBO to Cookin’, the amazing jumble of vintage French cookware on Divisadero St that I posted about at the start of this thread. The door was locked with a hand-lettered sign: "Knock", which I did. A man opened the door and explained the store is no longer open to the public but only admits "the trade". Before I could break down in tears he said he'd give us ten minutes in the shop. We entered and I said I was looking for a 25 mm carbon steel Sabatier chefs knife (yes, I like my first one so much I want another one). We wriggled through the forest of enamel pots, vintage advertisements, hanging racks, small appliances from the 1970s, cases and boxes and reached the glass case holding thousands of knives. He rummaged around a bit, and then went to fetch the owner Judy. She looked exactly as she had last time I was there, and we started talking about French knifemaking, blade profiles, her trips to France, and where the best markets were. I don't have any reason to think she recognized me. There are people you just click with right away and for me, she is one. She showed me a collection of vintage mochi molds and Japanese pastry branding irons, and we talked about her desire to find a collector or museum to keep this set intact. We went into the back room and she explained her plan to install a kitchen for cooking demonstrations. By now I'd been in the shop for a hour and I hesitantly asked if there was a way to become a "trade member" to have access to her shop in future. "No problem, I'll give you a card.". So a little later I left with a business card that signifies something that I'm not sure what, two 25 mm Sabatier knives, and various pots and forks that SWMBO, who had been talking with the man, had decided I should buy. Oh, and three recommendations for hole in the wall food joints in San Francisco that I promised to visit. I love shops and people like this. I hope Judy and Cookin' last forever.

Jakkom offers some great advice, try to make an adventure out of looking for things you might like in your apt. Get out and do some shopping at some cool places you find out about. Come here and read posts that interest you, you can get some great ideas. When I had my house, I used to keep a little slip of paper in my wallet with a list of some of the kinds of things I needed for the house, so when I was out and about, I would be able to remember if I needed something or not. It's kind of nice to know that while you have a perfectly adequate floor lamp, you're really looking for something the same basic height and size, but way cooler. That's why I started out with hand me downs thinking I could always upgrade piece by piece. In the end, I have found that the quality of the hand me downs has often far exceeded any new things I have seen in the stores, and the price sure was right for the hand me downs! Over time, it has developed into my "look" which I call MCM Grandma! For example, an old lamp that was anachronistic in my house for years and years but I just never found a replacement for, is now super hot again and the young folks who come over think I'm uber hip! OMG Jakkom on the prices for the Milo Baughman stuff, I'm going to have to take a closer look at my chair and find out if it is an original or a knockoff. I know it is of the MCM era, not a repro. It has the original faux naugahyde dirty white vinyl covering. Sadly, it got nicked in two places during my last move. Not sure at this point whether I am going to recover it or sell it. It's very comfortable, despite its lean modern looks. Despite it being comfortable, SO hates it, at least in its dingy white vinyl incarnation, and it doesn't go very well with most of my other stuff, although I pride myself on being "eclectic." We'll see how my furniture culling goes, it may be time to pass this chair on to someone else who will love it properly. I kind of like it, it represents to me the humor of something that was a complete garage sale can't get rid of item a decade ago and now is really hot, and also something of quality and value, albeit "out of date" by casual standards and yet still has intrinsic good/worthy style. "Character" I guess would be the operative word. Oh, BTW Bigeze, that's another way to have fun decorating your place, seeking out things with "character" which I think can be fun. Unless you just want to go out and get everything and have it be done and over with, which I can also relate to and understand. I'm often torn between the two instincts.