Downsizing

[Jackfre]

Well, we are in escrow on a new place closer to the coast. The heat, drought, smoke, fire danger have worn me thin. I am going to loose my 1000 sq ft shop moving my gear into a two car garage. We are happy to make this move, but damn! It is difficult to be dispassionate with your tools. Mine is a woodworking shop The Sawstop/router table combo, 14” band saw, 8” Grizzly jointer and 735 planer will make the trip, Hand tools of course, work table, welder, but not the plasma, welding table, assorted work benches, Horiz band saw, duplicate tools etc. My Grizzly dust collector will not make the trip. I’m going to go with a Harvey G700 to replace it. Quieter and low horiz configuration will allow it to go under a bench. Just the hardware you accumulate becomes a burden. You look at it and know it but it keeps growing. I just took a 28” black walnut and had it milled up. Great timing for a 120 mi move My collection of Maple, Oak, Walnut, burls, etc and the vertical rack for same will get cut in half and moved. The biggest issue for me is having the discipline, something I am not particularly know for, to organize. The garage is currently open studs, no insulation and minimal wiring, so that gives some opportunity to get it right. Being an attached garage and in a neighborhood I will be doing what I can for sound mitigation. We will move mid-Feb so some time available. It’s funny how this goes. I told two people we were going to sell the place and I got four phone calls from different people wanting to buy my Kubotas.

 

[rosiesride]

Well, we are in escrow on a new place closer to the coast. The heat, drought, smoke, fire danger have worn me thin. I am going to loose my 1000 sq ft shop moving my gear into a two car garage. We are happy to make this move, but damn! It is difficult to be dispassionate with your tools. Mine is a woodworking shop The Sawstop/router table combo, 14” band saw, 8” Grizzly jointer and 735 planer will make the trip, Hand tools of course, work table, welder, but not the plasma, welding table, assorted work benches, Horiz band saw, duplicate tools etc. My Grizzly dust collector will not make the trip. I’m going to go with a Harvey G700 to replace it. Quieter and low horiz configuration will allow it to go under a bench. Just the hardware you accumulate becomes a burden. You look at it and know it but it keeps growing. I just took a 28” black walnut and had it milled up. Great timing for a 120 mi move My collection of Maple, Oak, Walnut, burls, etc and the vertical rack for same will get cut in half and moved. The biggest issue for me is having the discipline, something I am not particularly know for, to organize. The garage is currently open studs, no insulation and minimal wiring, so that gives some opportunity to get it right. Being an attached garage and in a neighborhood I will be doing what I can for sound mitigation. We will move mid-Feb so some time available. It’s funny how this goes. I told two people we were going to sell the place and I got four phone calls from different people wanting to buy my Kubotas.

How do you start??? We have a 2 bay workshop garage with large heavy lathes, welding equipment and bee keeping equipment as well as a shell of an old car project. We are planning to downsize in 2 years, we need a plan if anyone has resources or ideas?? Overwhelming!

 

[WisJim]

It took us about 3 1/2 years to move less than 5 miles, from the farm that was home the last 33 years to an older house on a city lot in town. It tooks most of a year to get my new shop done, and LOTS of time and effort going through the 40x100 pole shed, 30x60 three level barn and other sheds nearly full of tools, lumber, cars, engines, windmill towers, wind turbines, solar panels, electric tractors, fencing, scrap metal, etc. We gave away/sold/discarded maybe 1000 books (and moved about 6,000) and had 6 or 7 garage sales, all successful.
I don't think that I could have done it in much less time because of all the sorting and decision making about almost every item.
Good luck!!

 

[ybnormal]

I'm also curious about this. we PLAN to build our own out in the country (not too rural) and build a shop first (I think). my concern is if I move all my stuff to the shop and then start building the house while we live elsewhere, what's to stop opportunistic thieves? ("look, there's no one around!")

 

[jeep63]

I did something similar last December ('21). It was not nearly as drastic of a down-size as you did, but it was still something I felt and had to plan for. I got by with lots of shelves up high on the wall and had to start parking my truck outside. I've made adjustments and it works for me.

Good advice is use graph paper and scale size objects to mess around with placement. it does help.

 

[PoorUB]

The garage is currently open studs, no insulation and minimal wiring, so that gives some opportunity to get it right. Being an attached garage and in a neighborhood I will be doing what I can for sound mitigation.

I wouldn't worry too much about sound. Insulate and finish the walls and ceiling, insulated doors, minimal windows and not much noise will get out. I do woodworking and metal working in my garage. The closest neighbor is 50 feet from my shop and he has never said anything. We talk all the time.

 

[Jackfre]

How do you start? Start now. What can you easily get rid of? Do it now. What do you have that hasn’t been used in 1, 5, 10 yrs. Get rid of it. When it gets down to the bone on things that you have to keep for one reason or another you then get to the hard decisions, which you have to make or you will be shoe horned into the new place and have to do a doe-see-doe every time you walk through the place. It is maddening, but there is a certain satisfaction in it as well…I think. We get into the place 2/11 and movers are coming in on the 21st so 10 days to get tools in and do the build-out

 

[rosiesride]

I'm also curious about this. we PLAN to build our own out in the country (not too rural) and build a shop first (I think). my concern is if I move all my stuff to the shop and then start building the house while we live elsewhere, what's to stop opportunistic thieves? ("look, there's no one around!")

We thought we would need to build a workshop on a piece of property first as well, but that hasn't panned out and is not an option. Ideally, getting land and building a workshop/dwelling would be the answer to the logistics of moving our stuff.

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

How do you start???

At some point you have to decide whether you want to live your dream or be weighed down by a bunch of stuff. Make that decision and the rest comes easy. The wife and I have been living the dream since 2018.

 

[cgall]

My Dad lived about 5 miles from me and he had a well-equipped wood shop in two bays of a 3-car attached garage. Everything was on wheels so it could be moved into the corner or the basement during the winter to get two cars in there. He also had a shed full of rough sawn hardwoods that he bought from an auction. Full basement was packed with lumber and tools and 1/2 finished projects. When Dad had to go into assisted living, we were faced with moving 47 years worth of accumulation. First thing we did was to notify entire family that if they wanted anything they had 30 days to come and get it. I had 6 siblings and many nieces and nephews but there was not much interest. Then my brother contacted his friend who was a woodworker and he hauled away the hardwoods and some rolls of veneer from the basement. My BIL in Maryland said he would take all machines and tools not spoken for. We moved all that stuff to a storage unit and told BIL to come get it. Next step was a 30-yard dumpster. A lot of useful stuff was thrown away, but at that point the objective was to clear out the house and list it for sale. I miss going over to use the machines and help myself to a few hardwood boards, also the expertise of Dad who helped me with my relatively simple projects.

 

[Bucko]

If you have kids or family close you can give it to them, then at least it can be borrowed if needed.

When we moved into our current house I gained a large shop. My inlaws were also moving into a new house close by and my father-in-law was loosing his 3 car garage and going to a small 2 car. He gave me several of his larger tools and I gave the doubles I had that were of lower quality to a friend of my wife's who was learning about woodworking but she didn't have alot of tools but very interested in the hobby.

My father-in-law has a open invitation to use the shop whenever he needs and has the keys and alarm code to make it easy for him.

 

[e015475]

In 2020 I sold the house I'd built in 1992. I relocated 150 miles and downsized from a 1900 SF shop and garage to a 750 SF three car garage.

Here's a few things I did to facilitate the move-

• I packed up everything I could in 'standardized' boxes. I bought boxes and tape from Lowes and stacked them in key locations in my shop/garage/house.
• I marked each end of the box with its contents. If it was heavy, I marked it so I placed these on the bottom so it wouldn't crush the stack (I had about 160 boxes, and about half were from the shop or garage.)
• As I was packing boxes, I threw a lot of stuff in the trash. I asked myself if I'd used it in the last several years or I ever contemplated using it again. Some stuff I gave to kids or friends that could use it (always had in the back of my mind that I could borrow it back if I needed it)
• For stuff I couldn't bear to throw away, but wasn't worth the effort to sell individually, I put an ad in the 'for free' section and left it at the end of the driveway. Some things that were valuable enough I put on CL for a very fair price.
• I laid out my new garage on a piece of graph paper and made paper cutouts of all my machine tools/tool boxes and benches and did my best to see what would fit and what had to go (wanted to learn Sketchup to do this, but no time to do this) I sold a few things at pretty reasonable prices - too busy to screw around with it too much
• I bought three new wall cabinets and another rolling tool box to take advantage of the new space and had them at the new house when I moved in.
• I identified the changes I wanted to make in my new work space so I could hit the ground running at the new location. I needed 220V for the compressor and TIG, an extension to the garage door for the lift, and a gas line for a shop heater. Started lining up contractors to get these things done in the first couple months in the new shop.
• I moved the contents of my shop/garage to several storage units close to the house I sold. I tried to pack the storage units with a 'last in, first out' with tools/equipment I'd need. For example, I needed to build a materials storage system at the new house as one of my first task, so those tools and supplies were at the front of the storage units.
• I moved the contents of the house and key element of the shop first - mostly tool boxes and machine tools I'd need to set up a work space and make storage.
• I used an independent moving service with a box truck and a couple of guys in about three trips. First the contents of the house and shop essentials, then a few months later when I had the shop at the new place squared squared away. Last came the rest of the shop and unfinished projects. I made sure that the mover's box van had a lift gate and I scheduled and scoped each move to something that could be accomplished in a day - load, drive to new house, unload, and return to town.
• After living in the new shop for awhile, I had a few machine tools that I wanted to get rid of, and stuff went fast on the local CL
• The first winter we were at the new house, our SUV sat out in the drive in the snow while I got the shop organized.

Hope this helps you some

 

[rosiesride]

My Dad lived about 5 miles from me and he had a well-equipped wood shop in two bays of a 3-car attached garage. Everything was on wheels so it could be moved into the corner or the basement during the winter to get two cars in there. He also had a shed full of rough sawn hardwoods that he bought from an auction. Full basement was packed with lumber and tools and 1/2 finished projects. When Dad had to go into assisted living, we were faced with moving 47 years worth of accumulation. First thing we did was to notify entire family that if they wanted anything they had 30 days to come and get it. I had 6 siblings and many nieces and nephews but there was not much interest. Then my brother contacted his friend who was a woodworker and he hauled away the hardwoods and some rolls of veneer from the basement. My BIL in Maryland said he would take all machines and tools not spoken for. We moved all that stuff to a storage unit and told BIL to come get it. Next step was a 30-yard dumpster. A lot of useful stuff was thrown away, but at that point the objective was to clear out the house and list it for sale. I miss going over to use the machines and help myself to a few hardwood boards, also the expertise of Dad who helped me with my relatively simple projects.

That must have been so hard and emotionally draining.