When you decide to move to another country, you have to decide what to do with all of your personal belongings: clothes, furniture, car, decorative items and more. So when I decided to move to Mexico the summer of 2021, and in anticipation of the BIG move at the end of August 2021, I started researching how to sell all of my “things.” Sell, donate or give away.

I learned that there are social media sites that can help you sell or give away your belongings. I posted items on FaceBook Marketplace very successfully. If you are selling used items, and you price them well, you will sell them. We tend to place great value on our items. They contain memories for us. But we have to be realistic and practical. As the saying goes, “You can’t take it with you.”

I had been downsizing for the last couple of years. Going from a 4 bedroom house in Michigan in 2014 to a one bedroom (650 square foot) apartment in Dallas in 2019. So in the summer of 2021, it was just me and my cat and I didn’t need much. The furniture and 65″ TV were really the easiest to sell. My car sold fairly quickly as well. It was only a little more than a year old at the time and in excellent condition with low miles. The social media sites were easy to use. Take a few good pictures of your items, price them right and honestly, don’t haggle; don’t barter. The first offer is usually the best one. I would communicate via text or email with the potential buyer and then arrange to meet at a local grocery store parking lot. It was always cash only. The craziest things would sell. The block of kitchen knives? $5.00 to a woman that had lost everything in a storm (tornado, I think) and was so excited to get a set of knives.

Somethings I would list for $1 or free when they just didn’t sell. I gave away a box of glassware to a woman that had just gone through a terrible divorce and lost everything. A bedspread also free to a woman that didn’t have one. Name brand handbags and jewelry (ie: Brighton, Coach, Kate Spade) were popular when priced well. You know, I didn’t find it especially difficult to sell things or give them away. I found it quite cleansing. Getting ready for my new life in Mexico required that I travel light. I was only traveling with suitcases, and I’ve always rented fully furnished since I moved here.

The bigger items, like the furniture and TV had to be picked up at my apartment. And since I was moving, I didn’t feel threatened by strangers coming to my house. It all worked out. There was a couple I met on NextDoor.com who said they could come by for anything that didn’t sell as they worked with an organization that furnished apartments for refugees. They needed everything to furnish an apartment. So towards the end, before I left the country, they came by and took artwork and kitchen items, sheets & towels. Other things that didn’t sell, I took to my local Goodwill Donation store.

At the end, I found myself with many boxes full of items like crystal glassware, some pretty dishes (gift from Julia), my beautiful margarita glasses (a gift from Diane), and home decorative items. I also had a 4 drawer file cabinet (with files that I had to keep, like tax and medical records) and some artwork that I just couldn’t part with. I rented a storage unit in Dallas that is 5 feet by 7 feet. It is the size of a closet and that is where all of my worldly possessions are in the USA. The storage unit is packed tight and almost to the ceiling. It is temperature controlled and inside a big warehouse, so I don’t have to worry about the heat, humidity or cold. There is a padlock on the door of the unit and only I have a key. I hired a couple of college students with a truck to help me take all of the boxes and etc. to the unit and stack the boxes inside the unit. I pay a monthly rent and I think that storage unit will be around for a long time.

I have visited the storage unit in Dallas once every year since I moved South. Each time I travel with 2 empty suitcases and bring more of my personal things with me. Last year, I was able to go through a lot of the boxes in the Dallas storage unit (each one is labeled with the contents) and donate items that I know I will never use again. I haven’t made it to Dallas in over a year, and am hoping to schedule a trip later this Fall 2024 to again go through boxes and get rid of items that I will never bring to Mexico. Somethings I will not sell or give away. And I am comfortable knowing they are there.

Here in Mexico in the last 3 years I have acquired three pieces of furniture. The rest of the furniture and even towels and bed linens belong to the owner from whom I rent a fully furnished 2-bedroom apartment. Let me say this. My next move won’t be easy. It’s not 4 suitcases and I’m on a plane. Not at all. I remind people that this is the only home I have. So I have family framed fotos, decorative items that are meaningful to me, clothes (yes, lots of clothes), shoes, kitchen items (not many) and Lola (my cat) has her toys and cat beds. I have also purchased some used wall art that I found on FaceBook Marketplace as my current apartment did not have any artwork on the walls.

In another Blog post I mentioned that I might try another place to live. And when that happens I rest easy knowing exactly how to sell things online. Even here in Mexico, FaceBook Marketplace is very popular. Meanwhile I am very happy and comfortable here in Mexico, surrounded by some of my personal belongings from the USA and some new ones from Mexico. When the time comes, remember…