8 Luxuries We Gave Up When We Moved To The City

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of letgo for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.


Before Chris and I moved to Chicago we were living like fat cats in a mansion of an apartment in Kansas. We had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a laundry room, six closets, and a kitchen big enough to tap dance in. And TWO garage parking spots. Like I said, we were living fat.

We also had a backyard. A big huge yard with a real fence and everything.

We didn’t realize how good we had it until we packed up everything and moved to Chicago. We weren’t dummies, we knew space would be much more limited living in a city. But it’s one thing to “know it” and another thing to live it.

1. Parking.
Bye bye garage. Or even a driveway. Right now our only option is street parking. Sometimes it’s not awful, but when it’s January and freezing I’m lugging ten bags of groceries, it’s awful.

2. Backard.
Technically, we do have a tiny back yard right now. It’s about the size of a two car garage. And on a hot summer afternoon when we sit out on our back deck we can see about fifty of our neighbors doing the exact same thing because that’s how stacked we are on top of each other.

3. Laundry.
This is a big one for me because I used to enjoy doing laundry. I would toss in a few things every day just for the hell of it. But now that our laundry machines are in the dungeon basement below our house and cost $6 to wash and dry, it’s not so enjoyable anymore. Don’t even get me started on the question Chris and I ask every Monday, “do we have quarters?” Those are fighting words right there.

I play a game with myself called “no quarter left behind” where I refuse to let the laundry machine deny my quarters by spitting them back out. No. Not on my watch. So far in 2016 I’m shooting 100%.

4. Closets.
Remind me what these are again? I remember the term vaguely… Wrap your head around this, Chris and I share a teeny tiny non walk-in closet. It’s been this way for the past five years. We have a guest bedroom closet, but that is T-SHIRT town so…

5. Kitchen cabinets.
We have room for a crock pot and that’s about it. I learned the hard way that drawer under our oven is not in fact a drawer, but it’s a broiler. Don’t worry, the fire didn’t even leave the kitchen, only the black soot did…

6. Kitchen pantry. 
Lols. Non-existent.

7. Bathrooms.
Again, this one is pretty tough. We have one sink, one shower, all in one tiny old bathroom. Morning time gets a little sticky.

8. Zero storage.
No extra closets, or rooms, or drawers, or a basement, or attic, nada.

The good part about this is that we don’t have a lot of extra junk. We have what you see and that’s it. However, in the past few weeks our generous friends and family have started sending wedding gifts our way. Talk about fun mail days.

So each time we bring something new into our house I get rid of something old. It’s the only option we have. I’ve started using something new on my phone called The letgo app.


This app allows you to buy and sell used items quickly and efficiently. From signing up, to listing an item, it took me all of two minutes so it’s incredibly user friendly. You choose your category and click sell your stuff and then it’s online and ready to be purchased by someone!

And letgo has a pretty hilarious tool called letgo Commercializer where you can actually create short commercials for your products you are selling. If you’ve always wanted to work in advertising, this is your chance! Be that commercial star! You simply have to choose the item you are selling, choose a theme for the commercial and then letGo will make the magic happen.

I’m not in the market to buy anything right now, but I can’t help but browse what’s in my area for sale. For example there’s a pretty cool vintage Bulls jersey I have my eye on…

What do you have lying around your house that you’d like to get off your hands and make a little money in the process?
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11 Comments

  1. May 4, 2016 / 6:49 pm

    we're gearing up to move to DC and I'm trying my best to prep myself for it. I'm trying to figure out how little of space we can realistically cram myself, my boyfriend and my dog in.

    Sarah
    The Midwest Darling

  2. May 4, 2016 / 7:23 pm

    That's not an actual drawer under the oven?!? This just blew my mind! I've been living a lie my whole life.

  3. May 4, 2016 / 10:36 pm

    the laundry is tough! I moved out from brazil to san francisco and our habits there were totally different. I was used to live in a house with 3rooms and 4 bathrooms and DOGS. Right now I'm living on a studio (bedroom and living room is the same thing) and I can't have a pet.
    It's hard but like everything in life, you'll adapt and then move to some place better 🙂

  4. May 5, 2016 / 11:05 am

    I just downloaded the app! I live in a house but I still hate clutter and useless junk but using eBay all the time isn't convenient to sell big items and Craig's List scares the crap out of me.

  5. May 5, 2016 / 12:01 pm

    Gives me nightmares from my five years in a studio…and I was living by myself (which was awesome and honestly I had a great time living on my own) but it was tight!!!

  6. May 5, 2016 / 2:22 pm

    I can totally relate to this, having left a big home in PA for a tiny NYC studio! That app sounds like a lifesaver, I'm downloading it now!

  7. May 5, 2016 / 4:40 pm

    Getting ready to do the same, going from a townhome to a condo right outside DC. It's actually felt great getting rid of a lot of junk that I've been to lazy to let go of but the small square footage, parking, and lack of quietness are what scare me most!

  8. May 5, 2016 / 11:49 pm

    I used to live in NY (a little north of the city) and totally relate to most of your feelings being in Chicago now. So happy I moved back to Tampa and have some more space. The biggest thing for me was always the laundry!! I don't miss having to lug it down and finding quarters to use the machines!

  9. May 6, 2016 / 4:42 pm

    This app looks like a very helpful tool. I usually take what I do not need to Goodwill, simply cannot be bothered with selling stuff.
    Thank you for sharing
    Agnes
    findinglifebalancewithagnes.blogspot.com

  10. May 10, 2016 / 11:03 pm

    I miss having laundry SO much!

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