When we decided to quit our jobs and move from Indianapolis, Indiana to Portland, Oregon neither of us knew a soul in Portland, we didn't have jobs lined up, we didn't have a place to live - it was a complete leap of faith. What we DID know was we didn't want to take a lot of stuff with us.

When we made the decision to move across the country the first of two times, we were living in a 530-square-foot apartment, so downsizing wasn't too terribly overwhelming. Limited space = limited stuff.