Downsizing: We Open the PODS - Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

Downsizing: We Open the PODS - Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

They call it containerization. OK, containerization if you wish, but what PODS stands for is Portable on Demand Storage. It was new to me as I always thought a pod contained peas. What was once two peas in a pod became a house in two PODS.

The two giants arrived and were placed in the driveway with little fanfare by a lovely lady with a big smile who drove a truck equipped with a loading and unloading lift system called Podzilla. Of course.

We packed the PODS with nearly two tons of stuff. With a phone call, they were just as quietly taken away to be stored until we called again. In space? Over the next four weeks, PODS never entered my mind.

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We moved, and now they had to be delivered. Soon enough, there they were taking up the entire driveway in tandem. ”What did we put in those behemoths? What do we need that’s in them? What if one day they were dumped in the ocean (no worries, we pay attention to our environment)? Would we care? Or miss anything?”

I never thought that same smiling lady would get down the narrow lane and into the driveway. But skilled she was. And so very nice. But as she drove off, her appealing smile and soft wave seemed to suggest, “You’re on your own now. Call us when they’re empty. Heh, Heh. Call me when you get there. Heh, Heh, if you ever get there.”

PODS are interesting beasts. Docile. Gentle. Quiet, but imposing as they sit in your driveway. I hesitated to open the door, fearing I would be under attack with a horde of stuff cascading upon me like a volcanic discharge. I unlocked the door,  opened it slowly,  peeked, stepped back in haste, and let the door fly. Nothing had moved. Whew.  Stunned by how much I saw, I sighed. Where would we put all this?

When packing it, I attempted to fill the empty spaces with blankets, towels, pillows, and other bulky things that would help prevent shifting. Evenly distribute the weight. Load the heaviest items on the bottom. Yeah, right. After several trips, I was slogging stuff in.

The moving trucks came and went in three hours. But PODS, unlike moving trucks, come and stay for a while, a welcomed guest, sorta. They’ll stay as long as you wish, as long as you need to keep the stuff out of your house because you have nowhere to put it. All we had to do was unload. “Would that we could be ‘out’ of the PODS in three days.”

Downsizing presents unique challenges, and you like to think you’re prepared. It came so fast---- just five weeks between the purchase of one home, the sale of another, and Shazam, we moved.

By now, the PODS, still not empty, have grown on me. They have allowed us to take our time as we sort things out. But, yes, you guessed it. I’ll be glad when they’re gone.