Do you want to manage it?

[Stormy Kromer]

Quoting myself, just yesterday we met with another Canadian couple that manages and lives in the 8 unit rental across the street and screens the potential tenants. We're now on the waiting list for a unit, which will cost about the same for 12 months that we're currently paying for just 2 months.

When a place becomes available there's a chance that we'll just bounce back and forth between our cabin in Canada and the rental in Mexico without getting an apartment in Canada.

I guess we have a lot more purging to do...

Now that sounds perfect. We visit Canada twice a year for week long fly in fishing trips and are looking for a place for an extended visit in a southern location in the winter months. We live full time on our farm in MN.

 

[Midpack]

It's a good thread premise. We are shedding things and want to continue with "less is more".

We came to same realization in our late 40’s. We had too much stuff, and realized we rarely or never used some of it. So we began decluttering through eBay, giving stuff away, and just throwing stuff out. Ever since we refuse to buy things we don’t plan to use often, or things that are special purpose when something more versatile would do just fine (mostly kitchen items, but not entirely). When we moved in 2019 we got rid of even more stuff. I’ve even taken to asking myself what I’ll get rid of when I consider buying something, e.g. I have one full bookshelf, and if I plan to buy a new book, another book goes in the trash. Or thinking very seriously about maintenance effort/cost of anything I buy, I usually don’t want more chores.

To our surprise we’re noticeably happier with less stuff…less is definitely more to us.

 

[marko]

My general rule is "if I can't outsource the maintenance, I don't want anything to do with it". There's a few exceptions, but I try to stay true.

Three years ago we went from a 150 year old house where something always needed attention, to a brand new house. Best decision we ever made. It's not so much the clutter, but the things that require attention.

The older I get the more convenience I demand. Give me my pool guys, landscaper, snowplow driver, house cleaners and window washers!

 

[ncbill]

Got stuck doing all the outside work as a kid on a 6,000 sqft house.

After a few years in an apartment moved to a townhome community over 30 years ago.

Raised the kids here & I hopefully will be carried out of our current place feet first.

 

[Zona]

Great thread topic. "Do I want to manage it?" is a really helpful way to think about both ongoing tasks and all the things we can or do acquire in a lifetime. DH and I have downsized a few times and I periodically purge our closets and storage spaces because we don't have a lot of places to store things - our 1800 sf house is bigger than our last one but still on the smallish side in the kitchen storage area - so I try to limit kitchen gadgets to things that will actually get some use (instant pot, immersion blender). I really like Target2019's idea of asking "when will I use it?"

When we travel, we go for months with a carryon and small backpack each, so I know we could live with even less if we had to.

I have an aunt who has a older house & basement packed full of things -- so much that it takes up every inch of cabinet/closet and floorspace in the home -- and just thinking of having to potentially help go through all that "stuff" someday gives me anxiety. She has wanted to move for years but won't let her children or nieces help get rid of anything. I have tried to tell her that reducing her stuff might actually reduce her stress & improve her life, but I don't think she'll change anytime soon. Unfortunately, for a lot of the big stuff and home maintenance it falls to her 85-yo husband to "manage it". I feel for him; that's not how DH and I would want to live.

 

[happy2bretired]

That's a pretty good way to describe it. And what you want to manage changes with age and circumstances. DW and I used to like traveling in a DIY fashion with minimal plans. We liked the flexibility to change our minds mid-stream, figure out public transportation in foreign cities, etc. But now we like everything packed up and handled. We take bike tours that are all setup, transportation, equipment, accommodations. We went to Antarctica and rafting in the Grand Canyon, with everything handled for us. No way I am going to fly into some mega city and figure out the transportation system.

Similarly with cooking, I have lost interest in managing complex food preparation, which I used to enjoy. Now it's easy recipes or delivery. On the other hand, I still wander into new interests that are complex and require a bit of management to handle, e.g., the deep space astrophotography rabbit hole I went down this year.

I used to travel, making arrangements thru a travel agent. Now, I just don’t travel any more. There comes a time when the hassle just doesn’t make sense any longer, for me anyway.

My cooking has changed too. I used to make recipes that used multiple ingredients and spices. I cooked meat that left messy pots and pans. Now, I just buy precooked meat from my nearby grocery store. I wrap it up in precut foil and put it in the freezer. I can add a sauce, if I want, when heating it in the oven for a half hour. I usually have a selection of smoked pork, rotisserie chicken (deboned by the grocery store), burnt ends and ham. I also buy frozen fish for variety. Plus I like beans, prepared in my crockpot. Along with various frozen vegetables, I always have plenty to eat, without much fuss.

 

[djsander]

We got rid of a lot of stuff when we retired and moved. We now think about things and if we really need them before buying. A neighbor has a small house with a three car garage. The garage is filled with stuff. They have two storage sheds filled with more stuff. Their three cars sit in the drive way. We walk our neighborhood and see similar garages packed with stuff. We feel so much better without a lot of clutter in our life. As I write this I am thinking about cleaning out the things in the garage on the shelf that we haven’t had a use for since moving in 2-1/2 years ago.