Downsizing - regrets?
- Thread starter wlaker
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HFWR
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I skipped upsizing...
Orchidflower
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It's a great idea, so don't be fearful...unless you downsize to a doghouse sized house. The less junk you have the more free you feel I say!
Midpack
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I'm at 2270 sqft and it's still way too much. I can't wait until the next house at 1100-1500 sqft. The older I get, the less I care about "stuff." Sold about 50 of our belongings for about $2500 on eBay this past winter, don't miss any of it at all. No regrets whatsoever here...
ProspectiveBum
Full time employment: Posting here.
What, specifically, are you fearful about? Not having enough space? Purging your belongings?
We're currently in a pretty big house, but we have a young family. When the kids are grown and gone, I think I'll be happy to downsize. Something fairly small, with no stairs, sounds about right.
Khan
Gone but not forgotten
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Lot: ~5000 sf
House: ~1000 sf
too much
House: ~1000 sf
too much
BunsGettingFirm
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What kind of regrets do you fear? If you fear that your friends will laugh in your face, just let it slip that you paid cash for your house. This may be common on this board is actually a shocker in the general population.
frayne
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My only regret was I didn't do it sooner, it was actually kind of liberating.
Katsmeow
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I eagerly await downsizing. We did do it termporarily. 3 years ago we sold our roughly 4100 sq ft house. We then rented a 2500 sq ft house for 6 months (my husband and me, 3 kids and an au pair). We then bought a house that was even larger than the house we sold. I eagerly await the day we can go back to around 2500 sq ft.
Now, 2500 sq ft with 6 people in it was more cramped than I would like but truthfully had it just been DH and me it would have been plenty big enough. The only thing I didnt like (besides it being 2 story but we will get 1 story next time) was that the master bathroom was too small. A lot of it depends on layout.
Now, 2500 sq ft with 6 people in it was more cramped than I would like but truthfully had it just been DH and me it would have been plenty big enough. The only thing I didnt like (besides it being 2 story but we will get 1 story next time) was that the master bathroom was too small. A lot of it depends on layout.
LOL!
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Whenever we've moved, the movers have lost about half our belongings. Does that count as downsizing?
We discovered that we would rather have the cash from the insurance, so we stopped buying any "stuff". Some of our relatives have complained that we have nothing in our house. So what.
We discovered that we would rather have the cash from the insurance, so we stopped buying any "stuff". Some of our relatives have complained that we have nothing in our house. So what.
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
You know, now that I think of it, I have never had any regrets about things I once had, but no longer have, for whatever reasons.
There have been times when I had to live in a place that was too small for my possessions. Now THAT is no fun. Nobody wants to trip over stuff all the time and have no closet space or other places to put things. My mistake was not downsizing my possessions to fit the living quarters. The downsizing has to be proportional.
There have been times when I had to live in a place that was too small for my possessions. Now THAT is no fun. Nobody wants to trip over stuff all the time and have no closet space or other places to put things. My mistake was not downsizing my possessions to fit the living quarters. The downsizing has to be proportional.
unclemick
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
one girlfriend
two dogs
one cat
six goldfish
1100 sq ft - plenty of room to clutter with stuff.
heh heh heh - of course a heated garage with a rusty old pickup to putter with would be nice?? Should never have given away my 94 GMC Sonoma.
two dogs
one cat
six goldfish
1100 sq ft - plenty of room to clutter with stuff.
heh heh heh - of course a heated garage with a rusty old pickup to putter with would be nice?? Should never have given away my 94 GMC Sonoma.
Right now living in Thailand, my current regret is that I still haven't gotten out of the habit of LBYM using low COL Thai standards but I am working hard on improving it.
If I don't watch out, I may die a filthy rich man if I continue to live (and die) in Thailand.
If I don't watch out, I may die a filthy rich man if I continue to live (and die) in Thailand.
Anytime you miss big homes and lots of belongings you can come out here to help us with the cleaning, dusting, and yardwork...
George Carlin puts "your stuff" in the right perspective
YouTube - George Carlin Talks About "Stuff".
YouTube - George Carlin Talks About "Stuff".
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
I love it!! He is absolutely right. It's all about "stuff".
IndependentlyPoor
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Sure I have some regrets. It is a huge and complex life decision with downsides as well as upsides. I wish that I had advice to give, but the only thing I can offer is an honest appraisal of my own experience.
My self-image was all tide up in pursuing the upper-middle class dream, and breaking away from that was very difficult and emotional. However, downsizing was a very liberating experience, and I am convinced it was the right path for us.
At the same time, I am pretty sure that radical downsizing and early retirement is not right for everybody. I wish there were some online quiz that folks could take: "Is downsizing right for me?", but there isn't. Some soul searching, and maybe even some agonizing, is probably necessary.
My self-image was all tide up in pursuing the upper-middle class dream, and breaking away from that was very difficult and emotional. However, downsizing was a very liberating experience, and I am convinced it was the right path for us.
At the same time, I am pretty sure that radical downsizing and early retirement is not right for everybody. I wish there were some online quiz that folks could take: "Is downsizing right for me?", but there isn't. Some soul searching, and maybe even some agonizing, is probably necessary.
CuppaJoe
Moderator Emeritus
Yes, at last the true meaning of life.
hankster
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For us, downsizing simplified our lives, lowered the stress level and brought our ER date much closer. What's not to like?
Life_is_Good
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I'm pleased with our decision to downsize. We moved into a smaller house, sold things/furniture we no longer needed and used that money to buy new things.
Some other benefits:
-- lower utility bills (not heating unused rooms)
-- paying less property taxes based on sq ft
-- spending less time doing yard work (with smaller yard)
-- spend less time cleaning with fewer rooms
More time to golf
Some other benefits:
-- lower utility bills (not heating unused rooms)
-- paying less property taxes based on sq ft
-- spending less time doing yard work (with smaller yard)
-- spend less time cleaning with fewer rooms
More time to golf
toofrugalformycat
Full time employment: Posting here.
DH and I live in a 975 sq ft house. When we left to travel for over a year, we "downsized" our stuff to fit into a rented 10X10 space, except for garden tools and old furniture left for our renter to use, and one car that we parked at a relative's house.
It was a LOT of work to sort through all the stuff we'd crammed into the closets. We worked solid for 30 days, morning to night.
Looking back on it (more than 10 years ago) I wish I'd gotten rid of more.
I'm glad I kept all the photos and slides.
The only thing I kind of miss is my 10-speed bike from high school/college that I gave to charity. It was not fancy but had some memories attached. OTOH a friend has given me another of the same vintage, higher quality, as a spare bike. I'm a bike nut.
If we buy another house, I wouldn't want any more space. Less stuff is better.
It was a LOT of work to sort through all the stuff we'd crammed into the closets. We worked solid for 30 days, morning to night.
Looking back on it (more than 10 years ago) I wish I'd gotten rid of more.
I'm glad I kept all the photos and slides.
The only thing I kind of miss is my 10-speed bike from high school/college that I gave to charity. It was not fancy but had some memories attached. OTOH a friend has given me another of the same vintage, higher quality, as a spare bike. I'm a bike nut.
If we buy another house, I wouldn't want any more space. Less stuff is better.
Thank you all so much for your input -- especially enjoyed the George Carlin spot. We've been holding on to two homes (one in OH and one in FL). Since we stay in FL 7 to 8 months a year -- decided to sell the OH home so as not to worry about it in the winter. Put it up for sale when we came back in May -- really thought it wouldn't sell, but it must be meant to be because it's sold. Don't need any of this stuff in OH so I'm going through everything -- giving the good stuff to our kids (if they want it) and I guess donating or taking stuff to the auction house. It's just tough doing this -- so many happy memories of the stuff and this house.
IndependentlyPoor
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
We actually had a very good experience selling stuff on Craig's List. I posted photos and prices and folks who were cruising the internet at work would write back and ask me to hold them until 5PM. (I could tell because their emails would be from places like Dell, IBM, or some state agency.) We sold all sorts of stuff that way, china, silver, furniture, artwork, and rugs. I enjoyed meeting the buyers, and felt like our things ended up with folks who wanted and appreciated them. You have to be OK with selling things at near garage sale prices however.
When it got down to the wire and we had to be out of the house, we put our lawn tools and things like that on the front walk and posted a "free, come and get it" ad. on Craig's List.
When it got down to the wire and we had to be out of the house, we put our lawn tools and things like that on the front walk and posted a "free, come and get it" ad. on Craig's List.
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Amethyst
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I empathize with the difficulty of giving up things you've lived with for years.
When we went overseas, we were obliged to downsize for 3 years to a very nice flat. Three-quarters of our belongings went into storage. Instead of finding this liberating, we missed our former space, belongings, art, books, furniture, and yard.
We are selective about what we acquire, and rarely get rid of anything. Once age erodes our health, we know we won't be able to take care of everything we own, and D R E A D the inevitable downsizing. These objects and rooms bring us joy. If we had kids, we would give them our things so we could at least come and "visit" our stuff now and then.
When we went overseas, we were obliged to downsize for 3 years to a very nice flat. Three-quarters of our belongings went into storage. Instead of finding this liberating, we missed our former space, belongings, art, books, furniture, and yard.
We are selective about what we acquire, and rarely get rid of anything. Once age erodes our health, we know we won't be able to take care of everything we own, and D R E A D the inevitable downsizing. These objects and rooms bring us joy. If we had kids, we would give them our things so we could at least come and "visit" our stuff now and then.
