Downsizing

[JoeWras]

We just had a big tag sale for mom and dad's stuff. Mostly all knick knack kind of stuff. Nearly got $700 from that little stuff. Dad was happy to hear that.

All the important mementos went to the grand kids. Yet, siblings and I had to make some difficult choices and let a lot go. We did, and in the process, saw some delight on the part of purchasers.

It was great to see a young mother delight over a $5 iron. Or the student who took our cooking set.

The hard part was figuring if we had antiques. We looked a lot up and demanded bigger prices for suspected items. A few sold.

Meanwhile, we probably let some go for nothing and someone out there may be making $100's profit. You know what? That's OK. It might have ended up in the dump anyway.

Man, this process has been difficult.

 

[Live And Learn]

JoeWras, I hear you on the process. I threw out the first thing I ever bought myself with my first paycheck - from when I was 16 !!! It was a jacket - about 10 sizes too small now. I've moved it from house to house all these years. Crazy stuff. On the other hand I look at the furniture I've lovingly picked out over the years and it tears me apart to think I might have to part with it.

Huston - there are so many planned communities in Florida that probably makes more sense for you to determine the part of the state / city you'd like first. Don't limit yourself. Visit a few cities and see what you like. I am on the Gulf Coast, which is nice, but the water gets to be 90F during the summer, which is just gross. The East (Ocean) coast has cooler water, better waves at the beach, and better salt water fishing. But this where my family is, which is why I love it here.

 

[Live And Learn]

I have a new motto "too much space, too much waste" ! Going through my accumulated stuff I realize I have duplicates and triplicates of way too many things. It hurts that I wasted all that money ! Most of the stuff was purchased before the great recession crash, before I really hunkered down, but it still gives me pause. With the new limited space I'm hoping to avoid buying duplicates, hoping that I'll be better able to track current inventory.

 

[Hermit]

Wish I had the time to go through my stuff. The townhouse I am renting sold and I decided to retire. I get a rental truck the end of the month, pack up the truck and I'm on my way to Colorado. The stuff goes in a storage unit for a couple years while I build a cabin. Maybe by then I won' t be so attached to the stuff.

 

[brett]

When we downsized we were also preparing our home for sale which meant paining every room.

We did it room by room but with one rule. Anything in the room was either packed in boxes and those boxes moved to the garage in preparation for moving. What we did not want did not go back in the room...we had a central place for keeping items that we were either giving away, sending to Goodwill, or discarding. We were not about to move the same items again and again-once was enough.

We gave away a lot of furniture to relatives-bedroom sets and living room sets, etc. We only had one rule...if you want it come and get it within a week otherwise is goes to Goodwill. That rule helped a lot.

So now were are back after travelling for 8 months we have decided to rent a 2br. condo for a while. We do not feel compelled to buy and this in itself is liberating. We move in next week but we both realize that we have items in our storage container that we should not have kept. So we have yet another round of downsizing ahead of us!

 

[Huston55]

I don't know if its contagious or what but, we're also going through [-]a[/-] another purge. We've moved frequently over the past 30+ yrs and have up sized and downsized several times. We're probably somewhere in the middle, size wise, now; living in a 3BR/2BA, 2400sf condo. We have a small storage unit with this condo but, downsized from >4000sf house with a 2 car garage and full basement. So, lots of remaining stuff.

So, at DW's [-]urging[/-] insistence, we've started sorting and purging the stuff in the storage unit. Actually, we started a few months ago. Sold lots of stuff on Craigslist, donated a bit, and had lots of it hauled away. That was most of the big stuff. Now, we're sorting through the smaller stuff, lots of mementos, and getting rid of the excess.

Our goal is to fit into a 2BR/2BA, ~1500sf condo when we retire within the next year. I have to admit, it's somewhat liberating.

 

[Live And Learn]

Our goal is to fit into a 2BR/2BA, ~1500sf condo when we retire within the next year. I have to admit, it's somewhat liberating.

I think it SHOULD be liberating ...... its the "getting there" that is causing anxiety. Part of the anxitey is that I have p*ssed away money. The rest is that I like the perceived "comfort" my "stuff" gives me. Interesting dynamic.

 

[Alex in Virginia]

Monday, we are closing on a new house. And it's not a smaller one, so we are going to be migrating in the opposite direction of downsizing.

We sold our primary house in October 2011 and "by inertia" downsized into our second house. But it has proven too small for the way my wife and I live. So it's going to be back to a house with a 2-car instead of a 1-car garage, a big workshop outbuilding, 2 bathrooms instead of 1, and 3 more rooms than we have now in our "second" house.

The big difference is that we are buying this new house for 61% of what we sold our primary house for in 2011, and the mortgage payment is going to almost exactly work out to be half of what the old one was.

Alex in Virginia

 

[Live And Learn]

The big difference is that we are buying this new house for 61% of what we sold our primary house for in 2011, and the mortgage payment is going to almost exactly work out to be half of what the old one was.

Alex in Virginia

Wow - thats fantastic ! Good luck with the move.

 

[Live And Learn]

When we downsized we were also preparing our home for sale which meant paining every room.

We did it room by room but with one rule. Anything in the room was either packed in boxes and those boxes moved to the garage in preparation for moving. What we did not want did not go back in the room...we had a central place for keeping items that we were either giving away, sending to Goodwill, or discarding. We were not about to move the same items again and again-once was enough.

I have three boxes and a garbage pail with me as I pack. Taking lessons from "Hoarder - buried alive". "Keep", "Donate", "Sell" and the garbage pail for "throw it away". It works well. As I pick up each item I think to myself "would I care if it broke or got lost during the move". If the answer is no, it does NOT go into the "keep" box.

 

[Live And Learn]

Wish I had the time to go through my stuff. The townhouse I am renting sold and I decided to retire. I get a rental truck the end of the month, pack up the truck and I'm on my way to Colorado. The stuff goes in a storage unit for a couple years while I build a cabin. Maybe by then I won' t be so attached to the stuff.

When we moved from up north to Florida everything came and all "non essentials" were in storage for 3 months. When I finally unpack I couldn't believe the utter cr*p I had.

 

[eytonxav]

Next week we begin renovations on our existing > 4000 sq ft home that will include updating the master bath and the jack & jill bath, removing wallpaper and painting, replacing light fixtures and fans throughout, and new door levers throughout. Also, plan some curb appeal work in both front and backyards.

This will make our house market ready. Although we have found a new 55+ community in a neighboring town that we like, we would have to build from scratch in order to downsize to about 2100 sq ft, so it is likely we will not be able to pull this off in a single move if our house sells quickly. On the other hand, we may decide after the renovations that we love the old house too much to move, but I must say the economics of moving are very strong over the longer term, albeit with some pain and inconvenience in between and leaving a town we love.

 

[W2R]

This will make our house market ready. Although we have found a new 55+ community in a neighboring town that we like, we would have to build from scratch in order to downsize to about 2100 sq ft, so it is likely we will not be able to pull this off in a single move if our house sells quickly.

I think I have finally given up on the idea of ever moving just once again.

I am really picky. So, the next time I move I will probably choose to rent after selling my home, until the right house appears on the market. The likelihood of finding the right house around the time my own house sells, or within a couple of years afterwards, is about 0%.

The actual moving part can be handled by a local moving company for a relatively modest amount, but just thinking of the other costs makes me shudder and appreciate the house I have even more.

 

[brett]

It is surprising how your attitude changes post downsizing.

We have purchased four of five hardcover books over the past three months. We donated each one to our local library after reading them. We just not in accumulation mode any more.

We have a big box of tax files through 2006 that are marked for shredding at the end of this year. Cannot wait to get rid of them at the auto club shredding event in January.

 

[Live And Learn]

Still haven't moved so the downsizing is going slowly. It feels weird to own two primary homes w/out a mortgage on either. I feel cash poor and its scary !

Still going through stuff and wondering where it all came from ! I'm also finding it easier and easier to eliminate items that I had previously kept for 'sentimental reasons'. Over the weekend I took a bunch of photos of such stuff; some of the iteams really belonged in the trash (where they are now), and the rest will go to Goodwill.

Given that I've decided to postpone my ER for another two or so years I've eased up on the budget a little and went about $2k over budget on the new flooring, but I think it will make me that much happier in the long run.

I need to find one of those "shredding events" ..... I have more paper than I care to admit to !

 

[timo2]

Still haven't moved so the downsizing is going slowly. It feels weird to own two primary homes w/out a mortgage on either. I feel cash poor and its scary !

Still going through stuff and wondering where it all came from ! I'm also finding it easier and easier to eliminate items that I had previously kept for 'sentimental reasons'. Over the weekend I took a bunch of photos of such stuff; some of the iteams really belonged in the trash (where they are now), and the rest will go to Goodwill.

Given that I've decided to postpone my ER for another two or so years I've eased up on the budget a little and went about $2k over budget on the new flooring, but I think it will make me that much happier in the long run.

I need to find one of those "shredding events" ..... I have more paper than I care to admit to !

freecycle is also a place to get rid of stuff that maybe goodwill might not want www.freecycle.org

 

[Semiretired2008]

I wonder if a down sizing assistance group could make a living off of helping people through the process?

 

[timo2]

I wonder if a down sizing assistance group could make a living off of helping people through the process?

Heck with that! How about a reality series!!

 

[pb4uski]

....I need to find one of those "shredding events" ..... I have more paper than I care to admit to !

I had the same thing and in our area the shredding events are only in the spring, so I had a good sized shred box that I had for a while until the next scheduled shred event.

I didn't want to wear out my personal shredder. I actually even considered paying for shredding for a while but my LBYM side prevailed and the shred box sat in a corner for a while.

 

[Meadbh]

I wonder if a down sizing assistance group could make a living off of helping people through the process?

I used just such a firm when I downsized and moved long distance two years ago. They were invaluable. They organized systematic triaging, confidential shredding for 300 lbs of paper, book sales, charitable donations, furniture auctions, waste disposal, packing and house staging. Without them, it would have been overwhelming.

 

[Andre1969]

I had the same thing and in our area the shredding events are only in the spring, so I had a good sized shred box that I had for a while until the next scheduled shred event.

I didn't want to wear out my personal shredder. I actually even considered paying for shredding for a while but my LBYM side prevailed and the shred box sat in a corner for a while.

Where I live, it's still rural enough that we can burn things. So sometimes, on a nice evening, if we've accumulated too much paper, we just get light up the fire pit, throw it on there, and burn it up with some wood, cardboard, etc.

I've lost track of how many shredders we've gone through.

One problem with burning paper though, is that you do have to make sure the fire burns good and long, and stir the embers even. If you just have a quick fire, you'll end up with some unburned paper.

 

[brett]

After 10 months we finally unloaded our POD container and moved into smaller accommodation (1350 sq. feet vs 3500 plus sq feet).

As an aside, we were very happy that we chose the POD solution and our local franchisee provided excellent service. The POD was stored inside a clean, modern warehouse. We only had to pack and unload once instead of moving everything to a storage locker facility and then back again.

We thought that we did a good job of downsizing. Maybe we did. Still, as soon as we started unpacking the container we knew that we had kept 'too much stuff'. So we are on round 4 of the downsizing. The storage areas are full. The biggest issue is wall space and shelf space. We kept too many pictures, pieces of art, and things like ornaments and dishes-plated, cups, saucers, etc. Some are now going to Goodwill, others will remain in storage (we no longer need place settings for 16 but are reluctant to discard).

It actually feels good not to own, and be responsible for, a house for the first time in 35 years. We have two trips in the planning stage. It will be lock and go for us. So far we do not miss the space. I think that the seven months of travel and three months in a smaller, furnished apt. served to change our collective attitudes about how much space we need and about accumulation.

 

[Mulligan]

Heck with that! How about a reality series!!

They do already it's called "Hoarders". A most disgusting show if I must say so. If you ever get discouraged about all the clutter you have in your house, watch this show. It will make you feel better about yourself immediately.

 

[Unpaintedhuffhines]

They do already it's called "Hoarders". A most disgusting show if I must say so. If you ever get discouraged about all the clutter you have in your house, watch this show. It will make you feel better about yourself immediately.

Lol. When we were downsizing (15 years in a 3,500 s.f. House down to a 1,400 sf house), whenever we got stuck and didn't think we could purge anymore, we'd watch about 3-4 episodes of Hoarders, and it was a breeze to get rid of stuff after that.

At first, getting rid of kids stuff was hard - what do you do with 18 years of trophies and ribbons?!? We put them all out, took a series of pictures with the kiddos, let them keep whatever they wanted, and donated the rest.

 

[Mulligan]

Lol. When we were downsizing (15 years in a 3,500 s.f. House down to a 1,400 sf house), whenever we got stuck and didn't think we could purge anymore, we'd watch about 3-4 episodes of Hoarders, and it was a breeze to get rid of stuff after that.

At first, getting rid of kids stuff was hard - what do you do with 18 years of trophies and ribbons?!? We put them all out, took a series of pictures with the kiddos, let them keep whatever they wanted, and donated the rest.

That was a good strategy. The cockroaches on display occasionally in that show would make it more motivating. The hardest part I thought personally, was the first part....making yourself start pitching. I spent many years debating/stalling with myself on things to pitch. Never have regretted any thing tossed away. I have around a 1400 sq. footer myself. I look monthly for things to throw away. I have become a minimalist now. My idea of house decorations is fresh clean white painted walls with nothing hanging on them. Drives my GF crazy.