Downsizing is a mental exercise, mostly because you typically are giving away so many things that you may have more attachment to that you think. It took a year for me to slowly sell and give away enough belongings to even think about the move, but now that we have, I love it.
We went from 2500sq home with large backyard in Chicago burbs to 1100 sq ft apartment in Raliegh Nc. I settled in almost immediately and have loved it. First it reduced our expenses by almost $3k/month which allowed me to retire. Second we moved someplace where there is lots of shopping near by, a 5500 acre park with over 30 miles of trails just minutes from the door with lakes for canoeing and kayaking. What I miss in our house, I make up for in the amenities in the apartment which has everything you'd have at a resort. Even my garden I don't miss as I can volunteer at Duke Gardens which is amazing.
I looked at the pictures of all the stuff I gave away and one or two items make me a little sad, but I don't actually miss having them. The one great thing about downsizing is we hand selected only the best to come with us..so purging the towels that have seen better days, tossing the 150 bottles of "stuff" you've accumulated in the linen closet, and picking the best sofa, the nicest bedroom set, so now when I walk in to my apartment, I only see the nicest, high end furniture which makes it seem like I almost got an upgrade.
Ironically the bathrooms, closets, and kitchen are bigger in the apartment then my home. Yes I traded Dental molding and Granite countertops for some basic but nice and new kitchen cabinets/countertops, but its nice not having to worry about keeping everything updated... I really enjoy calling maintenance and know it costs me $0.
We went from 2500sq home with large backyard in Chicago burbs to 1100 sq ft apartment in Raliegh Nc. I settled in almost immediately and have loved it. First it reduced our expenses by almost $3k/month which allowed me to retire. Second we moved someplace where there is lots of shopping near by, a 5500 acre park with over 30 miles of trails just minutes from the door with lakes for canoeing and kayaking. What I miss in our house, I make up for in the amenities in the apartment which has everything you'd have at a resort. Even my garden I don't miss as I can volunteer at Duke Gardens which is amazing.
I looked at the pictures of all the stuff I gave away and one or two items make me a little sad, but I don't actually miss having them. The one great thing about downsizing is we hand selected only the best to come with us..so purging the towels that have seen better days, tossing the 150 bottles of "stuff" you've accumulated in the linen closet, and picking the best sofa, the nicest bedroom set, so now when I walk in to my apartment, I only see the nicest, high end furniture which makes it seem like I almost got an upgrade.
Ironically the bathrooms, closets, and kitchen are bigger in the apartment then my home. Yes I traded Dental molding and Granite countertops for some basic but nice and new kitchen cabinets/countertops, but its nice not having to worry about keeping everything updated... I really enjoy calling maintenance and know it costs me $0.