We have sold our home and downsizing–3800 sq ft to 1500 sq ft apt–any suggestions?
We sold our large home quickly (with a profit thankfully) and moving to Shreveport, LA. We don’t wish to buy again-at least for a couple of years. Children at school and retirement coming up fast. Any thoughts about best ways to max our 3 bedroom apt? Selling all our yard stuff and some furniture, some will also go into storage. What will we really need? One child in college and might live with us, the other is attending a private high school and would be with us for vacations. I work at home. We also have two cats. We have moved all around the country so I know the ins and outs of moving, but have never had to downsize. Each house just got bigger! Would welcome any thoughts or suggestions from anyone who has done this……….thanks!
Category: Senior Citizens | Tags: Cats, Children At School, Downsizing, Ins And Outs, Moving, Private High School, Private School, Retirement, Shreveport La, Sq Ft, Storage, Tira Misu, Vacations, Yard Furniture 14 comments »
December 17th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
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I’m downsizing myself and I presented just such a problem to my group and this is what we came up with ….
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> I now have five poster boards on the walls marked:
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> “Do I need YOU?”
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> “Do I love YOU?”
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> “Can I live without YOU?”
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> “Do You take up too much space?”
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> “Can You be replaced?”
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> What cha’ think?
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December 17th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
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I do not envy you, this awesome chore . . .!!!
This is something I have done, many times, over the past 50 years of living/moving. . .
What worked for me was to:
Plan what I would need/put in each room…basics first.
Locate mentally where each item would ‘go’.
Whatever didn’t fit or work in that room, would be put aside to sell or donate.
Going thru all the other items in my posession would take a minimum of 6 months, to weed/sort out – hope you have that much time? to pack and move. . .
I have gone from 3000 sq ft – to a present 1000 sq ft – plus an 18×20 ft garage . . . I shall never go back to more space!
Best wishes to you, and remember the mosquito repellent for LA! Get lots, cause you’ll need it!!!
December 19th, 2009 at 7:58 am
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My husband and I did this 20 years ago. We had 4 grown children and decided that the house was just to big for us. We also thought that if we didn’t have much room, no one would move back home. We bought a darling little bungalow 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, great room, dining room, kitchen, screened porch. We are right across the street from a lovely park. We have loved it. We helped furnish 4 apartments with all the extra furniture. Our kids still have some of the furnishings. We bought all new furniture for our new home. The kind of furniture we always wanted. It was just so much fun. Good luck with the down size, your doing the right thing.
December 21st, 2009 at 8:59 pm
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Make sure you put your washer & dryer up-stairs.
In the closet look.
They have some very nice stackable’s now days.
~~Good Luck~~
December 22nd, 2009 at 3:41 am
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I downsized to 1250 and love it I found if I havnt used it in months I never will! Also clothes,if I havnt worn them recently gone! I dont have any children coming home ( all grown) but I love the paring down ,oh I have 5 dogs and 4 cats but we bought acerage just a small house
December 23rd, 2009 at 5:50 am
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I have done the same thing. We went from a 4 bedroom 3 bath house with a den, living room dining room combo and a large basement which was great for accumulating junk to a small 3 bedroom and 1 1/2 bath. I do wish I had two full size baths.
After you part with a lot of stuff you have to be clever about storage issues. Check out HGTV.com for storage solutions. Between the studs shelves and cabinets are great. Also I learned to use dressers and chests that are tall not long. I got rid of my cabinet sewing machine and got one that I store in the closet. I just put it on the kitchen table when I need it. I have a tall wardrobe in my bedroom that I use as another closet. On top of it I have some cool vintage suite cases full of memorabilia. Lots of under the bed storage too. There is also a program on HGTV called wasted spaces which you can check out online for ideas.
If I could afford a new stacking washer and dryer I could free up some great storage space in my laundry closet.
The trick to downsizing is realizing that you CAN part with so many items that you have held onto for a long time. I actually like it better.
Don’t be too discouraged if you feel that you are not downsizing enough. We had to rent a storage room when we first moved. But after the move we gradually got rid of even more so that we were able to let go of that monthly storage fee.
December 25th, 2009 at 3:32 am
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We kept the things most dear to us, along with boxes of items we thought we had to have. We had another yard sale this year and got rid of much of that. Recently cleaned out a closet and found we needed almost nothing in there. Sometimes you have to live in the place a while then you begin seeing items you want rid of. You do not need excess dishes and cups (mugs). You won’t need all those house plants you were sure you could not part with. Keep 2.
We really did not need all those stacks of bath towels. The washer is so easy to use. I use this rule now, if it looks like clutter, it is clutter. If I really did not like that piece of furniture or it causes excess dusting, it has to go. It took us a few years to really pare down to the necessities but it has been a happy and releasing experience. Let it go. You don’t need it.
Good Luck!
December 26th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
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This would be a great time to give some of your things to relatives as reminders and keepsakes of you and your husband. Too often, after we have left this world, people fight over what we have, but it is a wonderful thing to share your things with siblings and other friends and relatives while you are living and to see them enjoy them. I know you’re still fairly young (according to your children’s ages), but the elders in my community have showed me the importance of sharing with others before we are called home.
December 27th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
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This was really simple for me.
If you havn’t used it or touched it in 6 months get rid of it. You will be surprised how much just that will amount to.
Why have useless things to clutter another house with?
December 30th, 2009 at 12:00 am
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HWY 101 is sooooo right. To cull, thoughtfully will amazingly lift many burdens.
January 1st, 2010 at 1:47 pm
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This can be fun and stressful. Visualize the furniture and what will fit in the apartment, get rid of what you don’t like, won’t fit or don’t need.
Things, mementos, collections, etc. Go through what you can, keep what you feel you have to and label it. I have a small box for each child filled with stuff I don’t want to part with. As for collections, if you still enjoy it keep it perhaps putting out only a few and rotating them. If you are ready to move on, sell them or give them away.
Clothes, kitchen stuff, tools, hobby stuff – go through and if you haven’t used it or worn it in 6 months toss it, donate it, and the third pile is keep it. For example, do you need all the skiing equipment when you don’t ski any more?
I found that it was a process as I continued to sort out stuff after the move. Be careful of storage, you can end up storing stuff forever and never finding a use for it. Storage in the apartment can be a real challenge, you have received some great advise about that – nothing I can add to it!
Good luck and have fun.
January 4th, 2010 at 3:56 am
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Get boxes or specify piles.
SAVE- can’t live without.
THROW AWAY – no good to anybody.
FORWARD – people who you know would want it.
DONATE – something goodwill will sell.
(claim on taxes!)
The way to DECIDE –
not used it in a YEAR,
you WON’T need it.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:21 am
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I went thru this about 4 years ago. Just get rid of your LARGE pieces of furniture. Keep everything else – the extra on the moving bill will be small. Then after you move, sell what you do not need at a garage sale or specialty shop dealing in good used furniture. Keep ALL OF YOUR TOOLS, and KEEP all of your gardening stuff. It’s impossible to advise on everything – but your teenager at home will make their own choices about what to keep and what goes! Oh! and remember – apts. have 8 foot ceilings, so you will need to get rid of the really tall furniture! Hope this helps.
January 8th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
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If you haven’t done so yet, remember to claim your tax deduction. Get rid of all the things you don’t absolutely NEED (think in terms of “do I want my kids to have to go through all this stuff?”). Keep things real simple so you spend as little time tending an apartment so you can spend more time with those you love and doing things that make you happy. Make sure to make the cats feel at home and safe. Don’t let the kids store stuff at your place.