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My husband and I own a 2 family home and we're planning on moving into the smaller apartment because of health reasons.. mine. The main (our) apartment is mostly upstairs and is quite large. The smaller apartment is only 2 bedrooms and no family room like we have in the upstairs. Part of me really wants to move down there so our bills will be less and we'd get more rent for upstairs. Hubby wants to retire early and he'd be on half salary. Plus, I wouldn't have to deal with stairs anymore and we'd be able to just walk outside and barbeque, and I could take care of my garden easily .
but the other part of me realizes what I'd have to give up. My dining room set that holds so many memories.. there wouldn't be room for it.. the family room furniture that I just bought would have to go too. I realize they are just 'things' but I'm sick over the idea of not having them anymore.
Did anyone else go through this? The move would be good for us financially and health wise but I'd have to pare down and get rid of some things. That's the part of the move that's upsetting me so much and I'm the one who really wants to move because of the easy access to outside.
Lauriedee, I just did it in a much more extreme fashion. I am a 52 year old single woman living in Alaska, owned my home for 12 yrs. My entire family is here. The first and most difficult part of making my decision concerned my granddaughter (6), I could not bear the thought of leaving her. After two years of pondering the idea I finally decided it was time for me to do so. I listed my house at the end of May and sold it in three days. The move out was intense! I had to make decisions on whether to keep or toss keep sakes, furniture and even clothes. The stress level was insane and my bloodpressure skyrocketed! In spite of all of this I am very glad that I followed through with it. The burden of maintaining everything alone is releived. My decision now is what travel trailer to buy and what city do I visit first. Even though our situations very different I think you too will happier with the downsizing. Take your time and work through it, it is similar to a grief process, don't rush it. Good luck to you!
We just got rid of almost everything except 'basics' and that included many much loved antiques (as well as the dining room)
Believe it or not, I don't really miss them even though the prices they brought were to cry over.
I do have pictures of everything though
I realized I could live without it all here too, once we bought and lived in Fl for so many months without it all.
A new place......different stuff and less of it and the trade off of easier living is worth it.
Or,iff you don't get used to it as fast as I did, as that old song goes..."It only hurts for little while"
Thinking about it is worse than doing it.
Take it a step at a time. First give to any family or friends that might want something. Sort things according to donations, trash, keep, etc. Maybe you are overwhelmed because of the size of the job, but if you do it little by little you will get through it.
Sounds like your life would be a lot happier if you downsized. We all have gone through it and you will be amazed at the feeling of freedom.
We just got rid of all of our furniture, most of our household items, a car, and the truck we've had since 1987. We put the essentials into some relo cubes, shipped them 1,000 miles, and left a lifetime of friends and relatives behind in order to be near my parents in Florida. It was hard to get rid of things, but to be honest I don't miss the things, I miss the people. You have to focus on what you will gain not what you are losing. That simple mental shift makes all the difference in the world. I wish you well on this new chapter of your life.
I moved from a 4300 sq ft home to a 1100 sq ft cottage. Tossed, donated, gifted and moved forward. Don't even miss the "stuff" I let go. Being less emcumbered feels great! New life, new attitude!
I moved from a 4300 sq ft home to a 1100 sq ft cottage. Tossed, donated, gifted and moved forward. Don't even miss the "stuff" I let go. Being less emcumbered feels great! New life, new attitude!
We recently went from 2500sq ft home to a 1500sq ft patio home. We had to have a few "discussions" on what was not coming with us........LOL
Some we sold but also Habitat For Humanity and Goodwill got to know us real well.
Know we often asked ourselves why did we need 2400sq ft when this 1500sq ft fits us well.
I moved from a 4300 sq ft home to a 1100 sq ft cottage. Tossed, donated, gifted and moved forward. Don't even miss the "stuff" I let go. Being less emcumbered feels great! New life, new attitude!
Wow, I can feel the weight lifting off your shoulders and the new breath of freedom!
hey, I'm a sentimental moosh (but if you tell anyone I'll deny it!) Definitely check with family/friends 1st. It is easier when you know the recipient will appreciate it and use it!
Then just one thing at a time.
I replied to another thread that was similar to this.......
My wife was a real "pack-rat" when I first met her! She had a 10 x 12 storage full of stuff from a house she has sold from a marriage. She had also moved into her mom's apartment with no room for this stuff. Not long after meeting her, she took me to that storage and I could barely get the door to slide open and things were piled up to the top of the room! We ended up doing a lot of rearranging and repacking, but not getting rid of anything. After we married, we moved out of the state and she couldn't take the stuff she had in her mom's apartment with her, so......had to get another storage spot, but smaller. A year after we moved, we bought a house and had everything shipped to us from that storage place. Our basement was 3/4 full of boxes. Fortunately, thru two community garage sales and another move out-of-state, we got rid of a number of things. We talked, we argued and we talked some more until she finally realized that having all of this stuff was costing so much money to move! She knew she didn't need a lot of it. I came into the marriage with a few boxes of things and that was all......no furniture cause I was renting a furnished room in a house. Anyway, we got rid of some big furniture that was in the house because we weren't going to buy another house for many years into the future.........just too much maintenance and costs to own another house. Since the house, we've got rid of even more things that she had and now she is extremely glad of it! She still has some stuff from the "old years", but nothing like she use to!
By the way, we are in our early 60's and, due to a few past surgeries, just can't physically take care of a house and lawn like we use to.
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