Downsize Today

Inspiration, motivation and guidance to ensure a smooth move to a smaller home.

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Patty Lundy

Can We Please Put a More Positive Face on Downsizing?

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Downsize sooner rather than later so you can ride bikes instead of doing yard work.
My husband and I downsized at the age of 60 and could not be happier.

While a recent Washington Post article is hugely informative, citing statistics and lots of observations of people involved in the downsizing-advice business, the illustration that accompanies the article was disheartening. It shows an "older" man, shoulders hunched in resignation, leaving his home with a suitcase, being shown the way by a white-haired woman (maybe his wife?). The illustration also included his dog (only the top of the dog's head appears in the lower left corner of the photo).

Most articles on downsizing don't have the correct photos or images to accompany them. They portray downsizers as sad and old and tired.

DownsizeToday.com is about presenting stories of many happy, relieved-as-hell downsizers. It's about putting a different face to the downsizing trend.

Sure, we all know it's sad to accept the fact that we're not able to carry on in our large homes (in which many have raised their families and host them twice annually for holiday celebrations). It's overwhelming to get rid of life's accumulated treasures. In many situations where downsizing needs to occur, people are moved not to a fun new lifestyle, but into assisted living.

What we want to do is put a different face on downsizing. We want to inspire you to do it sooner rather than later, so that you still have enough energy to do it and enough energy left over to enjoy the heck out of reinvention.

It's about getting out from under the chores and expense of maintaining a large (and often deteriorating) older home and moving to a smaller, simpler home where you have the freedom to explore new friendships, new neighborhoods, new places to vacation.

Potomac Concierge and many of the other resources quoted in the article are all well and good advisers, and they provide a world of good to the people who need their services.

I'm all for getting help during the process. And I'm all about helping people see the light and start the process before growing older and crankier and less able to start the process and reap the benefits of changing the dynamics of your life. Yes, it's overwhelming to downsize. You can fall into "analysis paralysis" -- but do not despair. Take  baby steps. The first step is the hardest. The first step is deciding that you want a refreshing change, a renewed sense of self. The second step is acknowledging that the housing market WILL shift and you will no longer be able to sell your house at top dollar.

But THAT, dear reader, is yet another story. To be continued . . .

In the meantime, contact us for a free 30-minute consultation. we will listen, ask questions, provide a bit of advice and direct you to resources in your area who can help you along every step in the process.

 

Estate Planning? Consider a Trust

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Estate lawyers can help decide what to do with your home
Consider speaking with estate and trust experts (namely, lawyers) to decide when is the right time to "gift" them the family home.

Many affluent baby boomers are turning to estate planners for help in deciding what to do with their large homes. The New York Times (August 27, 2017) asks, "Sell and downsize to leave a larger pot of cash for heirs to divide? Deed the house or apartment to your adult children now to avoid squabbling after you're gone. If so, where do you live in the meantime?"

While many people simply leave their homes to their children in their wills (a solid option when all the siblings get along and agree on what to do with the house), a growing number are creating trusts to minimize costs and avoid some of the delays that can occur during the asset-transfer period after they're gone. The NYT article quotes financial planner Victoria Fillet Konrad, who says, "If you're looking for a smooth transition from one generation to the next without fights and the high cost of probate, it's best to set up a trust,"

Between 5 and 15 percent of the total value of an estate goes to pay probate and legal fees. Those costs can be reduced by setting up a trust, the costs can be paid up front, and the children named as beneficiaries don't have to go through probate after their parents pass away.

People with high-value homes can consider setting up a Qualified Personal Residence Trust, which lets homeowners give the property to beneficiaries at a fraction of the value of the property, which helps significantly reduce the estate tax burden.

Whatever your situation (regardless of age, home value, heirs, and other factors), it's a helpful exercise to discuss with your spouse and your children the best way to sell or otherwise deal with the family home. It can save a lot of time, trouble and tears later on.

Contact us and we'll help you find a qualified trust attorney in your area and guide you to other resources to help you during this emotionally challenging but important process.

Be Kind To Your Kids

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My mother-in-law recently passed away, and the stuff she left behind was so hard to deal with …. so many precious memories, but what were we supposed to do with ALL THIS STUFF?

I don’t mean to be mean, but Claire’s house was grossly overstuffed with stuff. Every drawer, every closet and every cabinet was chock full of never-used sets of dishes; heavily-used dishes; never-opened gifts; never-used sets of stemware; decorative knick-knacks; tons of linens and aprons and napkins and on and on. It was sad to see so much lovely stuff and not know what to do with it.

It would have been so much better to have helped Claire go through all this stuff little by little over the last few years, distributing it to family members who could use it or donating it to charities. She could have helped us decide where she wanted things to go, she could have told us stories about its provenance, and we would not feel so bad now about having to get rid of it all at once.

You see, the house needs to be listed for sale soon. But there’s still a monstrous amount of work to do to get rid of all those items. There are treasures among the trash, but we are all busy and cannot do what she would have liked and parse out the goodies one by one to deserving souls. Instead, we hired an estate sale professional who will open up the house to hundreds of strangers.

Do your children a favor. Save them from the painful process of having to empty your house of all the goodies and all the junk. Help them by going through the process sooner rather than later. Declutter, organize, downsize. You’ll feel better about life if you do it while you’re young (ish), and they’ll feel better knowing they don’t have the two-week (or two-month) headache of disposing of your houseful of items once you’re gone.

Downsize, Then Redesign Life

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Downsize to smaller home and a different life.
Downsize, then redesign your life. Think a small cottage or condo on the water isn't right for you? Maybe you just haven't seen the right cottage or condo. Start reimagining your "next life" by imagining a simpler downsized life.

Michele Meier Vosberg is a Ph.D., a writer, a freelance educator, and a happy downsizer. She had spent many years in a large house outside Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband and children. Along with the large house and big yard and her busy family life and career, she also had a long commute.

With the kids grown and gone, she realized that she was working and commuting way too many hours and spending way too few on activities she enjoyed. She and her husband knew they needed to shift the balance and decided the big house was weighing them down and keeping them too engaged.

During their downsizing process, Michele's experiences helped her not only live a simpler life, but also to live a much more enjoyable life. She created a website and blog LifeRedesign101 to share her advice and help guide people to find more meaning and purpose in their own lives.

A frequent guest blogger on the sites of others, I ran across one of Michele's posts about Downsizing Dilemmas on SixtyandMe. She also share advice about how to work your way out of the dilemmas often encountered during downsizing. Without further ado, here they are:
1. The downsizing task is enormous. It's important not to think about the entire process, lest it overwhelms you. Better to look at one small space at a time. Michele cleaned, sorted, and organized one drawer or box every day, and one larger space (such as a closet) every weekend. Over time, she made progress -- donating books or clothing or furniture every week at the thrift store, shelters or the library.
2. Parting with valuable items is painful. First go after the stuff that you never really liked or that will not fit into the new life you're designing (the gifts that were never used, the lamps that were a bargain but never looked right). Donate those items or have a yard sale. Toss the items that meant something at one time but that are no longer useful (broken sports gear, soiled linens, etc.) or put them at the street for someone who might find them useful. What's left are items you love and will find useful; if you haven't used items in a year or two, consider finding new homes for those items, too.
3. What if you get rid of something you might -- someday -- need? It's hard to know just what the future holds, but if you get rid of, say, a coffee carafe or a set of crutches, it's highly likely you can borrow or buy when the time comes. Try not to rent storage space "just in case," for the costs will almost certainly be higher than to replace the odd item or two that you end up wishing you hadn't gotten rid of.
4. Clothes, clothes and more clothes! What to do? Think about how you want to live in the future. Will you EVER be able to get down to the size 6 that you were way back when? Probably not. Will you EVER wear that expensive suit that never really suited you? No. Will you ever need eight pairs of blue jeans (some of which are out of style)? No. Donate, donate, donate!
5. "I know it's too big for the new space, but it's so sentimental! How will I ever part with it?" Michele's blog post provided great advice: Give things you care about to people you care about. Your daughter may not want what you're offering because she has a house full of furniture and accessories, but your grandson or your niece may want, need and love those side tables. Michele also suggests taking photos of your favorite items (or your grandkids' school projects) and putting the photos into a little "memory book" that you can share with others.

"Now that the dust has settled, I have found that I really don't miss the things I left behind. A little breathing space, it turns out, is good for the soul. I am conscious of the things I add to my home, and living with less has made me desire fewer things in my life." Like Michele, I went through the downsizing process and cam wholeheartedly agree that it's better on this side of it. It was a hassle. It was painful. But it was enlightening and enlivening. I've redesigned not only my living space, but also my life! And I wholeheartedly recommend it to others!

Have You Considered Downsizing?

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Contact us for guidance, motivation and inspiration. We’ll help you start the process!

downsize and reinvent by moving to a new home
Lock-and-leave living is perfect for people who downsize and want to live simpler lives.

As people who’ve downsized describe to me the process they went through, many say they either considered or actually experienced the “rent for a while” option. The real estate market may be entering its typical end-of-year lull, but it’s expected to slide into high gear in early 2018. It will likely be a sellers’ market, which means that if you’re considering downsizing but don’t know where to move, and your house sells quickly, you may put undue pressure on yourself to find the perfect (or perfectly suitable) smaller new home.
Of course, some people know exactly where they want to move after downsizing and they find the perfect place near their kids and grand kids, to their favorite vacation spot, or to the mountains. But others are indecisive, emotionally attached to their “old way of life” (even if they hate yard work and worry about keeping the big place maintained), or overwhelmed with the idea of downsizing.
When the idea of downsizing sinks in and you’re committed to it, rest assured that it’s safe to put the big house on the market and start the process. There are Professional Organizers to help you, charities ready to take your items and haulers to deliver it, estate sale professionals to empty the house after you’ve moved into the rental (or stored what won’t fit but which you can’t separate yourself!), and apartment and condo rental managers happy to help you find a temporary — or permanent — home.

Condo or apartment rental can be a good option during downsizing process
Duplexes in suburban areas and cottage communities on the beach are often available for 6- or 12-month leases. It’s a hassle to move, but it can be a good “resting place” in between selling the big house and finding the next one.

The number of baby boomers who are choosing to rent more permanently has increased significantly; between 2009 and 2015, the number of renters in the 55+ age group increased by 28% compared to 3 percent growth in the number of renters in the under-35 group (according to census data analyzed by RENTCafe, the apartment search engine). The trend is expected to intensify as boomers seek fun, hip, urban lifestyles near where they raised their children, or near where their children have moved. Other boomers look for laid-back college towns or resort-style communities near the beach.
“A lot of people like the convenience and ease of renting,” according to Phillip Salem, an agent at Triplemint in New York. When they’re not competing for the same properties, millennials and boomers in many communities (my own included) are mixing and mingling. This is true especially with “younger” boomers (55-65) and “older” Millennials (early 30s).
The downsizing process is a big headache, sure, but it’s also a huge relief to know that once you make the decision to downsize from the big house in the suburbs where you raised your children (or if you’re forced to downsize because of divorce or a career change), there are many options for next steps.

Lessons Non-Minimalists Can Learn

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The More of Less, by Joshua Baker, creator of BecomingMinimalist.com
"The More of Less" makes a great case for having fewer material goods in order to enjoy more of the simple things in life. Even if minimalism isn't for you, there are helpful tips and technique that everyone can benefit from.

 

 

Minimalism is admirable. I've known a few practitioners in my life, most of whom seem to have come by their minimalism naturally. Others have come to practice it because they've downsized and they simply have no room for 'so much stuff" in their new homes. Still others have had an epiphany -- or a health scare or even a religious experience -- and they realize they're tired of cleaning all that stuff, storing it, moving it from place to place, and they just say "I AM DONE with stuff." When minimalists explain how they've come to BE minimalist, they're almost always unapologetic about it -- and most understand why other people cannot or will not embrace a "less is more" mentality.

Joshua Becker does an excellent job inspiring and motivating readers to streamline their lives by, among other things, owning less, and his BecomingMinimalist website is chock full of great articles and blog posts. One interesting point he makes in his book is about the 80/20 rule as applied to "stuff" in our homes. "...we use 20 percent of our stuff 80 percent of the time, and we use the other 80 percent of our stuff only 20 percent of the time. So within that 80 percent of your stuff that mostly just lies around, there should be plenty of easy picking when you start to minimize."

I moved from two houses with a combined 5,500 square feet of space, to a 1,200 square foot apartment. Many months of decluttering, donating and tossing were necessary, and it was grueling going through all the china, linens, photo frames, beautiful rugs and lamps and deciding what to do with all of it. Yes, I downsized, but I'm not what anyone would call a minimalist. And that's okay. People don't need to be minimalists to be happy, but it sure does help to have a LOT LESS STUFF.

A minimalist I'm not. I still have stuff on counters and tabletops (which a minimalist would not have), but I'm surrounded by a whole lot less than I used to be!

So, if you're like me and find the concept of minimalism a bit too rigid or daunting, just know that you can benefit from following many of the Joshua Becker's recommended steps to a less cluttered life. The book includes experiments, testimonials, how-to stories and the like; much of the advice is practical regardless of how many pieces of furniture you have and how many accessories and works of art you have.

For example, to feel less cluttered and more peaceful, he recommends these ten tips: 1) Make your bed every morning; 2) Wash dishes right away; 3) Fill your recycling containers and garbage containers; 4) Always leave room in your coat closet; 5) Keep flat surfaces clear; 6) Complete one- to two-minute jobs immediately; 7) When you finish a magazine or newspaper, process it immediately; 8) Place junk mail immediately into a recycling bin; 9) Take care of clothes immediately; and 10) Nightly, return items where they belong.

Good advice for everyone -- including minimalists and declutterers  as well as people who love being surrounded by the things they've loving collected for decades.

 

Before and After

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Pictured at the bottom of this post (on the left) is my four-story townhouse in Atlanta, which had 3500 square feet. Lots of great things about this place, but it was a royal pain to maintain! Look at all the beautiful trees and shrubs surrounding the property. Nice to look at, but every time it stormed, I worried about trees crashing through the roof. It was also a fabulous place for house guests and large parties, but it was so exhausting! When it became apparent that downsizing was imminent, I rolled up my sleeves and went to work. It took a couple of years from starting the process until I felt entirely at home in my new downsized life, but now I couldn't be happier in my lock-and-leave, downsized life.

On the right is the building I moved to three years ago. I was horrified at first with the idea of an elevator-building lifestyle, but the positive aspects of my new lifestyle far outweigh the negative ones.

My husband and I are perhaps the oldest people in our building, but we're having a great time with several fun young couples, all of whom are involved in interesting careers. We're within walking distance to about 30 restaurants. We hop on Capital Bikes and ride to Georgetown Harbor or to visit monuments, museums, galleries and restaurants. We take weekend excursions to the Eastern Shore or Delaware Coast or Shenandoah Valley, or head to Union Station and jump on a train to visit New York or Philadelphia.

It's refreshing to have created a "new life" at this age. It took a while to let go of all our "stuff" and leave behind the lives we created for ourselves in Atlanta and in our lake community, but we've fully embraced our new surroundings and feel very much at home!

Too much space means too many places to store tons of unnecessary (or rarely used) stuff.
Plenty of room to move around in the old place, but that had its drawbacks. 

Of course, it was fabulous to have a four-level townhouse in Atlanta and a spacious and fun lakehouse two hours away. But the upkeep! When it came time to relocate to Arlington, Virginia, for work, it was emotionally and physically draining to downsize, but I bet my husband and I have gained two weeks' leisure time by downsizing into a new life (time we would have spent maintaining/cleaning/repairing the old place) and saved a ton of energy!

The new master suite has less room and less clutter. Fresher styling and lighter brighter look.

Make great use of drawers in a smaller new place.                    Having fewer closets, of course, means you need to make better use of drawers.

Here these Ikea dressers are placed side-by-side with a glass top to "tie them all together." Inside are jeans and trousers rolled up a la Marie Kondo, as well as artfully arranged lingerie, scarves, sweaters, and workout clothes. Jewelry is tucked away in little bins, and there are even lots of bed linens in one of the drawers. And under the bed, of course, are Container Store bins for off-season sweaters.

The best thing about downsizing and reinventing ourselves is the opportunity to meet fun new friends, from all walks of life. So many stories and parties and experiences. For some reason, most stories about downsizing are about how hard it is. Sure, it's hard, but c'mon people, let's talk about how awesome it can be. The sooner you do it, the more awesome it is; if you wait too long, you're older and less interested in the world outside your door.

 

Large home means lots of upkeep
My 4-level townhouse was great, but a great deal of work and worry.
Life after downsizing
Apartment life can be awesome for those not sure of where they want to go after downsizing.

Well-Appointed Small Spaces

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Two of my favorite things about having downsized is that we have met some adorable and fun young couples, whom we entertain at least quarterly. And because we're in a smaller-than-ever space, we're able to spend more quality time with each and every one of our guests. An added benefit of a downsized space is that entertaining is a bit less formal and a lot more fun -- and there are fewer headaches associated with preparation and clean-up, too!

The photo on the right captures creative use of space. Friends moved from the suburbs to an in-town property that was less than half the size of their old home. To accommodate the occasional house guest, they converted a large and largely unused attic into a chic little space with a bedroom and a bathroom.  Skylights let in abundant light, and black-out shades help keep the attic cool in summer. (And let guests sleep in cool dark comfort when the shades are drawn.)

 

Apartment living room and dining room
I kept all my favorite pieces of furniture, art, lamps, rugs, tables and accessories. YOU might think it’s all cluttered up, but I LOVE it. Every item has a real story attached it. Keep the stuff with the best stories when YOU downsize.

 

Before you even start thinking about what to keep from your pre-downsizing large home, take dimensions of your new place (the living room, for example), measure the furniture and accessories that you'd like to keep, and sketch out what will fit. Even if you don't know precisely where you're going, it's a helpful exercise to envision the size space you'll like be in, measure what you really MUST have, and then get rid of large and boxy pieces that just won't work in a slimmed-down new life.

Entertaining in small spaces
Life after downsizing is so much easier! Fewer people at dinner parties means more intimacy and less to prepare and clean up!

Small bathrooms need light.
Smaller homes sometimes require creativity with space planning. Here, an attic was converted into a bedroom and a bathroom.

Just because you are leaving a big house doesn't mean you will not have a cozy and inviting space in which to enjoy yourself, your family and your friends. It just means it will be simpler to clean up after they leave. And if you mourn the loss of yards and gardens, make sure you find a place that has at least some outdoor space, such as a patio or balcony. Fill pots with seasonal plants and shrubs -- even vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, and an herb garden (if you're a cook).

Condo balcony with potted plants
Beautiful modern terrace with a lot of flowers and herbs makes living in a small space more appealing!

As a "recovering gardener" who had nearly an acre of gardens spread between two houses, I now live in a 1,200 square foot apartment, But that doesn't mean I don't have lovely potted plants! I find that working on my container gardens is like therapy -- or at least what I call "mindless accomplishment." (Dig, plant, fertilize, dead-head, and water.) This scene is, alas, not my own (mine is so exposed that when it storms, the gusts would wipe out these lovely flowering plants), but it nicely captures how gorgeous you can make your outdoor space.

When you consider downsizing and you start looking for a new place, try to find one with access to the great outdoors. Having a balcony helps enlarge your space, which will help keep you from feeling boxed in in a new smaller townhouse or condo. Planters with flowering shrubs and annuals not only add color and texture, but they also act as a buffer between your tranquil space indoors and the street scene below. 

small apartments traditional styling
This small, traditionally styled New Orleans French Quarter apartment living room is cozy and inviting.

Flower and vegetable pots for apartments and condos
Condo and apartment living

We Learn by Our Parents’ Examples

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too many sentimental collections and heirlooms go unwanted
Baby boomers are learning what NOT to do because they've seen their own parents struggle to let go of sentimental objects. They don't want their parents' collections of teapots or war memorabilia or or Hummel figurines, and they are becoming acutely aware that their own kids won't want family heirlooms and colledtions, either.

 

I had lunch today with a 50-something business associate who told the story of how his mother had insisted on living in the home he had grown up in, despite using only about three of the ten rooms in the place. It was a large home north of Philadelphia, on a large lot with a lovely view which she had enjoyed for 50 years. But his mom had health issues and found it difficult to do much beyond simply existing in the house. Joe and his sister lived hundreds of miles from her, and they tried in vain to help when they could, visiting as often as possible to do grocery shopping and taking her to appointments; calling neighbors to check on her; hiring help to make sure she was cared for. When snowstorms raged and the power went out and the home care workers didn't know how to operate the generator -- or when a tree was uprooted from the back yard and did major damage, Joe's patience started wearing thin.

As typically happens, she eventually fell and ended up in assisted living, leaving her house chock full of 50 years' worth of stuff.

Joe handled estate liquidation. It was not pretty. All the lovely items she'd held so near and dear were given away, some were sold in an estate sale, but a lot was just tossed. "No one wants stuff anymore. I sure didn't, and neither did my sister," he said.

Like many baby boomers, Joe learned from his mother's example and is now firmly entrenched in an uncluttered, downsized life. He sold his 5-bedroom home in Minneapolis and moved to the D.C. area, where he lives in a condo that he loves but is happy to leave when as often as possible. He is a frequent traveler who's totally unfettered and free and living a great life -- free from the burden of having too much stuff and free from maintenance and upkeep chores.

The New York Times published an article (August 20, 2017) on how seniors (75+), baby boomers (55-75) and boomers' children are handling the disposition -- and dispossession -- of stuff. Entitled "An Unwanted Inheritance" it describes the sensitive nature of what to do with the rooms full unwanted furniture, rugs, accessories, crystal and china, and all manner of other heirlooms and collectibles. "This is the first time we're seeing a kink in the chain of passing down mementos from one generation to another," said Mary Kay Buysse, executive director of the National Association of Move Managers, an organization that helps older people downsize.

Baby boomers have their own lives and either don't have room for any of their parents' stuff, or they don't want boxy "brown goods" such as armoires or ornate dining tables and ten accompanying chairs. I am very interested in family history and I would like a lot of my parents' things on some level, 30-year-old Travis Miscia said,"but I have to limit myself to what I would call primary-source documents like books and some pictures.

Some younger people (many of whom are the children of baby boomers) take their parents' items just to keep from hurting their feelings, but it typically ends up in storage or it's donated. Baby boomers are beyond that and know how to say no. Many are in the process of decluttering and downsizing themselves, or they've gone through estate liquidation woes with their parents, and they don't want or need what additional "things." Goodwill stores are flooded with the detritus from too many homes with too many "brown goods" -- such as depicted in a yard sale in my Clarendon neighborhood that the guy keeps repeating (can't sell the stuff) and in the photo of a Goodwill drop site in Arlington.

So freeing to get rid of clunky old stuff from rooms you don't use! But there's not much of a market for it, so don't think you're going to sell it for a lot of money. Just get it out of your way, as you move to your new life.

It's hard to see all the furniture in this photo ... but this is an example of how overloaded even Goodwill stores are with stuff. The sooner you can get it out of the way, on your way to downsizing, the better! Do estate sales, add to this pile, give to charitable organizations, try to sell on eBay or whatever. Downsize before you think you need to, because once you think you need to, it MAY be too late.

 

Instead, they're taking what they learned from their parents' examples and decluttering and downsizing while they're still young enough to travel and explore new lifestyles. Some are even deciding where to relocate (near children or grandchildren, to the beach, to a small town to start a second career, to a favorite travel destination where they'll ultimately retire). Many people I've met recently in the 55-to-65 age group -- like Joe today -- are acutely aware of the many reasons to downsize, chief among them to not only enjoy a simpler life in a smaller, more organized space, but also to write the story of their next 20 years with a different narrative than their parents used.

"The greatest gift I'm going to give my children is the knowledge that they won't have to deal with all the stuff I had to go through with my parents. And with the flexibility I have now that I don't have that big house -- which, incidentally, they visited once or twice a year -- I can treat everyone to a trip to Spain for Christmas, rather than force them into their childhood bedrooms. I'm living a new life, and they want to be a part of that," my friend Susan said.

 

Sentimental Crystal

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Sentimental finds while preparing for an estate sale: mother's and grandmother's crystal
Cleaning out my mother’s house and preparing for an estate sale, it broke my heart to let go of all of her mother’s crystal. Three sets of 12 glasses each, from the 1920s, same pattern. Lovely, but these days no one wants this type of stuff.

When it was time to sell my mother’s house and pretty much everything in it, it was heartbreaking to know how little of what was in the house was going to find a new home with me or any of my siblings. Her beloved bow-front china cabinet, about which she had told so many stories, was sold at auction and brought more than anything in the house. It just wasn’t something that would suit any one of her four children. I kept her sterling and a few lovely little things and each of my siblings has a few sentimental items. But when we needed to sell her place and the furnishings in the home in which we grew up, with homes of our own full of our own special stuff, we just had to turn our backs on Mom’s and Grandma’s stuff and hope new owners would appreciate that it was deeply meaningful to my mother.

Finds during estate sale
The orange cow pitcher was purchased by my mother as a birthday gift for her mom when she was seven years old (in 1931) and the horse-head bookends were a wedding gift to my parents in 1948. It’s essential to hold onto a few things, but crystal and big old armoires there just isn’t much of a market for. So prepare yourself for this fact: some of your stuff wlll be hard to part with, especially when you have to give it away because no one wants to buy it.

If you’re considering downsizing, start early and start with a plan. Read books on decluttering, such Marie Condo’s book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up; it’s a little tedious — some say silly — but if you dive in and get it done,  you’ll be more lighthearted than you’ve been in a while. Or read an oldie but a goodie, Keep, Sell or Toss by Harry L. Rinker. He’s been around a while and has great advice. Or look at “Downsizing the Family Home” by Marni Jameson. And if you’ve resisted getting rid of sentimental items, give this blog post from The Spruce some thought, then commit to making the hard choices about parting with beloved items which have no place in your new space.

If you’re facing an elective downsizing, consider starting immediately selling your best and most precious items. If your new space will be half as large as your current home, you WILL NOT have room for most of your sentimental items. Start putting a green dot on the ones that you want to sell and consider listing them on eBay or download one of the many apps that will help you sell items.

Hire a professional organizer. National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals has about 4,000 members from across the country. The idea is to get started before you think you need to, because once you KNOW you need to, it’s so much harder: you’re older and more exhausted and usually in a bigger hurry.

Even if  you start small, start getting rid of STUFF now that you don’t need, don’t want, and don’t think your children will want. Check out this Houzz story on decluttering tips and techniques.