I downsized from a 2100 sq foot home to a 1300 sq foot townhouse a year and a half ago and have no regrets. I piece in the extra bedroom and use the finished basement for my Handiquilter, stash and second DSM.

It snowed last today and I didn’t have to lift a finger to clear the driveway and sidewalk. This is the life. ��

+I am in the process of going from 3 bedroom house to a senior living facility being built. Won't be move in ready until mid march, will have 1 bedroom apartment. Have been getting rid of things I won't need or want. Some goes to family members other things donating to Hospice. My family was surprised when told of my plans, some supportive others not. Some said I should hire someone to live with me, not for me. Can take care of myself very well, someday if need help I can stay here and transition into assisted living program. Did all my research months ago, medical, financial , legally etc. and decided this is what I want. The unsupportive ones have now become supportive once they have learned about the facility and why I like it. I know it's going to be a good fit for me. This thread is a good one that talks about all sorts of things I may have not thought of. Keep the ideas and thoughts coming, I really appreciate them.

We moved a family member to Asst Living and at 94 years of age, she was not ready to give things up, so we rented a small storage unit for her. It’s worth $40/month to her. There’s nothing of value in it, I can assure you.

My friend & husband moved from a large farm house to a small house in town. They have 6 children but she told me if the kids come to visit and need a place to stay, then can bring sleeping bags or she’d pay for a motel room. She said it makes more sense than maintaining a large house when they don’t need it.

3 1/2 years ago we downsized from a 4400 sq ft house to a 2400 square foot house. No, I know that 2400 is not small but it was a large adjustment. My husband rums his business out of our home so that take us about 400 square feet. We have one guest room, my sewing room and our bedroom. Out next downsizing will be into a fifth wheel trailer in about another 4 years. The older most of us get, the less those "things" mean to us. We are still getting rid of things (the local Goodwill store loves us) and our only daughter will be finished with Grad School buy the end of the spring so we hope she will take the stuff she wants soon. When we shop for our fifth wheel trailer my sewing and my husbands hobbies are high on our list of "must haves". I won't be able to take my entire stash with me, but we will have a small home base where I can keep a lot while I travel with enough to keep me busy.

When I 'retired', I went from a big house and my business which had a 900 square feet back room that I also used as a workroom to a mobile home park. My folks passed within months of each other so I moved into their place ON THE BEACH. That was an easy decision. Packing, going thru stuff and moving was not easy. But, I have never been happier. I organized one area as a work room and have an entire wall of shelving. As I moved stuff in, I put it exactly where I wanted it to be! And, I found lots of treasures that I forgot I had. What I discovered was that I didn't need a dozen sets of sheets or towels, all those extra dishes and pots and pans and all that 'extra' stuff we accumulate as we are raising our families. A side benefit is that I made a rule that before I start a project (either fabric or craft), I 'shop the wall' before I go to the store. I am amazed how often I already have something that will work. BTW - I have found that being 'retired', I am usually busier than when I was working!! Haven't figured out how this retirement thing really works!

A suggestion for the holiday decorations (when you decide what to donate). We have recently gone thru several major disasters with folks loosing everything before the holidays. We donated thru a shelter to families moving to temporary housing. The last thing on their minds was replacing decorations and yet they wanted to have some form of holiday happiness for their kids. Even those living in the motels while being evacuated were so happy to have little trees, a string of lights and stockings. Check with you church, your fire dept or even the city for those who have recently lost everything.

I downsized to a 2 bedroom apt. 2 years ago. I use the master bedroom as my sewing room so I didn't have to give up a lot of my quilting stuff. I'm now shopping out of my stash for new quilts. I's amazing how much I can use. DD is also a quilter and we share. She will receive whatever I have (there'll still be a lot of it).

I've collected Santas and Christmas decorations for years and gave away/donated most of them. I'm sad at Christmas, missing them. So be careful of giving away items like that which you may miss. I was surprised how much I missed some of them.

We downsized from a 3 bedroom house to a 38 ft motorhome. It was hard giving up a lot of our possessions, but I have to admit that I did not miss them once they were gone. I love the fact that I spend less time cleaning and more time quilting and reading. Another plus to downsizing: you spend less money because you find you really don't want it since you don't have the room. Which gives you more cash flow to enjoy more trips to those places you always wanted to visit or spend more time visiting distant relatives. It is amazing how much more fun life has become by downsizing and simplifying our lifestyle. I never want to go back to living in a large house.

I've been downsizing with every move since 2006 - there have been 5, now - and am finally in a senior patio home complex with one bedroom @ 540 sq. ft. I use my living room as my sewing space. My mother who used to live in this same complex used her bedroom and that was really tight. I like to read in bed and take an afternoon nap many days, so I wanted my bedroom to be my neat place of retreat.

I don't care if my living room has the things I love to do in it because my friends have already been told they will have to sit on a rolling chair "in the midst' if they drop by. :D My house, my use, right?!

Jan in VA

My DH died last September and I have always maintained that I did not need to be in a 4 bedroom house by myself. I started sorting and purging and making plans to move the following week. Me and my bad knees can't handle the stairs anymore and after two years of restrictions due to my own health issues, I can't wait to get everything on one level. There have been MANY trips to the local thrift store and many things set aside for the kids, Kijiji, Freecycle or an online auction. And of course, lots has been trashed or burned. You sure accumulate over 42 years and DH had an interesting accumulation of things and tools. This first purge has been relatively easy and when I find a place to live, I trust it will be more difficult. I'm keeping my eyes on the goal - fewer things to look after and more time to sew, read and spend with my family.
As an aside, it sure is easy to keep the house clean with so much gone already!