Moving in July and I have never lived in an apartment. Is there a tough transition phase?
The hardest part is the decluttering you have to do beforehand. Head on over to the “Bag a Week” thread.
And once you move in, you’ll realize how big your furniture is, and you’ll have to get rid of even more things.
Depending on how close your former house was to the neighbors, the biggest adjustment could be getting used to a higher noise level, especially at night. Good luck with the move.
There’s adjustment with every move, and the speed with which the new place becomes “home” largely depends on your own feelings about the move in the first place. If it’s something you’ve looked forward to, and are excited about, you’ll adjust quicker. During our downsizing, DH and I had to live in an apartment for 8 weeks before we could move into the new house. I discovered I could easily live in an apartment as long as it had an outdoor space where I could put some potted tomatoes, plants, a resting/eating area. OTOH, DH really disliked the apartment, and says he could not live in one again. Different strokes…
Now in our smaller home, I really enjoy having a more compact place to live in, less stuff and less maintenance. Decorating was fun, as was replacing some furniture. I think with downsizing – when you’re ready, you’re ready. No looking back for me. As long as there’s enough space for my kids to stay when they visit, I’m good with a smaller space.
I would strongly suggest you get rid of things you do not use or need before you move. Be realistic. Look at the new space and take with you what will reasonably be able to fit in the space…and what you will use.
One of the fun things for me, as I got rid of things, was donating all our “everyday” dishes. I eat off the good stuff now. Every meal feels a little bit fancier and nicer because of it.
May I come with you?
I’m more than ready to downsize, but my husband still wants to keep our house.
My 3 of 4 kids live elsewhere now. ( Oldest boy never lived here). I hate dealing with mowing the lawn. The laundry room is 2 floors down now in the basement. I hate shoveling snow and I especially hate raking the leaves from our neighbor’s tree that mostly falls on our lawn! I will miss my flowers, but I can do some planters on our deck in the new place.
DH and I contemplated moving into a high rise after D2 left the nest. Finally decided it wasn’t for us.
I like my space and want to turn up my music and walk around like an elephant if I want to…
Take the money and energy that you will save on no yard and garden maintenance and spend it visiting some of the great gardens of the world. That’s what I plan on doing----enjoying the labors of others. 
We moved to a zero lot line home. HOA does our minimal yard work. DH feels so liberated by that.
…spend it visiting some of the great gardens of the world. That’s what I plan on doing----enjoying the labors of others.
Great idea! Or invest in a coffee table book " Other People’s Gardens"!
Three bedrooms sounds pretty big still. I think if you have enough storage, you’ll be OK. So much less maintenance!
Three BRs is big! Try to get rid of enough stuff that the extra bedroom doesn’t become an attic. You will not miss the stuff, really. You will feel light and airy to get rid of things. Each thing that you don’t own is one less thing you have to take care of. You won’t have to dust it. You won’t have to put it away. You won’t worry if it gets broken. If you want to remember something, take a photo, then get rid of the object. You won’t miss it. Really.
Every so often you may feel a twinge and think: Now what did I do with that Coach bag? You will remember that you got rid of it. And maybe for about 30 seconds you will feel regret, but I bet that soon you will be glad that you just don’t have that thing hanging around your house any more.
Everything you get rid of will make someone else happier. They will find your treasure at the Good Will or Salvation Army and will be so happy. All of the clothes that you think may come back into style: get rid of them. All of the gifts that you keep out of guilt: get rid of them. All of the project that you started and never finished: out they go.
Use the extra time to do a craft that you’ve never had time for, to learn to cook or to knit or to paint or to write. Visit friends. have more parties. Volunteer in your community. It feels good!
I went from 3200 sq ft, 3 car garage, and big unfinished basement to a two bedroom apartment this year. I do have a 10x10 storage unit, too. It is the getting rid of accumulated stuff that is hardest. So. Much. S***. I started getting rid of stuff 2 years before I moved, and was doing it right til the end.
I would LOVE to downsize right now and would be happy to get rid of any and all extra stuff!
I work on removing stuff every day. I have Viet Nam vets coming weekly. Planning a house sale with a lot of items. Craig’s List was useless!
Yes!
Even worse, I started taking singing lessons a few months ago. It’s bad enough that my family has to listen to me practice.
Three bedrooms sounds great. One for you, one for guests and one for an office/computer room. We downsized to a still nice sized house OOS and used that as an excuse to cull books, furniture, get rid of most of kid’s childhood stuff. Refreshing to keep some familiar but get rid of the old more formal furniture. We found Florida house lack storage. No basements and not as much closet space. We do NOT use our garage as a closet- we actually keep our cars in it.
Good time to get rid of your kids left behind stuff. I did keep a couple of boxes of mementos and Duplos/Legos (they don’t seem to sell the boxes of 100 or more pieces anymore- it all seems to be models). I also got rid of so much that just sat in closets. Gone is the big dining room table with uncomfortable chairs and a lot of other furniture that just filled spaces. Double high air mattresses work for more guests than the extra queen.
Hard to realize there is a lifestyle change. No need to be able to accommodate relatives and kids. Sounds like you are doing a great job unloading stuff you don’t need.
We own a house and hire out more than we did in the past. Your rent takes care of many homeowner chores! H could live in an apartment, I want the yard. We ended up larger because to get a bit upscale you find 4 (or 3 plus den) houses to be in the neighborhood you want. I suspect you can find less but more upscale space in apartments.
Ages and stages. Freedom.
I sold some bigger stuff on Craigslist. Golf clubs, some furniture items, lawn mowers, dog grooming table, camera, bikes, a brand new dog bed that my dog was afraid of, musical instruments, a havaheart trap, ladders, unicycle, dog crate, matching twin beds, filing cabinet, rowing machine, snowblower, Bose system components. I let something called a “Weed Wrench” (for pulling buckthorn) go too easily – turns out they don’t make 'em any more, and I asked for too little. Got a TON of response, which told me I could have gotten quite a bit more. Who knew?