We are currently in a home that is around 3,400 square feet. We also own a 2BR/2BA condo that is 935 sq ft. that we plan to retire to in the future. Whenever that happens, we will sell the majority of our furnishings and belongings from the “big house.” This is not an imminent move, but I am trying to be anticipatory about it and have done quite a bit of decluttering, We plan to get a storage unit in the location of our condo whenever we do downsize. Probably 10x10. I don’t want to be abusive of the ability to rent storage space, but we know we will need it for luggage, Christmas decorations, some memorabilia, etc.
I know the biggest challenge will be storage for everyday things at the condo. What challenges have you faced in this regard and how have you dealt with those? We do have two walk-in closets with shelving that are pretty spacious, but I am sure won’t go as far as I imagine. We will reduce wardrobes because of climate differences when we go, but there really is a ton of linear hanging space - only about 25% less so than we have now. At any rate, I am not worried so much about clothes storage as other things. Well, shoes may be tricky! The kitchen is an eat-in with a decent amount of cabinet space, but food storage space is very small. I am considering using a corner banquette with storage in the seats to extend cabinet space to make more room in cabinets for food storage. Using banquette seating for guest linens.
Any thoughts on storage challenges you encountered but did not anticipate with a major downsize and how you dealt with those that you would share would be most appreciated.
We are planning on drastically downsizing once our junior goes off to college (we have a senior and a junior). I follow the Minimalists website, and I’ve found they’re helpful in getting me going with the whole idea of a minimalist lifestyle.
We’ve already started decluttering, and I’m on the Bag A Week thread on here. Last week we cancelled our DirectTV. We’re not missing the $200 bill, and we can find almost everything we want screenwise with our netflix and amazon subscriptions (which we already had).
We have a 5,000 square foot house that we bought at the height of the great recession, and it is way too big for us with 4 people and will be ridiculous with 2. Hopefully it will prove to be a good investment and its sale in two years will yield some good capital for other lifestyle choices/school payments.
For us it’s less about financial, and more about simplification, though. The house is a massive source of maintenance and care. We want to be able to travel and do a lot of fun stuff when the girls are in college. The fewer bills and physical objects we have, the more freedom we have.
Hi, we are in the last week of moving out of our house. We will be figuring it out as we go. Our “new” place is in a warmer climate, is about 1000 square feet, is filled with the prior owners’ furniture, and also has very little space for food storage. We have been staying there as a vacation place and those limitations are fine on vacation, but now we are bringing all of our stuff - pictures, tools, kitchen gadgets, electronics, books, etc. I will be interested to hear what works for others.
We did it years ago, in order to buy rentals. It was probably the wrong timing, and we likely should have kept that big house through our kids’ teen years. But it did allow us to buy rentals, which funded some expenses later. Also our house sold at top value before the crash, so that was good.
Now I have loads of stuff and we need to clear out to move again.
I am in the process of purging an 8800 sq.ft. house with the intention of a serious downsize when my youngest goes off to college next Fall. My only advice is to start the decluttering and selling as early as you can. It is not an easy process --I spent almost the entire summer on it and feel like I have barely made a dent. Be prepared for the fact that home furnishings and decorative items are not moving quickly right now and you may have to settle for much less than you expected. The auction houses can help but they take a sizable commission.
A storage unit is inevitable as there are some beautiful pieces that I know my own children will use in their first apartments and homes. Personally my goal though is to get rid of as much of the small stuff – xmas decorations, books, decorative accessories-- as possible. I really don’t want to have to store any of that and do not want to clutter up a new residence. Love the whole idea of a minimalist lifestyle!
Vacuum cleaner storage is my major bugaboo! I downsized to a 1924 bungalow, and the closets are so small! Coats are another issue, as I live in the frigid north and now have no hall closet. One tends to need a different coat for every minor seasonal change. One thing I miss from the old house also is my plate rail in the dining room, Organized shoe storage is another issue. Make sure your bed is high enough for under bed boxes. My big bed is not.
However, this is downsize light, as I do have a full basement. My admiration to those who are living fully in 1000 square feet!
Perhaps keep the essential suitcases in house, but use for linen or seasonal clothing storage?
One of the questions with food storage, is whether you can live with less in the house. I have always stored a lot of food, stocked up, etc. Feeding just myself and occasional guests, with limited kitchen storage, and a now walk able market, I have realized I need to change shopping habits for the sake of efficiency. Walk over, buy what I want for a meal or two and stop storing so much.
I did it (with a move across the country) last year. From 3200 sq ft with a full basement & 3 car garage to an apartment of 1100 sq ft with an offsite 10x10 storage unit. I use under bed storage, kept every piece of furniture that had storage potential, and measured carefully in every apartment I considered.
It took 2 years to pare down to what I finally moved. Goodwill, Craigslist, Freecycle, a few items to friends, and the ever-full garbage bin is where a lot of it went. We weren’t particularly materialistic, but ex-H left a lot of stuff behind, and the kids had tons of old sports equipment and books they didn’t care to keep.
This is in no way a judgemental comment - I am FLOORED by the size of some of your homes! 5000, 8800 sq ft!!! If anyone mentions anything over 10,000 sq ft I will faint!!!
I love home searching, looking, decorating, etc. I read this thread with delight imagining what beautiful homes you might/must have!
We are considering downsizing in order to simplify, reduce overhead, and travel more freely. However, the cost of living where we are is substantially less than where we might otherwise be. We would have a substantial decrement in our quality of housing unless we injected a lot of cash - not what we want to do. Plus, like others have said, it would take a lot of time to jettison all the accumulated stuff - time better spent enjoying life while we can.
As an aside, I have looked at a lot of downsizing options, especially condos. There is a huge lack of smallish condos (1000-1700 sq ft for example) that are nicely done. Either generic builder grade of super expensive. And building would be another time and money drain.
I decided that I’m not going to be such a stickler about beautiful houses/condos on the next house. I live in my dream house right now, but when we’re ready to sell the dream house, my next dream doesn’t involve money being tied up in a mortgage, so I’m going to be willing to compromise a lot in that area. We’ll be looking for lock and go and low maintenance trumping style and beauty.
I agree but but many look like they were decorated by 80 year olds from 50 years ago. I can budge just so far!
I would rather have simple finishings that are easy to maintain than shag carpet, patterned drapes, wallpaper, stenciled wall painting, a white kitchen with fluorescent lights - you get the idea.
We haven’t made the move yet but we are seriously decluttering and simplifying our current 3600 sq ft home. DH emptied out the garage and one of our attic spaces and we are getting rid of anything that we haven’t used in a while. Our goal is to be able to move into our 1500 sq ft rental property without needing to rent storage space in 4 yrs.
Yeah, I see what you’re saying, but other people’s decorating is going to be an issue at every price point. It’s pretty much a given that I’m going to gut down to the drywall and subfloor whatever the next place we get unless it’s brand new and uber-minimalist already. I don’t want to live in other people’s history :).
Honestly, when I downsize, which we are thinking about and planning for by being in the purging stage like others, I want smaller and less maintenance but I still want nice. Now, we are young enough to do stuff and be fairly active and travel but at some point that won’t be the case and, unless I become completely senile, living in an aesthetically challenging space would make me depressed. Carpet, wallpaper, paint can be ripped out and replaced, though. Shoddy construction would drive me nuts. I’m one of those people that notices when things are off or poor design and angles. Like @wis75, I am finding a lack of quality smaller spaces available in my area unless you really want to pay up and even then they are few and far between. We probably will wind up building at some point. Seems like there would be a good market for upscale, senior friendly housing with the aging population.
This is a very timely thread. My 15 year-old daughter will be leaving to study in Japan for 11 months in March and I am going to put the house that I have lived in for 23 years on the market sometime in late spring. I have stayed in the house mainly for my daughter and do not want to stay in the house for 11 months alone. I have a main floor and a full finished basement totaling 2,400 square feet. I am looking to move into a townhome/condo and in our market, I will be lucky to be able afford 1,000 square feet. I am not looking for a dream home, but to lower my mortgage and stay close to my daughter’s current HS. I have already done a lot of the decluttering, but I have quite a bit of furniture that is going to have to go. Some is going to Goodwill, but I do have some nice furniture that I could probably sell.
As a single mom, I am slightly concerned about posting things for sale on Craig’s list. Any advice?
@momofmusician17 the local sheriff’s office here has said to use their parking lot for all Craigslist transactions. They said put it in the ad that all transactions will be conducted there. That will cut down the crazies and the hustlers significantly.
Under no circumstances would I allow strangers from craigslist in my home to buy furniture. It’s not worth it. If you can’t stick it in the back of a rented pickup truck from Lowe’s and meet them at the police station, I’d say just drag it outside and have a charity come get it.
For smaller things, craigslist is good because you can always meet up with the buyer at a central location - police station is often recommended. For furniture, that is tougher to do due to size. Maybe look at consignment shops for your nicer pieces?
Oh, I should also add that H and I have created a spreadsheet with a timeline for downsizing. When to list the house, what things need to be repaired in each room, anticipated cost, etc etc etc. I am in charge of maintaining it, and we look at it about 1x a month at this point because we’re about 2 years away from flying the coop.
Just received an advertisement in the mail for new condos from 1.2 to 1.8 million.
I am happy in a 2 bed 2 bath condo. Very content. You learn how to be organized and clutter free. Go to places like Ikea to find good organization tips. I love built in closets. It is amazing what you can do to increase storage even in a smaller place. You will be happy when you make the change and will love the lower utility bills and maintenance costs.
@doschicos I find the same problem in the Houston suburbs. We need a yard for our dogs and want ample parking, with quality construction and nice neighborhood amenities (pool, tennis courts, well maintained walking paths), and it’s difficult to find smaller homes that are still nice. Plenty of cheap small places, plenty of huge nice places (that are still reasonably priced), but very few in the 1500-2500 square foot range that are well made and nicely appointed. Close to downtown there are some really great smallish homes, many of which are close to excellent parks, but they have no yards and not enough parking. We’re planning to move closer to Houston when S goes to college in 2018 to reduce H’s commute time, but I suspect we won’t end up downsizing much (if any).
The kitchen is an eat-in with a decent amount of cabinet space, but food storage space is very small. I am considering using a corner banquette with storage in the seats to extend cabinet space to make more room in cabinets for food storage. Using banquette seating for guest linens.