DOWNSIZING = RIGHTSIZING / SUGAR AIN'T SO SWEET / MOBILEHOMES / 1,000,000 PICTURES ON YOUR PHONE? / AMERICAN CHIPS ARE SO BORING
How Much Space (or stuff) Do You Really Need
DOWNSIZING = RIGHT-SIZING
DOWNSIZING – OUR STORY
As part of our preparation for retirement, we downsized. We wanted to simplify our life and reduce our expenses. We went from a 2400-square-foot house with half an acre of lawn to a 1200-square-foot condo.
Downsizing your life can be a huge step towards simplifying your life as you grow older. As many empty-nesters find out, we ended up with much of our house with rooms that weren’t being used. We would frequently walk through our house and say “we don’t use that room, we don’t use this room”. Their only purpose was to store unused furniture and stuff. To go along with the larger house are the larger costs for utilities, taxes, insurance, landscaping, and maintenance, never mind the physical work to clean and maintain it.
One-Year Housing Diet
We realized that it would be best if we right-sized our life to fit our lifestyle and set a one-year goal to find the right home. Part of making our downsizing happen was to get rid of 1200 square feet of things. Some of this stuff included things that haven’t seen daylight since we moved into the house 15 years before. These were easy to get rid of, but probably only represented 10% of what we had to deal with. The other 90% which included a lot of our favorite things, was the challenge. They included items that we loved but served little or no purpose and we just weren’t going to have room for them.
What tends to make downsizing complicated is our need to hang on to the past and all its relics. We all share the experience of realizing how much stuff we can collect over our lifetimes. There are mementos from trips, gifts from special people, and things from important moments in our our life. We have attics, basements, and storage units full of things that are too valuable, we think, or too important to part ways with. The emotional attachment is hard to break but the burden of keeping these things grows as time goes on. The cost is financial if you are paying for storage, and physical if you keep having to move piles around.
Our Kids Don’t Want Our Stuff
Part of what made this hard was the thing that most people our age discover, our kids don’t want our junk. Heck, they didn’t want their old junk that we still had. Younger people don’t want good china or formal dining room sets.
Brace yourself, because not only do our kids not want our stuff but when you remembered what you paid for things, you assume there is value in them. But the only value they have is the value someone else is willing to pay for them.
The Goal - No Storage Unit
People want to downsize without getting rid of things that are “too important”. They end up paying hundreds a month on rental units to store things they’ll never use or see again. Now what? What’s going to happen to the stuff now that you’re storing it? Who will end up dealing with it? Our goal was to not store anything. We have a small area under our basement stairs where we store seasonal decorations, our luggage, and a plastic container of photos, that’s it!
Yanking Off The Band-Aid
It wasn’t easy by a long shot. I don’t know which cliché you want to use, “yanking off the band-aide”, or “breaking the seal”, but once we crossed the emotional barrier and began getting rid of stuff, things started to flow out the door. We started by selling the easy, unemotional stuff and built up momentum. Sue Sue became a Craig’s List expert. She was listing and selling everything from a canoe, a lawn tractor, collectibles, and kitchen gadgets. We rendezvoused with buyers at the Home Depot parking lot, McDonald's, and at our local police station to sell things. Our garage looked like a flea market. We’d set up an appointment with someone to buy one item, and they would end up leaving with their arms full.
Donate, Donate, Donate
We gave away a ton of stuff. We donated tools to a young area artist, supplies to a teacher, and bags of clothes to various charities. Most times, the feeling we got when we gave away things was better than the feeling of a couple of bucks in your hand. We did keep some of our small favorites and we do regret getting rid of a couple of things, but for the most part, we’re very happy with the results.
Don’t Wait - If You Don’t Deal With It, Your Kids Will Have To
The advice we have for everyone we share this story with is “don’t wait to start getting rid of stuff”. Even if you don’t have plans to downsize, simplify your life by reducing its contents. Look around at what you’re storing. What can you get rid of? What haven’t you used in the past year? Start with the easy stuff and have a goal to find a new home for one good-sized thing a week.
It’s time to think of the burden that you are passing down to your family. How many times have you heard the story of people who had to rent a dumpster to clean out their parent’s house? Start now, your kids will be grateful.
BTW: Here’s an article from becomingminimalist.com that will help you get through the emotional process of shedding your stuff:
How To Continue Decluttering When You Feel Like Quitting
A Bit Of Humor
Health & Vitality
Sugar Kills
Added sugar is behind the obesity and diabetes epidemics. It’s also a major cause of heart disease and some cancers.
The desert for breakfast isle.
Don’t think that artificial sweeteners are the answer. In a recent report issued by the World Health Organization, artificial sweeteners cause an insulin response similar to sugar. It’s the placebo effect. When your taste buds sense artificial sweetness, your brain goes “Sugar!” and reacts as if you ate real sugar.
Below is an article published by Harvard Health that details the impact of sugar in our diet, how much we really consume and where it’s hidden in our foods.
The Sweet Danger Of Sugar - Harvard Health
Finances and Wherewithal
Mobile Homes Are On The Rise
As a result of the costs of buying a house, many younger folk and even some downsizing old ones are considering mobile homes. The demand is even getting some big time investors making decent sized bets on mobile home developments and raising rents. This article gives you the details:
Big Investors And Big Rent In Mobile Homes
Fun and Frivolity
Why Are American Potato Chips So Boring?
“All around the world, people are enjoying flavors like hot pot, lamb and mint, poulet roti, and spicy Korean ramen. In America, we’ve been stuck with sour cream and onion.“
Read More About Our Boring Chips
Tips & Tricks
How To Organize Your Brazilian (It’s A Lot) Phone Pictures
I have a challenge for you. Scroll through the photo’s on your phone and try to get to the beginning. I bet you’ll give up. Maybe it’s time to organize them so you might be able to find the one of the grandkids you’re looking for? Here is a strategy to get started:
A Quote To Chew On
“Nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse” Sophocles
(This made me think about Facebook)