I moved about a year ago from a 3 bedroom house in the suburbs to a "one bedroom plus den" condo in the city. The change has been wonderful. No more lawn to maintain or driveway to shovel. No more roof replacement or deck staining. No more squirrels trying to infiltrate. No more car maintenance because I don't need a car anymore. I now spend my time doing things I enjoy and can walk to pretty much everything I need. If I need a car, I can rent one although I have only done that once so far. Uber is always available and, for the cost of owning a car, I can take a lot of Ubers or taxis but almost never need to.

I spent a couple of years planning, organizing and minimizing to get ready. It is surprisingly hard to get rid of things that we might think are valuable because nobody wants them. Younger people don't care about fancy china or sets of matching crystal. As for silverware, who wants to be bothered? I was able to sell some things on consignment but even consignment stores set limits because they know many items won't sell. I didn't want to be bothered with a series of yard sales so some things just ended up going to thrift stores, one carload at a time. Hopefully someone bought them for a couple of dollars. Some things I just put out at the curb and someone would usually come along and take them. One of the effects of downsizing has been to make me consider very carefully before buying anything at all because every single thing that we buy will have to be disposed of eventually and much of it will end up being garbage. The planet can't cope with much more garbage.

One of the big deciding factors for me in making this move was that I wanted to do it while I was young enough and healthy enough to make my own decisions, manage the work and enjoy the benefits. This was empowering and launched a new chapter in my life, rather than having someone make decisions for me.

Also, I wanted to save my children from the work of having to deal with all my stuff. They have their own stuff. My mother modeled this for me. She downsized her enormous old country house and arranged her own funeral. Because she lived at a distance from me, that was the greatest gift she could ever have given me and I plan to give my family the same. I offered my children the choice of whatever they wanted and they took very little.

Another big factor was the housing crisis that we are experiencing here in Toronto. Why should I be holding onto a big house with a yard when a young family could live there and really take advantage of it? I raised my kids there and now someone else can do the same.

At no time during this past year have I regretted my choices, even for a minute. It was a lot of hard work and some tough decisions but I wouldn't change any of it. Only once have I had to go out and buy something that I downsized and that was just a little kitchen gadget. There is a documentary called "Minimalism" that I found quite practical and useful. If worst comes to worst, there are companies that will do this for you. Just tell them what you want to keep and they will dispose of everything else by the most appropriate means. A great time saver and probably well worth the money.

Jump to this post