Downsizing, To Move or Not to Move? That is the Question

@sueinmn This weekend a friend here in town is dealing with just that. "In spades" as they say. In May her mother-in-law passed after a long decline in health. They live four doors down the street. Since then, Kelly and her family [husband and grown daughter] have decided to follow her son in moving from Oregon to Missouri to daughter-in-law's family stomping grounds. This weekend was the estate sale for mother-in-law, which was bittersweet for her husband. I had the chance to speak to him and how it is affecting him emotionally. All the while they are readying their houses for sale and selling, downsizing, telling stories to buyers of old crystal, cookware, momentos, etc.

When my folks moved in 1986, from one end of California to the other end, the only things they didn't take was a 25 year collection of Scientific American magazines, same with National Geographic magazines, and a couple out-dated computers. By 1996 when my mother passed, they had moved twice more, down-sizing a bit more. By 2012 when my dad passed, he had moved at least four move times, the last time into a one bedroom apartment in a 55+ complex, with a walk-in closet he stuffed full! Each child got at least one item that he hand-picked and gifted personally to them. A couple more things were delineated in his will. My older sister took on the task [alone, although each of us offered to help!] of sorting/cataloguing all the remaining items that we all were given lists of, and items not moved to children were sold/gifted away.

It's not an easy task to downsize. I am at the point where I do not gather more things.
Ginger

Ginger, we are the same. I even give away 2 items of clothing or household goods for every one that comes in. My local "Buy Nothing" group is wonderful - many affordable apartments & houses near us, young people and immigrants setting up house, so useful things are immediately requested.
I even have a plan - I have far too many pieces of bakeware now for the way we live. During holiday baking, I will put a sticker on each item I use. In the spring, anything that doesn't have a sticker will be closely looked at for finding a new home. I also own 2 extra sets of dishes and silver that we always used on Thanksgiving to serve 30-40 people - now we are far from here on the holiday, and it just takes space. I will discuss it with my family, and it will probably find a new home, either with the girls or someone else who entertains large groups.

I also have a whole cabinet of tools and supplies from my picture framing days - since my hands no longer handle the cutting & pounding, I will look for a new home - with luck they will want the 3X6 foot cupboard too!

As for today, it is my rest day - we had little garden helpers yesterday, and I might have done a bit too much.
Hugs!
Sue

Stickers....hmm, wonder if my wife will go for that. Would love to ditch about 50% of her cookware that has no cupboard storage space. I'm guessing that might lead to stickers in my computer room too but it is a great idea. Thanks Sue!

You're welcome. But I suggest you apply it in your bailiwick first!
Sue

John, in my house, it is "Don't touch that for rehoming" when it comes to my bakeware and his tools. We each decide what will be eliminated.
Ginger

Sadly since retiring my job is dishes while she still works and she has a gazillion odd size pots, pans, and odd stuff that only Norwegian cooks use and we don't have enough cabinets for storage. So, I just load/unload the dishwasher and let her put the odd stuff away. Not really complaining too hard as like you say I have my own computer and garage mess to downsize.

Hey John - I have "remote storage" on my own shelf in our (large) laundry room for the seldom used bakeware, massive soup pots, extra crockpot, etc. That keeps the every day stuff corralled in the available cupboards.

Our remote storage is an 8 x 12 unheated hot tub room without a hot tub 🙃 We got rid of that 10 years ago and then the things just started piling up in the hot tub room. So I have been lugging all of the old clothes and odds and ends down to Saver's but still haven't made much of a dent in the room. She does keep her oversized crockpot and it's carry case in the storage room along with Christmas decorations and other odds and ends.

It does not matter what age you are, tragedies happen and then family and freinds are left to get rid of the treasures that a person owns. Personal experience in retirement communities when somebody passes away alot of things just get thrown into dumpsters.

....in this house with a basement as many northern Ontario homes which used to have the basement of a house with just the furnace, washing machine and dryer if you had one, and a wee bit of storage, and then they became made into liveable areas, rec rooms, an additional bathroom, etc., but what many houses also have and we unfortunately do is a 'crawl space" because its a tri level home... well, the crawl space has all the furnace ducts in it, no windows, rough cement floor and height of unfinished ceiling, which is really the floor above, is around five feet high... I am five feet tall and have to bend my head where the overhead pipes are, my husband has hit his head numerous times and even cut it.... however, because we have so much STUFF it has shelves and counters and a washing line type affair on which hang dozens of coats for all seasons; Christmas decorations, boxes of seasonal clothing, wine, its packed and I pity the one who is left to clear that lot out let alone the rest of the items in the house as has to bend head to move around! ... nothing much of value just another excuse not to get rid of things we no longer use or need! We come under the heading PACK RATS. However, I did recently go through it and upstairs and had a sizeable donation to a nearby PET SAVE organization which has a used items store and on line auction... an old but excellent shape hand made queen size quilt I donated fetched 450 dollars Canadian so I feel good about that. I am all for downsizing, as long as someone else does it for me!!!! ;-D