The Decision to Downsize
We are considering downsizing our home for the first time in twenty years. We’ve raised our children here, met life-long friends, and created precious memories. I love my home. I have refinished my basement, am fond of my herbs and vegetables, and love my wooded backyard. We’ve invested quite a lot of time and money into our home, making it exactly the way we want it.
So why would we consider selling our home and downsizing to a smaller one?
Upgrading Your Life
We want to upgrade our lives by simplifying. My husband and I are in good health, and I think that it may be time to look forward. More freedom sounds really nice, and it’s beyond the fact that our boys are almost all adults now. We are reflecting on our lifestyle. How long do we want to continue to grind? How long do we pay high utility bills, dedicate our time to landscaping, and continue to pay a mortgage? While we are young (ish), we are thinking it may be time to take a step into a new life.
What does that look like for us? We hope for more disposable income, less to take care of, more time, and less stress. We’ve done it. We’ve built a home for our children, raised them, supported them through school, and are proud of the men they’ve become. Now it’s up to them to figure out their own lives, buy their own houses, define their own careers, and have their own lives. We get to reclaim ours.
How to Prepare to Downsize Your Home
Where does one start with this kind of decision? Walking into my basement storage room, you can see our lives organized into boxes. We are going to purge purge purge. The old crochet blankets of my childhood, outdated encyclopedias, and Halloween costumes that my children can no longer fit into, it all has to go! Duplicate toolsets, old holiday lights that may not even work any longer, and computers and printers that haven’t been plugged in for years need to be recycled. Right now it all seems overwhelming!
Yet, even though I intuitively know that this would be a good decision, my mind is full of counterarguments. What about the real estate market? Interest rates? The unique wooded lot I have in an area that has seen explosive growth? I could go on and on. When changing something significant in your life, whether it is a house, a marriage, or a career move, you tend to freeze and overthink. I’m hoping that this decision will represent our desire to LIVE in a new way and we are hoping to create new memories and adventure.
Have you considered downsizing your home? Tell us about it!
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