Downsizing

GabriellaG54 what a great story about the computer!
I'm afraid our spectrum is still in the attic somewhere.

I was in a position 5 years or so back to downsize , moving from a one bedroom flat ,and into a bedsit style apartment in a Anchor-Hanover Independent living retirement home.
But have succeeded by reduction of things.
Space was the problem.
Mick

Reading through all the replies so far, it's come to mind that many of us had/have large houses 4/5/6 bedrooms and multiple bathrooms. How many of our AC have houses that size?
I discount AnnieBach 's daughter from this question as I was informed she had a 5 bed house due to having a collection (5?) of dogs and some horses (although I doubt whether the nags sleep upstairs)
We must have been better off than our offspring at the same age and I reckon most of us didn't get any financial help from our parents to get on the ladder.

paddyann electronic storage is a good idea but, otherwise, could you just listen to your CDs one last time? If there are any you don't want to listen to they can go straight to the charity shop and the others can go once you've heard them and committed them to your memories. A relative did this and really enjoyed listening to them and was happy to let them go afterwards.

We downsized big time when we moved from a 5 bedroomed house to a 57ft x 6ft boat! The local charity shop did well out of it, some books I managed to hang on to, my shoe collection had to go as did the posh frocks from our cruise holidays (I didn’t plan on dressing for dinner with my good Captain) but it did get easier as time went on. The hardest thing I had to do was to rehome my two horses ?

A few years ago I was telling my youngest GC about the Commodore 64 computer my AC had and the fun with all the games of which we had dozens.
After thinking about it a few days later, I looked on eBay to see if anyone was selling them.
Quite a few were available, some in a rather tatty condition others without the joysticks etc. I found a respectable version, bid and won. It was duly sent with 2 joysticks and the original games plus extras.
When it arrived...yes it was the one I'd sold decades before, recognised by the label underneath and family name in the games cassettes. How it found it's way to Dunkeld in Scotland, I've no idea. The thrill of playing Rambo (and I still haven't found the prisoners) Trivial Pursuit Paper Boy and call the other games, is still alive in me, my AC and GC.
I still have my Amstrad E-mailer with the pocket docket. The joy when the green and red lights flashed was second to none and last year I bought a leatherette covered 10 stack Dansette record player from eBay to play my old 45s EPs and LPs. Everly brothers, Johnny Tillotson, Beatles, Bobby Vee etc.
Memories...sigh. ?

I keep suggesting a trip up to the attic but he has resisted so far.

Perhaps a treat for St Valentine's Day?

Well ,after telling my OH I was going to cull my cookery books what did he buy me today ...you guessed it a new cookery book.lol

Oh you are all so brave, parting with years of treasures. I have started tackling the book shelves and took three boxes full to the Hospice. It made me feel good, so must carry on. I'm dreading thinning down my China / glass collections. I've always loved blue and white crocks and pretty coloured glass so I keep putting off this job.
My DH will not even discuss sorting his stuff out, so even if I declutter the rest of the house I will not be allowed to touch anything that's his!

You can easily get rid of the cds. Join spotify or other streaming service for music and you can have all your music and more at your finger tips. No storage involved. I've done this and love the change.

Thanks ladies ,I'm now of the opinion we should rent out our house until we're sure we like the new one .OH says we wont move at all if I say no to it.Coming from the man who bought this house while out training for a marathon and told me when he got home I was very surprised .Still we've been here almost 30 years and it was a successful buy even on his impulse

This thread has goaded me into sorting out our loft. Fiction books all gone and the rest weeded hard. Children’s toys weeded and now we’re down to the many boxes of photos and slides - ours and inherited. We’re weeding out all views and zoos and just keeping ones with people we know on. There’s still hundreds!

Already I feel the house has grown a couple of inches now it’s not so weighed down with Stuff!

Paddyanne, I can see why it would be hard to get rid of your CDs, it the memories. Its a hard one, I have stuff I should get rid of but just can't bring myself to do it. As for books we have a bookcase full with double rows of books. Every now and again we have a clear out but its hard. Good luck with this one.

I ought to start clearing out but, hate throwing anything away (it might come in useful ?!) My DH died two and a half years ago and apart from giving some of his useful things like electric razor to my son-law, I have not the heart to get rid of his clothes. Son-in-law cannot help here as he is 5’8” and DH was 6’1”.
My daughter, who can be far more ruthless than I, plans to come and help me do it, I have been collecting boxes so, no excuses really. Charity shops, here we come!

I’ve done it. It’s awful. It’s not just ‘stuff’, it’s the story of your life, your biography. Start now. Do it bit by bit, and take your time. In the end, one day, you’ll appreciate your simplified life, but getting to that point will be painful. No getting away from it.

We downsized last year. Moved from a five bedroom house to a small three bed bungalow. It took almost a year preparing for the move. Finally we rented a container to stash stuff we thought might be needed later.
well we have been here almost a year and we love it. House work is a doddle , we know where everything is. However it was very tiring-we are both 73, we should have done this ten years ago. The stuff in the container is still there so its all going to charity after all. Also its great to know have saved our daughter the hassle of clearing out a large house when we eventually snuff it.

I haven't spoken to anyone who has regretted decluttering, even those who were quite attached to their possessions. They are after all only inanimate objects, whatever emotional value is placed on them. It can be quite difficult for some to let things go I know, but I agree with your dad popsis71. It's really a first world problem isn't it. We over consume.

We have just begun the process of downsizing, and it is every bit as difficult as we knew it would be! The house we will be moving into (completion date late June) is less than half the size of our present home, which is now far too big for two retired people. Because of this, we have been able to accumulate with no worries of where to put things. It is really overwhelming but lots of good suggestions on here and we must knuckle down and deal with it over the next few months. Will be a sad journey too though I think.

We downsized twelve years ago. My OH was away for much of the time I was sorting what to keep and what to recycle, ditch, sell at car boot sales etc and it was easy as I can be more ruthless than him. It took him a whole week to sort his books!
When my Dad downsized he said " you have remember that you own your possessions or they end up owning you".

What a challenge paddyann.
Is it possible to have a shed in your garden, big enough to use as a den where your cookery books could be housed?
It could serve so many uses if it's a decent size but it all depends on the size of the garden.
Good luck with the move.

Do it sooner rather than later. I am on my own now and disabled and still have other people's things to get rid of as well as my own but the actual physical lifting and carrying to Charity Shops is now outside my capability.

Had I known I would be stuck like this I would never have taken in the things of others to get rid of and would have thrown out a huge amount of my own at earlier stages as well.

I have reached the ruthless stage, chucking out things that could be useful if I could get them to the right Charity, but am unable to do so. Therefore I'm just heaving things which are really quite decent into the bin! It goes strongly against the grain but needs must.

Last year we moved into a smaller & "easier" home. Decluttered a lot before moving, but we didn't sort out our CDs. So I bought a slim, wooden CD storage unit, which houses over 170 CDs within a small "footprint". Now we're playing through the CDs, one by one, to check: a). Is this one in a good condition? & b). Do we want to keep it? Great fun & we are enjoying most of them.

I emptied my linen cupboard this week , keeping only what I would use . My daughter took some , work colleagues had a rummage and took some , a dog's charity is getting the fleecey blankets , I put cushions into the charity shop this morning and another lot is being offered out on Thursday . I'm a hoarder and thought that I'd be stressed at downsizing my stock . But everyone's delight made me happy - I'm away to sort out the book stock now !

My sister once called me a 'reverse hoarder' (I throw away things I later need). I don't know if I was a highwayman in a previous life, needing to grab a sack, jump on my horse and gallop off but I cannot live with clutter.

DH is the opposite.

We are clashing lately as we are planning (not quite yet but soonish) to downsize.

I think I'm winning. Two huge boxes of books in the hallway waiting to go to the charity shop. It's not easy when you live with someone who wants to keep every single box an item arrived in 'just in case' Sigh.

paddyann - Ask yourself "Do I love it, do I want it, do I need it?
I still worry about a couple of books I threw out over 30 years ago (they were my Dad's and inscribed) but at least they may have raised some money for Oxfam. It's stupid to miss books, but I do.

We need to de-clutter but this thread is making me a bit anxious, I dislike throwing things away that may have some memories or sentimental value.