Downsizing

I recently went through my old cookery books and cut out any recipes I actually use, and put them in files. I just kept a few of the actual books.
I now have a shelf of coloured ring files in the kitchen, soups in one file, salads in another, chicken in another, fish in another etc., and the recipes are all tried, tested and liked.

I also went through a great heap of recipes I'd cut out from newspapers and magazines over the years, but never got round to trying.

Some of them dated back to the 1990's

Good luck with your move Paddyann.

We are doing this...we see it as the next adventure!
As to paring down the 'stuff'........ we did have a major sort out about 10 years ago and it made us be more careful about acquiring anymore stuff...its been 'new thing in....something old out' for a while now.
As to getting rid of major stores of things such as books and other possessions You do have to be a bit clinical. 1st stage is to go through what you have and honestly ask yourself.....'have I used/looked at this in the last 2 years?
If answer is no then pack it away somewhere like a spare room or attic. Once something is truly out of sight its amazing how quickly it is forgotten about. Give it a year then dispose of how you see fit.
Finding homes for the things we do not or cannot take with us has been seen as a bit of an adventure too. A few things have gone to auction...that was fun. Then donations to Hospice shop which is lovely to do. A few bits have gone on Gumtree and we have met some interesting people there. Have just handed over a couple of quite precious things to a local family who really appreciated them....was lovely seeing the children's reactions. There are very few things I really could not part with....photos, a few small baby mementos and some individual pieces of art and craft. Apart from that its just 'stuff' and whilst useful it has no real emotional attachment for me. Beautiful bone china left by one relative has been used daily...some bits broken but actually that old stuff is very sturdy. There is just no point keeping it all just to admire. Either use it or find a home for it. Its the people in my life I cherish not the objects.

It's not as hard as you think paddyann and it's very liberating when you diverse yourself of "stuff". It's often the thought of it, but when you have managed to part with things you don't waste much time missing them. Save a few favourite CDs and cookery books and charity shop the rest. I felt the same about some of mine, but when I want a recipe I inevitably look on line, and rarely listened to all the CDs I've collected at different times. Happy clearing. Think of all the space you'll have.

Once you start de-cluttering, you may find it cathartic.

Naturally, some things are far too precious to discard but I think moving is good for making you blow away a few cobwebs and really decide what you want and need and what you are just holding onto out of habit.

I downsized and got rid of many things. Never regretted it.

I had to downsize (several times in fact) and needed to get rid of some very precious things, including furniture inherited from grand parents and parents, but I let them go to Hospice, knowing the money they raised on them would help the dying.

Thanks ladies ,I felt quite sad today when I looked at my CD's and though I wont have anywhere to house them .I'll start culling the cookery books tomorrow ,I'm working the rest of the week so it will mean I wont have time to do very much.I did offer my sons partner some but I think she thought I was criticising her cooking...lol

I haven’t any useful advice to give but we too have made the decision to downsize,been talking about it for a while but only made the decision within the last week.We have decided to give ourselves minimum of 12 months to sort everything before we put the house on the market.

We downsized 14 years ago when I was 59 and DH was 62 and moved near to the centre of a market town with everything we need within walking distance. It gave us time to make new friends and become part of the community.

It took two years of slimming down possessions in our old house first though. When in the mood we'd go mad and get rid of things. Then a few months later have another go. But we've still managed to have boxes in the loft which have remained untouched since we moved in! Then we had to decide what furniture would fit into the new house. I spent a long time with the new house plan and paper cut outs of tables and beds etc working out what to keep.

We don't regret in the least moving before we physically needed to and are very happy still in our new nest.

Take photographs of items before you get rid if you think it’s going to hurt. It helps.

We downsized 9 years ago. The timing was good (we were in our late 50’s). No regrets at all.

Good luck paddyann

We haven’t moved or downsized but we did put in a shower room downstairs in case stairs become an issue.
Clearing my parents house several years ago encouraged me to start clearing my own home. I find it an emotional process, photographs, books, treasured cards made by our children, letters (remember those).
I try to recycle, anything usable to the charity shops. Sorry paddynan, not much help - everyone I know seem to be making similar attempts to future proof or downside. I don’t know anyone who isn’t finding it a stretch to get rid of books China, keep crueset pots too heavy to lift these days.

Buy somewhere with a good sturdy waterproof shed for storage.

Though I'd brace yourself for items which won't fit when downsizing !