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Downsizing

(88 Posts)
paddyann Mon 11-Feb-19 19:19:28

After much discussion we've decided to downsize.We dont need 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and it seems stupid to stay here when a smaller house would be much more practical.A friend says 55 is too young and 75 too late to do it so now seems about right After saying that how do you get the mindset for getting rid of "stuff" my huge collection of cookery books and CD's wont fit into a smaller living room and I'm loath to part with them .Any ideas on how to come to terms with parting with things you've had for decades?

NfkDumpling Tue 12-Feb-19 19:05:26

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!

paddyann Tue 12-Feb-19 19:06:21

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

AFurlong Tue 12-Feb-19 19:33:34

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.

Diggingdoris Tue 12-Feb-19 19:57:09

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!

paddyann Tue 12-Feb-19 22:45:23

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

Jalima1108 Tue 12-Feb-19 22:49:49

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

Perhaps a treat for St Valentine's Day? smile

GabriellaG54 Wed 13-Feb-19 00:49:44

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. ?

narrowboatnan Wed 13-Feb-19 09:22:34

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 ?

justwokeup Wed 13-Feb-19 12:57:20

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.

GabriellaG54 Thu 14-Feb-19 03:18:50

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) grin
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.

12Michael Thu 14-Feb-19 06:32:34

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

Grammaretto Thu 14-Feb-19 06:55:02

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