The Cost of Waiting to Downsize Your Home

In real estate there is always the cost of waiting. The biggest issue is because you’re not ready. The same holds true for downsizing baby boomers. You tell yourself you’re not ready to move yet. In all actuality, you’re not even close to being ready to move.

I talk about this all the time. It’s the 3 phases of selling your home. Most of the selling your home process is in getting ready. And it takes the average baby boomer months to be ready.

When the Cost of Waiting Becomes Urgent

On the 4th of July, I had a call before 9:00 a.m. from a lady that wanted to know if I could meet with her within the next hour. Those calls are the desperate downsizers that will end up doing the wrong thing, with the wrong people if they aren’t careful.

So, in an effort to save her from her own self, I agreed to stop by her house at 10:30 for an initial paid consultation.

The No Surprise Consultation

Nothing surprises me. After all, I’ve been selling real estate for 35 years and doing home staging for 15 years. When I ask people how ready they are to put the for sale sign in the yard, they always lie. Well, they don’t mean to lie. They just aren’t being realistic or honest with themselves. They usually tell me on a scale of 1-10, they are around a 7 or 8. That number better represents how many months or sometimes years it’s going to take for them to really be ready to put the sign in the yard.

This lady was ready though. It was like she woke up that morning and a bolt of lightning shot through her. When I asked how she found me she said she googled how to get started downsizing and there I was.

Yep. I’m here, there, and everywhere. I’ve done it, I currently live large in a small space and I am settled in for my final chapter. The question is, are you?

Just a Typical Baby Boomer

Linda was no different than anyone else her age. She was still in the big 2 story, in south Overland Park. She’d been there for over 20 years and her house was loaded. There was a path from the front door into the kitchen. She told me over the phone that the door would be unlocked and to let myself in.

As I announced my arrival, I almost couldn’t find her sitting in a chair across the 1st floor. There was so much stuff I couldn’t see past the path ahead of me. After touring part of her house, we ended up back at the kitchen where I offered her one of my programs to manage her move. She not only needed some guidance on what to do when but also needed someone to box the stuff up and haul it off. And then there was the accountability part of it. After some add-ons to my Move Management Program I designed years ago, we came up with something that would work for her. After all, she had so many health issues, she knew she was never going to get out of there without someone else physically doing the work for her.

By the end of our appointment, I had removed all of the items that were above the kitchen cabinets. You know the ones. They’ve been there for years, are so dirty, dusty, and grimy from kitchen grease it’s embarrassing. I loaded them into my car for donation and we scheduled our next appointment.

The Cost of Waiting – Priceless

Linda is a perfect example of somebody who is now experiencing the cost of waiting. Her health has deteriorated and now prohibits her from being on her feet for over about 15 minutes at any given time. Little did she know a year ago, this change in her health would ever occur. After all, she was a vibrant business owner in her early 70’s and had lots of years left. And then she got the diagnosis from her doctor.

Her cost of waiting is now costing her in dollars. She didn’t start the decluttering to downsize when she should have, and has no family in town (not that they WANT to help). Her only option is to pay someone to help her get rid of years of stuff.

The Good News

The cost of waiting for her comes down to the fact that she’s now ready. I believe she has finally faced the fact that the good days are behind her. She knows her health will not improve, she will never be able to box anything up on her own or get anything out of her house without help.

Her health scare motivated her beyond belief. She knows her days are numbered and she wants to be ready to move when the time comes. Linda isn’t ready to move just yet but might be by the time we get all of the clutter out of her house. She is my perfect client and would benefit so much from any one of my downsizing baby boomer programs. Trouble is, the cost of waiting has affected her as it does so many. She waited too long and is now unable to do the work.

What’s Your Plan?

Linda and I put our heads together and came up with a program that will work for now.  At the end of the day, we’re both good with our agreement knowing full well that things could change at any time. After all, it’s not how it’s going to happen, it’s more about getting the job done so you can be ready for that next chapter.

There’s no better time to assess where you are in your life and your own downsizing experience. If nothing else, I hope you are participating in “The House Weight Loss Plan” on Facebook. It’s a year-long program and is totally FREE! While that’s not as detailed as one of my paid programs, it’s a great start to rid your life and your house of things you no longer want or need.

What About You?

Do you feel like you’ve waited too long to downsize? What are you going to do about it? You can take charge of your future or do nothing. It’s your next chapter and your decision. You can take charge of it or leave it for someone else to do. If you’d like to have a conversation to see if you’re making the right decisions for your own personal situation, call or text me at (913) 515-3250 or contact me here.

Is Downsizing Your Home Right for You?

5 Questions to Ask Yourself…is downsizing your home right for you? Will you be ready when it’s time to move?

If you are anything like many of my baby boomer clients, you may be ready to kick 2020 to the curb. Ready to start off 2021 living life your way? Between Covid, the recent election, and everything else going on, many baby boomers have decided to quit living on everyone else’s terms and take their future into their own hands. After all, it is your life. To continue to live your last few good years on someone else’s terms, is definitely not the baby boomer way.

If you are having thoughts of downsizing your home and moving on with your life while you still can, here are 5 questions you should ask yourself first:

Where are you living now?

Are you living in a home that will serve you as you grow older?

Are you still in your big family home where you raised your kids or have lots of stairs that won’t remain your friend as you age? This just might be the time for you to move on. After all, the benefits of living in a home that better suits your current lifestyle is good for you. It’s great for your health, your soul and might make smart financial sense as well.

If you have a home to sell, learn the 3 easy steps to selling your home here.

Where would you move?

Many of you may already have an answer to this question. If you were Samantha from Bewitched and you could wiggle your nose and be out of here by the end of the day, where do you see yourself?

You might choose to:

  • Move to an apartment
  • Find a smaller house to buy (like I did)
  • Relocate to a warmer climate and be sipping a fun drink on the beach
  • Be closer to your grandkids or other family members
  • Move to a 55+ community of other people much like you

What’s your BIG WHY for downsizing your home?

If you don’t have a BIG WHY, you probably won’t downsize your home. After all, you must have a reason why you would uproot yourself from your comfy home.

And your BIG WHY might change. I’ve downsized twice and have had different reasons each time.

What was my 1st BIG WHY? I was living alone in a 13 room 3,500 square foot house that I no longer loved and had more stuff that I no longer wanted or cared about. Every month I was spending money on expensive maintenance and high utility bills when I lived in 4 rooms of the house. I finally woke up one morning and said, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore! I’m tired of babysitting my stuff and this house!”

When I downsized the second time, I went from an apartment back to another house. I knew I wanted to be able to live in my current home, with the things I loved, until I could no longer take care of myself. I bought an 800 square foot house with no basement and in a safe area. The best thing is – I have gone through my stuff. My kids know where my important papers are and they know what to do should something happen to me. There’s nothing not to talk about. No one lives forever.

That’s my BIG WHY now. I don’t want to be a burden on either of my children. They can take what they want of my possessions, have an estate sale, and sell the house, if that’s what they choose. I have sorted through my lifetime of possessions. There is no hidden money anywhere. They know exactly what to keep and what to get rid of. That in itself, makes me happy!

If you don’t start eliminating now, when will you start downsizing your home?

Nobody wants to move. And especially downsize. It’s one of the top 5 most stressful experiences you’ll encounter in your lifetime. You may not feel like it now because it’s never easy. But waiting another 3-5 years to start going through your stuff? Are you going to have more energy, or be in better physical condition then? Why not do it while you still can so you can live the 3rd act of your life on your terms, not someone else’s. If you end up having to call in your family members or your kids to help you sort through your stuff, they will have your lifetime of stuff in the dumpster asap. They don’t want your stuff and will never forget that you left everything for them to do.

The best gift you can ever give your kids is to downsize yourself. It’s your responsibility because it’s your stuff. It should be part of your life plan.

Live your life while you still can

Then when it’s time, you should move to a place for suitable for your lifestyle. Live your next few good years outrageously doing everything you haven’t yet done. Quit babysitting your stuff and live your life. Be free!

I can’t tell you how many of my real estate clients are currently on my 5 Year Plan to downsize their home. One lady recently told me she wished she had done it sooner. She felt like she lost 5 good years of her life dealing with her stuff in a home that was way too big for her. She would have rather been living her life.

Maybe you’re just ready to simplify your life…

There’s alot to be said about preparing for your next chapter in life. What it comes down to is – do you want to call the shots or let someone else decide where you will move to and what you will take with you.

Personally, I wanted to call my own shots so I downsized to an 800 square foot home where I can live until I can no longer care for myself. Living large in a small space gives me the freedom I want, the flexibility to live my life the way I want and hopefully will buy me some years by not being stressed out in a too big of house full of stuff I didn’t care about anymore. Less is more when you are a baby boomer. But to be surrounded with only the things you love will also prolong your life. How many good years do you have left?

After helping hundreds of baby boomers over the years with downsizing their homes, I created an online Declutter to Downsize Challenge 2021.

Why do you need help downsizing?

Maybe you don’t need help. After all, anybody can do anything they set their mind to. You can do anything on your own. The biggest problem with decluttering your life and downsizing your home is it is typically so overwhelming, people never get it done. They jump right in but since there is no system, they get so frustrated, and they give up.

Declutter to Downsize Challenge

The Declutter to Downsize Challenge 2021 is an online 12 month transformational journey that will take you step by step, each and every day so you wake up every morning knowing the challenge for that day.

You’ll learn to get good working through the struggle of knowing what to keep and what to get rid of when decluttering your life and downsizing your home. 

You’ll learn the proven strategies and systems that I’ve used for years with all of my baby boomer real estate and home staging clients. You will not only get started, you’ll stay on track and get through your stuff – once and for all – even if you’ve tried and failed before. You’ll learn why you struggle and will master the secrets of learning to make quick decisions even if you haven’t been able to do that in the past.

And you’ll do it faster, more efficiently, and with less stress, emotion and drama when you’re held accountable and have a community of others who have your back.

If you see yourself living a different life than you’re currently living, I can help. I did it and you can too!

You can check out the Challenge here.

In conclusion

I hope you consider joining us on this journey. In the mean time…be dreaming about, envisioning and working on what you would do with your life if you were free of your stuff, living where you wanted, how you wanted and with only the things that you love.

Many people have had questions. Feel free to call me at (913) 515-3250 or contact me here.

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