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.
