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I have retired and DH has 18 months to go before his planned retirement date. The plan is to spend the first 12 months following his retirement selling the house because we don't need 4300 square feet to live in (actually we only use about 1/3 of the house). So, I am getting rid of stuff. Three bags going to recycling with tomorrow's trash..... filled with mountains of old love letters, closing papers from houses bought & sold more than a decade ago, resumes, warranty books on items long replaced.....whew!!! I just bought a groupon ($29 for 1000 photo scans) to put old photos on disc so I can give all the hard prints to the kids. This is such a chore but I look at my mother's house filled with this stuff and she never touches any of it! So far, I can't think of one thing I am going to save. Am I going overboard??? Have you done this and regretted disposing of any items?
I am a hoarder, but I need to start getting rid of stuff, too. So we started
by burning trash barrells full of paperwork. Then on to get rid of
vintage clothing and enough tools to start several carpentry businesses.
But oh so hard.
If we downsized our abode, we'd be living in a shed!
You are wise to start downsizing/tossing things ahead of time. We had motivation to do it because we were moving into a smaller home and doing the entire move ourselves--anything we brought with us had to be worth the effort. It does take time and energy to go through years of accumulated stuff, but it feels great to get rid of the clutter and live with fewer possessions. No regrets--we don't miss what we donated or tossed.
I have retired and DH has 18 months to go before his planned retirement date. The plan is to spend the first 12 months following his retirement selling the house because we don't need 4300 square feet to live in (actually we only use about 1/3 of the house). So, I am getting rid of stuff. Three bags going to recycling with tomorrow's trash..... filled with mountains of old love letters, closing papers from houses bought & sold more than a decade ago, resumes, warranty books on items long replaced.....whew!!! I just bought a groupon ($29 for 1000 photo scans) to put old photos on disc so I can give all the hard prints to the kids. This is such a chore but I look at my mother's house filled with this stuff and she never touches any of it! So far, I can't think of one thing I am going to save. Am I going overboard??? Have you done this and regretted disposing of any items?
We downsized after I retired and before we made a 2,000 mile move. Then we actually upsized (went from very compact urban to rural), bought new furniture and appointments for our new home, lots of tools and implements including a yard tractor, etc. Even bought a new, "last" car just before the move. Seems rather backward but we're not adding to anything now. We have everthing we need and enough of what we want to be perfectly content and that's where it ends. We do not save or hoard things.
First this is a wonderful thread. It could get out of control with all the horders here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirl
I have retired and DH has 18 months to go before his planned retirement date. The plan is to spend the first 12 months following his retirement selling the house because we don't need 4300 square feet to live in (actually we only use about 1/3 of the house). So, I am getting rid of stuff. Three bags going to recycling with tomorrow's trash..... filled with mountains of old love letters, closing papers from houses bought & sold more than a decade ago, resumes, warranty books on items long replaced.....whew!!! I just bought a groupon ($29 for 1000 photo scans) to put old photos on disc so I can give all the hard prints to the kids. This is such a chore but I look at my mother's house filled with this stuff and she never touches any of it! So far, I can't think of one thing I am going to save. Am I going overboard??? Have you done this and regretted disposing of any items?
I cannot imagine a 4300sf home and all the stuff that could be contained in there. I myself live in 2200sf and I will be months clearing it all out. As you said it is something of a chore.
On your question there will be things you might regret getting rid of. Don't dwell on that. If it turns out you need it just buy a new one. If it is just a keep sake remember you cannot take it with you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by luvmyhoss
I am a hoarder, but I need to start getting rid of stuff, too. So we started
by burning trash barrells full of paperwork. Then on to get rid of
vintage clothing and enough tools to start several carpentry businesses.
But oh so hard.
If we downsized our abode, we'd be living in a shed!
LOL I had been thinking about adding a nice professional table saw to my mess but I have decided that I dont really need it. I will probably still keep both my compressors though. One for air tools the other for nailers and stuff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fern435
You are wise to start downsizing/tossing things ahead of time. We had motivation to do it because we were moving into a smaller home and doing the entire move ourselves--anything we brought with us had to be worth the effort. It does take time and energy to go through years of accumulated stuff, but it feels great to get rid of the clutter and live with fewer possessions. No regrets--we don't miss what we donated or tossed.
That is good news. Like Squirl we are not retired yet. I am 4 years from mandatory retirement (army national guard). DW is 6 years from planned retirement. Her mom is living with us and is 80 so the next 7 years is a waiting game for me. So while waiting I wil begin to toss out piles of stuff.
I have a few boxes that have accumulated over a couple of previous moves. I always had the intention to sort and get rid of the many assorted items, but pressed with time due to working, it was much easier to box those items and bring them along (there were quite a few items that I was able to donate) This was especially true when I purchased this home which has more than ample room to accommodate a neatly stacked number of boxes. I figure, once I retire I can have a few beers, go through each box (maybe not all at once) and go back to memory lane. I'm sure that there will be things that I will throw away or donate, others keep. In the age of itunes and todays media, there's quite a collection of CDs, cassettes, records, books etc. in some of those boxes, that I hadnt heard/accessed in years. Looking forward to that.
Just think about when you kick off, what you want your family members to have to deal with. Are they going to want your hundreds of covered bridge photos, your former work clothes, your knick knacks accumulated over the years, your three dutch ovens, your garage full of tools you "might use someday"? An attic full of mementos from your kids (give them all their stuff now), your army jacket (which you cherish), your boxes of family genealogy you worked so hard on (will they really care), your dozens of poems from your "blue period," your artwork from high school, the multitude of plants you can hardly take care of now, your spare auto parts just in case, your trunk full of quilts in case you have guests, your binsful of towels in case you find you cannot afford new ones in the future, the three extra sets of dinnerware and real silverware from Aunt Martha, the hooked rugs you swear you will finish, and on and on?
I do not want my family to have to go through what I did with my mother's and MIL's stuff. It was a killer. I should have shoved it all in a Dumpster, and I practically did. I vowed to henceforth live simply, routinely getting rid of the unnecessary, partly for them, but also because my household feels "clean."
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fern435
You are wise to start downsizing/tossing things ahead of time. We had ...--we don't miss what we donated or tossed.
Start today... Having been through this myself and helping friends, your first day of retirement will be 500% better is you have taken care of the majority of downsizing BEFORE your first day OFF.
Those who take the discipline to do this task have much more enjoyable transitions / opportunites in retirement.
Try to make it FUN. (eBay / Craigslist income to your new travel / treat fund). Ironically one of my friend's who was an early retiree enjoyed it so much that they now do it for others and are making significant income and having a blast. They made over $50k last yr selling / shipping stuff for others (including the profits they got from buying used jewelry and remelting and selling as metals.) So crazy is the amazing prices clothing and shoes bring online.
Now for the resolution of 4300 SF ... for my own 'Casa-Grande' I am considering 'equity share' (having someone else own a share of my home, or a separate remainder trust, or donating it to a non-profit with contract that I stay till death, and they pay the taxes while I stay.). Currently I have investment assets targeted to charities, but no reason it can't be my house.
I can empathize with you! Not only did we have to downsize our house, but we also had to empty and sell my parents house and DH parents house, all within a short time. Garage sales were almost a way of life for us for awhile! DH took many pick-up truck loads of "stuff" for donation to various agencies and to the dump. I tried to follow the rule of if we hadn't used it for a year then we didn't need it. It actually helped that I moved to our new house 2.5 years before DH did. I told him that if I didn't need something in that time, then get rid of it. Of course he didn't listen for some things, so we are still participating in community sales down here, but usually only go with what our golf cart will hold (we can't have them at our houses directly).
Our daughter is so thankful that we did this ahead of time so that she doesn't have to deal with it later. She saw what we had to go through with her grandparents and didn't want to have to do that. We did offer her last dibs on what we were getting rid of, but she was very frugal about it. You might want to make sure that any family members know and ask them if they want anything to save hurt feelings at a later time. If that doesn't apply, then definitely go for it! Much easier to do it a little at a time than all at once, like we had to do with my parents stuff.
One thing I might warn, though, is make sure that both you and hubby are on the same page about things you are getting rid of. One thing that was a bone of contention with us is that I felt he wanted to keep all his stuff and get rid of all of mine, and he thought I was being unreasonable for wanting him to get rid of some stuff that I had no connections to, but apparently he did. Still causes a few problems now and then.
I can empathize with you! Not only did we have to downsize our house, but we also had to empty and sell my parents house and DH parents house, all within a short time. Garage sales were almost a way of life for us for awhile! DH took many pick-up truck loads of "stuff" for donation to various agencies and to the dump. I tried to follow the rule of if we hadn't used it for a year then we didn't need it. It actually helped that I moved to our new house 2.5 years before DH did. I told him that if I didn't need something in that time, then get rid of it. Of course he didn't listen for some things, so we are still participating in community sales down here, but usually only go with what our golf cart will hold (we can't have them at our houses directly).
Our daughter is so thankful that we did this ahead of time so that she doesn't have to deal with it later. She saw what we had to go through with her grandparents and didn't want to have to do that. We did offer her last dibs on what we were getting rid of, but she was very frugal about it. You might want to make sure that any family members know and ask them if they want anything to save hurt feelings at a later time. If that doesn't apply, then definitely go for it! Much easier to do it a little at a time than all at once, like we had to do with my parents stuff.
One thing I might warn, though, is make sure that both you and hubby are on the same page about things you are getting rid of. One thing that was a bone of contention with us is that I felt he wanted to keep all his stuff and get rid of all of mine, and he thought I was being unreasonable for wanting him to get rid of some stuff that I had no connections to, but apparently he did. Still causes a few problems now and then.
Last night as I suggested we get rid of two photo albums of my DH with a former GF (both albums of trips to very exotic places) he wasn't keen on it. So, for now we have a couple of albums with his arms around a cute Barbie doll type from 15 years ago......
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Last night as I suggested we get rid of two photo albums of my DH with a former GF (both albums of trips to very exotic places) he wasn't keen on it. So, for now we have a couple of albums with his arms around a cute Barbie doll type from 15 years ago...... 
