Thinking of downsizing

[pjlippert]

I am sure there are some Cathletes out there who have downsized out there- it seems to be the trend out there. Currently, my husband, our 8 y.o. son and myself (plus my furry Bichon boy) live in a fairly large home (5 bedrooms, 4 bath on three floors). When we moved here six years ago we planned on having another child or two but it was not to be.

We are seriously thinking of downsizing and simplifying our lives. So, having said that, for those of you who have downsized with a school-aged child, please tell me about your experience. How much of a transition was it? Did you regret moving to a smaller place? Did the regret last long? Are you ultimately happy you made the move?

Thank you very much for the feedback (in advance).

Pam

 

[nkhansen1]

We have moved 13 times in 16 years, half of those moves with kids. Some have been domestic and some overseas. Sometimes we have a huge home, and sometimes we get 1500 square feet. We always like the smaller homes the most. Something about the family being closer together rather than all spread out. We have 5000 square feet now for our family of four, and we are all looking forward to finding a smaller home with our next move. It's easier to clean and maintain as well. The kids are always so resilient, and it has never been a problem for them (they are 10 and 12 now). They have moved every two years for their whole lives, so maybe they are used to it, but it's still an adjustment for the whole family, and everyone does just fine. I can't wait for a smaller home again!

 

[WD]

I do not have children living at home anymore but have did daycare for my 7 grandchildren throughout their lifetimes and I will say after downsizing our home that there are pluses and minuses. Moving from a large home to a smaller home means figuring out what stuff that you want to get rid of (or need to get rid of) We still have our garage half full of stuff and an oversized outbuilding with a garage type door filled with stuff. I have kitchen items in boxes in the outbuilding and have lived here for 2.5 years. I keep a room for the family to sleep in when staying, the sofa bed from out last home for more sleeping space( I really did love the leather sofa in the garage). I bought a murphy cabinet bed for one of the rooms so I could use it for my second workout space. I did have the luxury before of a large workout room. I would say if you do do it check for plenty of storage, kitchen cabinet space, etc.. The plus is cleaning and not thinking about the extra rooms we never used. We had a huge office/ family room that we used at first in the large home but then with laptops we just moved to the main living room and sat there companionably and never used the office. Same with the game room that was furnished with pool table etc.. I do not miss all of the cleaning. We always migrated to the smaller space. That being said, I have too much stuff and now baby stuff that takes up space and my second workout space is the playroom/guest room with a Bowflex and VKR tower.

 

[tralaiven]

We totally down-sized after living in a 2000 sq. ft. house on 5 acres and it is the best thing we ever did. Thank goodness we were able to sell our house at the top of the market back in 2005. We now live in a darling little 1300 sq ft house in a common (though no shared walls--we have our own free standing home) And I am soooo glad we did. I got rid of so much junk that we just did not need and about 75% of my books.

It has been the best thing. I love my little house (I call it Baywood Cottage) and I have no regrets. I have often said to my husband that even if we were to become millionaires, there is no way I would move or want to live in a big, cavernous house. Been there, done that, so over-rated. I love our simplified life-style and like the message it sends to my children (we still have 2 at home)

 

[maddiesmum]

Smaller house: smaller space to heat, cool and clean. Lower bills and less housework. Where's the problem?!?!?!

I'd do it in a heart beat. All I need is a room for my fitness stuff!

Clare

 

[mini-natty]

Hello there! Just one month ago I downsized from a 2000 sq ft 4bd home, to a 1200sq ft apartment. Under varies circumstances, I had to sell my home but fortunately made a very good profit off the sale. Now my husband, myself and my daughter ( 2 1/2) are living quite nicely; no financial stress, money in the bank for a decent down payment on another home when we decide, less to clean, no snow shoveling or gardening, no garbage to take out, more time spent together as a family which is the MOST important thing. The pros definitely outweighed the cons in my case. My daughter is not in school yet, so she was not affected that way, but it took a bit of time for her to make the adjustment. Whenever we drive by our old house, she asks to go back there, it breaks my heart but I know we are better off. Oh and I got a whole spare room to store all of my fitness equipment and plenty of room to exercise! A++

 

[JeanneMarie]

As mentioned already, there are certainly pluses and minuses to downsizing.

The first thing you have to consider is whether the house you are currently living in will sell. Depending on where you live, that could be a huge deterrent to moving.

And then there's the issue of what to do with all of the "stuff" you have in your house. I have a lot of family antiques that I can't get rid of. (And don't want to). I would have to store them if we moved.

DH and I live in a 4000 square foot house all by ourselves. We have been here 22 years, and at one time had our son living here, as well as my elderly father. Everyone had their own suite, so it was an ideal situation. (We have 4 master suites in this house.) Now, with just the two of us, we rattle around in this huge space. Fortunately we have a zoned HVAC system, so we can close off unused areas and not have to pay to heat and cool all that extra square footage. We even have separate water heaters for each suite, so those can be turned off when not in use also.

Besides the fact that I doubt we could sell, the other factor that keeps us here is that our home is paid for. No mortgage!

And last but not least... I CAN NOT give up my workout room!!

 

[pjlippert]

Thank you all very much for the valuable feedback!! We have tossed around the idea of possibly renting out our current home due to the real estate market. One of the homes a few doors down just went on the market- so we'll see how quickly his sells- it's very similar in size to ours- about 4000sq ft. I've talked to some friends to how had to upsize their home and would be glad to take a lot of our larger furniture, etc..

We've been slowly getting rid of "stuff" but a move would surely jumpstart that effort! And oh my gosh - the constant cleaning & upkeep is really ridiculous. Granted, it's great for entertaining but we've scaled wayyy back on that due to cost issues.

When my husband and I really look at it- we spend most of our time as a family on the main floor or upstairs in the bedrooms-we rarely use the 1200 sq ft finished basement- unfortuately we don't have a zoned HVAC system- so can you say OUCH for the utility bills! We love our home, but really want to simplify.

Thanks again!!!
Pam
Keep those comments coming!