Downsizing: A Checklist for Retirees And What You’ll Learn
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Here’s How to Make Downsizing Easier, Less Painful, and Freeing Too!
June 12, 2025 — You probably know in your heart that many spaces in your home are a mess. They are cluttered with stuff you “might have to use someday”, or “will get around to sorting it out”, or “The kids might need this in the future”. But the fact usually is, almost all of this clutter hasn’t been touched or used for years, if not decades, and maybe since your last move. Sometimes it is so bad that it could be called hoarding, and we know that’s not good.
Everybody we talk to who has downsized has felt enormous relief from the process. The prospect of cleaning out is liberating – all that anxiety gone along with a feeling of accomplishment. People rarely miss anything that was disposed of. We have written several articles on people’s downsizing adventures in the past – see end of article for a list.
Comments on "Downsizing: A Checklist for Retirees And What You’ll Learn"
LS says:
Two additional thoughts. Start early. It takes time to do all the things mentioned in the article, especially if you are still working. We had a large traditional home with formal living and dining rooms. Modern homes, at least where we live, no longer have these. We had to sell off or otherwise dispose of these two rooms of furniture and possessions.
The second thing that takes time is getting your house ready to sell. Our house was 25 years old and needed a remodel of the kitchen and baths to make it able to compete with other homes for sale in our location. Getting contractors lined up, picking out fixtures, colors, flooring, tile, appliances, etc., takes time and coordination. It's not something you can rush and expect good results.
The Truth says:
Your two paragraph introduction is excellent. My response; don't think you might use, don't put it off saying you will get around to it and don't think your kids may be able to us it. The truth is you will rarely if ever us it, you won't get around to it if you put it off and your kids definitely can't use it and don't want it.
More truth; getting rid of stuff is hard work and it can take a long time, unless you just throw everything out wholesale (which may not be a bad idea).
My suggestion; start now, it's ok to start very small, keep moving forward. Also, don't think your stuff has any monetary value. You will find out how much it's worth if you try to sell it and selling it will be a real pain in the neck to boot. You will end up donating most of your stuff and throwing out the rest and even that will be a pain.
Admin says:
This is a very good article about several real life people who are exploring downsizing, but don't really want to leave the house and neighborhood they live in now. They know they probably should, but here are some of the issues they come up against. Worth a read: https://www.nextavenue.org/wrestling-with-downsizing-stay-or-go/