Downsizing Percentage

[patfla06]

People have been saying try not to downsize more then 50 percent.

We are downsizing 42 percent.

How about you?
And how did it work out?

[billethkid]

How did you come up with the number?
Btk

[perrjojo]

We went from 5000 sq ft to 1500. It works perfect for us. It is just a matter of how attached you are to your"stuff". We found we really don't need all the stuff and didn't even know we had some of it. Less house, less yard, less stuff = a more simple, less stressful life for us.

[Paulz]

Actually you are downsizing 70%, 3500/5000. We are in about the same boat, plus going from 13 acres to 1/4(-) acres. We are comfortable with the decision now but are closing monday and coming down in late September.

[asianthree]

it seem odd at first but you adapt

[BettyCrocked]

The other thing you have to keep in mind is that it's not just the square footage of the parts of the house you live in. I thought I was downsizing from 4000 to 2100. Then I realized that there are over 1000 more square feet of storage/garage/attic area. Two 2 car garages plus a lot of attic storage wasn't counted in my initial figures.
Gonna be tough, but we'll find a way.

[buzzy]

Easy for us. We upsized from 1100 sq ft condo to 1700 sq ft designer home.

[al & jane]

50% for us and really glad for it on house cleaning day!

[NotGolfer]

We went from 5000 sq ft to 1500. It works perfect for us. It is just a matter of how attached you are to your"stuff". We found we really don't need all the stuff and didn't even know we had some of it. Less house, less yard, less stuff = a more simple, less stressful life for us.

We went from a house of over 2000 sq ft, large garage and yard to a house that's barely 1400 sq ft. Yes, we maybe could have had a larger house but didn't want the job of cleaning it and "filling" it. VERY happy with what we have and the life-style it affords us. I also much more care for how we've become more minimalist (sp??) in living!! It is very "freeing"!! Besides, it will save our kids the job of going through and getting rid of all the "stuff".

[Duckfinger2]

We are not full time yet a couple more years, we are going from 6500 to 1600 we might need to rethink that once we are full time.

[TrudyM]

We have a 4 bedroom one for us one for guests, one for hubby's hobbies and one for my hobbies. I am thinking we would spend more time on hobbies in retirement not less so I can't figure how to make it work yet. It is one of the reasons we are putting off the decision on size of retirement home.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I'm not sure how to put a number on it, but if you're simply talking about square footage of your houses, I downsized more than 50%.

The thing is than many of us were living in over sized houses one the kids moved out.

[dotti105]

New home=38% of current home!!

Our home now is almost 5000 sq ft, 6 bedrooms and a home theater, 3 car garage.

We are thrilled to be downsizing to 1910 under air and a 2 car+1 golf car garage!!
So our new place there will be 38% of our present space! Yahoo!!!

Can't wait to get rid of all the extra stuff we have spent 45 yrs collecting!!!!

Very liberating!!!

[peggyb]

I went from 2500 to 1400 sq ft, 1 + acre lot, to a corner lot in TV, but take into consideration I don't have my 3 kids living here, or their friends, or my sons band, etc. I do still keep a large storage unit in NJ, but slowly it will be emptied. So much less to take care of, whick leaves more free time for me, the utility bills are much less, taxes so much better than NJ, it is a good tradeoff for sure.

[keithwand]

That's why it's said folks purchase 3 homes while living in TV; they downsize too much.
Our summer home is 1600sf and takes a while getting used to it.

[patfla06]

I think I put it the wrong way!

We're going from 4,500 to 2,600 which is
57.7 percent of our current home.
Math was never my strongest subject! :o

[Ohiogirl]

In first marriage, moved 15 times (really). Upon divorce, went from about 3600 sf to maybe 1000 (with a basement) temporarily, then to about 1700 then to another 1700, then to about 1300 with a basement, then to a 1400 CYV AND now also a condo with about 1050 sf. Imagine in future, we'll be losing either the condo or the CYV, depending on life.

Many of us are downsizing into 2 places - a smaller place "up north," and a smaller place in TV.

Previous posters have it right - no kids, smaller yard. Once you get the kids to take their "stuff, and downsize yours, it's not so bad, actually very freeing, as someone posted.

My sister is now in the process of going thru her mother-in-law's "stuff." (Last moved about 35 yrs ago, house, garage, barn and 35 acres in northern Michigan). Be glad you won't be subjecting your kids to that.

[patfla06]

The furniture doesn't worry me, it's all the other stuff that's so
Hard to go through and get rid of.

We've been cleaning out for 5 months and still at it.

We can't wait to downsize!

The question I keep asking myself is WHY I bought so
Much "stuff" in the first place?

I know I have a lot of company and thanks for all your good replies.

[alanmcdonald]

We closed this week and will be moving slowly down to TV over then next two years. We keep talking about starting to go through "the stuff" but we can't seem to actually get started.

How does everyone say to themselves, yes this had sentimental value for the thirty years we kept it in storage but it really needs to go now?