The PERILS Of Downsizing Retirement / 2023
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- Опубліковано 18 вер 2024
- How much is it going to cost you to downsize into a smaller home in retirement? We tell you our experience in moving from a family home to an apartment.
Planning is essential if you are to save money on moving costs and being realistic with how old your furniture is and how much life is left in them.
Making your retirement home cozy and relaxing is well worth it especially if you are moving.
#retirement
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When we retired from New England to Florida, we sold off just about everything. (It is expensive to move items, especially if you don't know if you are going to keep them.) And we even made a few bucks.
We were thin on possessions when we first got to our new condo, but then we were able to furnish it as we desired.
No disposal costs and low moving costs.. It worked out well.
And indeed, no grass or snow to deal with is wonderful. Leave that for the next young family. 🤗
Funny you should mention that Vp we also felt it was time for another young family to live in our place complete with grass cutting and snow ⛄️ removal LOL 😂😂 Cheers 🇺🇸🍷🇨🇦🍺
I'd love to see a tour of your apartment to see if it's something we could downsize to.
This is so true! Trying to decide what to keep and what to get rid of. The other peril of downsizing is downsizing too far. I went from a house to a one bedroom condo, then once I retired I got into several hobbies that take space. Last year I sold the condo ( it was a very good investment) and moved into a two bedroom apartment. I now have an entire room for my hobbies.
That is very true Maureen although we have a two bedroom apartment, it made more sense to convert the second room into our office and You Tube studio and put guests up in a hotel ! You find that out after you have lived there , lots of our friends have them as a hobby room like you Cheers 🍷🛋🌺
ahh yes..great point too..thanks for that
We also downsized to a much smaller home when we retired. We sold and donated a ton of stuff but what we realized is we wished we would have gotten rid of much more. We found we really wanted furniture that looked better in our space so we got rid of more. To sum it up we really wish we would have gotten rid of like 90 percent of our furniture and started over. We went from a 5 bedroom home and large yard to a 3 bedroom house on a small lot. Like we downsized half. It is very liberating!
Totally agree Marianne we should of down sized way more than we did , we still have lots of totes full of stuff we have never used and shouldn’t have come with us . Moral of our story when you think you’ve down sized enough go back and get rid of more have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🌺🙂
Agreed. We wished we would've gotten rid of more even though we felt like we did at the time. We could've made the move easier and faster.
So true Lori Cheers 🍷🌺🛋
When you are making a major life change, like selling a big family home and renting a much smaller apartment, you also have to be kind to yourself. If taking some of your existing furniture or favourite things with you, makes it easier to make the transition, go ahead and do it. As you explain, you can always decide later, to let go of some or all of those things and replace them with new ones that fit your new lifestyle and surroundings better. But I think there is something basic in human nature, that avoids and dislikes changing or losing everything familiar and much loved, all at once in one fell swoop. Step by step often is the kinder and less stressful way to go. Even if it costs you more. Money is only money 😃
Wise words!
Wonderful comment 👏 Marie-Louise thanks for sharing we totally agree have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🌺🚚🙂
One point I picked up from what you have said is that, you don’t have to be in a rush to fill your new space with furniture. You have time to shop, and just like your Costco chairs, perhaps wait to purchase a on sale items at a significant savings.
It worked for us Bruce living with some of your older stuff perhaps helps with the move before you replace it Cheers 🍷🛋🍺
Love your t-shirt Norm!
Thanks Brenda!
Oh, you gave me a chuckle this evening as I reflected on our moves. My wife and I moved (career reasons) about every 4 years or so for the longest time so we knew what to do (downsize, toss/sell stuff etc) and each time we felt like we did a good and thorough job of it; each time we got to our new place and began settling in, we'd ask ourselves why we brought x, y, AND z along and ended up doing another purge. Now we're facing a real downsize and regularly casting gimlet eyes on the stuff we have, getting ready for another go!
Wow you get the trophy 🏆 for downsizing Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
A dear friend and neighbor of ours recently passed away. But he was a hoarder. He would not get rid of anything... Guess what, now his family and estate needs to deal with it all. Mostly junk...Start today. Skinny down. Nobody wants your old stuff...
Very true do it while you can rather than leave it for someone else to do Cheers 🍷🍺
So true! The most loving thing you can do for your family is declutter as leaving it for others is selfish. I will never understand renting storage lockers or moving mattresses over 5 years old. Facebook has “buy nothing groups” where other people will make good use of it & cut down on landfill use.
Costco is awesome. Love their products, prices and customer service. Great video!
Yes they are! we get lots of deals there Chris have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🙂🍺
Love Costco
My husband and I were coming from divorces and large homes. We moved to a rental apartment first and basically had a bed and a TV. As time went on and we realized we could afford a condo, so we started purchasing new furniture and when we moved in to the condo everything was brand new. I had brought so much junk that I though I needed from my old house and ended up putting it in a storage unit that cost a fair bit of money every month. It all ended being donated to Helping with Furniture, an organization that helps new Canadians get set up in new spaces with furniture and the storage unit was no longer required. We have a saying, if you buy something new you have to take something out of the space. We donate to Value Village and other discount stores. We just went through all my husbands ties, shirts and suits from his days of sales and it all went to Value Village. We found a outdoor gear lending library that will take our sports equipment we no longer need. Thanks for sharing today.
Thanks for sharing Sandi it is amazing how many people keep storage units and yes apparently they can cost a lot of money 💰 best get rid of the stuff then it’s not needed have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🌺🍺
We are downsizing as you speak and relocating to a much smaller home within 6 months. We are selling excess furniture to neighbors and online. Looking forward to the change, but this is when you realize how much stuff you actually have. Great video!
Sometimes it feels like our stuff has stuff lol
Great points on downsizing Tina and Norm. I love the modern furniture you picked for your living room! We’ve been through two downsize moves with my mom and both times we had to get rid of so much of her stuff she refused to part with earlier. The final move last year was to an assisted living apartment (sudden as the result of a health crisis) from a 3 bedroom, two car garage 55+ townhome community. Very stressful on her and us kids. It taught me the importance of what we will put our kids through down the road if we don’t plan ahead and downsize. It should be a choice we make instead of the choice being made for us. Easier on all. One question, do you have a storage unit that comes with your apartment? Have a great weekend!😊
We have a small storage unit in the building , which is handy to have Cherry , have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🛋
Yes, definitely changes when we downsized. But change is good. Smaller home equals less work and smaller utility bills. Love it!
Absolutely! we agree have a wonderful weekend Dell Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
A few days before Christmas, my mother moved into long term care. That is downsizing from apartment to a suitcase. Since then, I have been giving away her furniture and clearing out her belongings. It is not a trivial task. It makes me realize it is time too early to start my own clearing out.
Sorry to hear about your mum Ian , yes we probably all have way too much stuff LOL 😂😂Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
Great advice! It's good that you are both on the same page about getting rid of stuff and also about the style. Stay well!
Thanks Diane for watching have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🌺
Hi Tina and Norm, we downsized last May. We had Leon's 1992 furniture, got rid of everything but the lamps end tables and coffee table..and started over. Thanks again for the great video.
Sounds great! thanks for watching William Cheers 🍷🛋🍺🙂
Hi Norm, hi Tina! I have to say, it's more than just furniture. When I retired in 2015, I decided to move to a high rise apt across town (I live in Pittsburgh). I'm unmarried, but over the years still managed to collect a ton of stuff. My sister suggested I start fresh. It sounded good to me, I donated 500 books, hundreds of DVDs, cds to the local library and sold 4 dark cherry Ethan Allen bookcases. Wound up selling or giving almost everything away, including a mahogany bedroom suite and replacing it with a gray metal bed and red shaker dresser from Ikea. Having a ton less stuff, and lighter more modern furniture makes me feel young again 🙂♥️👍👍
Sounds a wonderful move Doug we are so happy for you , for us less stress , no grass to cut or snow to blow makes us feel great too ( Pittsburgh Steelers is our son’s favourite team ) Cheers 🇺🇸🍷🇨🇦🍺🙂
I just spent the last couple of days watching the majority of your videos, so thank you! I was forced to retire 4 years ago from the Public Service at 43 as I have a rare motor neuron disease. I've always planned to retire early and now it was forced on me. Our plan right now is to have my husband retire in 2 years at 52. We will still have teenagers at home but since we started early and our house will be paid off this year (we plan to stay in Ottawa) and we can hyper-save for retirement. We have a substantial savings so we won't downsize but we have considered building a coach home in the backyard and letting one of our children live in the house. We've always traveled a lot and have seen a lot of north and central america as well as europe but we have places we still want to visit. I can walk but I do travel with a mobility scooter to help me when going distances. It also limits what kind of cheap tours we can do because even tour companies who cater to older people still require a lot of mobility. Covid has been difficult but we managed to get to puerto rico in march of last year. This year we are staying home to pay off that mortgage but to also save as much as possible while there is a fire sale on stocks! Thanks again for the charming videos.
We are so sorry about your condition, you seem to have a great plan in place, we were forced to evaluate life 16 years ago with a diagnosis, it made us think of what is truly important. We started cruising because of the number of countries we got too in a short time. Is that something you could look at, they do deal a great deal with mobility issues, ranking shore excursions by physical effort required from minimal to maximal. We are buying good companies that have been beat up by the economy too. Thanks so much for watching our videos, we are truly honoured.
@@ThisIsOurRetirement Cruising is great, we've done Panama, Alaska, the Caribbean etc. I am just not comfortable being in a floating petri dish while covid is kicking around. :P When I was on the Alaska cruise they had a Norovirus outbreak and that was terrifying enough. People had to be airlifted off the plane.
Although, the shore excursion ranking is done by the tour companies themselves so I once found myself stuck on a mountain in Columbia for a "medium difficulty, short 20 minute walk" tour that ended up being a hike a couple of kms up a steep mountain. Haha. So always read the customer reviews on the cruise website if you have any challenges whatsoever.
If we ever move it’s all going ! It’s better to buy new like you have done . Have a great week 😊from small town USA 🇺🇸
It is a great experience to start over
Our detached 2 storey home of 1800 square feet and small yard contains our limited amount of furniture and stuff. My game room for pc sim racing/trucking/farming/flying whick keeps me engaged since my stroke 4 years ago. Downsizing would likely cost us more than our current mortgage payments and annual property taxes. Thanks for posting you two!
Very good subject as usual guys, We are living in large bungalo with walk out basement, very comfortably clocated to the park we are jogging in. Wonderfull location. So approaching to retirement we started thinking about downsizing... And decided against it. my husband has large area: office, gym, walk out area and sauna. Everything he enjoys doing. Me: office and large Kitchen and living room on the main floor with huge balcony. On the loft we have bedroom and large master bathroom with jakuzzi. We are so comfortable living this way: everybody has their own space for activity, not sitting on each others heads as it would be in small 2 badroom appartments ;-)
I think, downsizing would compromise out quality of life A LOT, so we are staying in our house for a Looong time, but: never say Never :-)
We all have different ideas for retirement Angela , yours works for you we wanted an exciting new adventure for our new chapter in life that would allow us to travel more . We also got the extra bonus of underground parking , indoor swimming pool 🏊♀️, gym and Sauna which adds huge to our quality of life . Have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🌺🙂
Simplicity is king, especially as you get older and if you're renting. If you have to move, the cost is much cheaper for modern light furniture compared to heavy old world furniture. When it comes to family pieces, I prefer the small unique stuff, I'll let the young folks carry the heavy stuff. Also, IKEA is great. We bought a very nice dining table that expands. It's all self contained when it's in four seat form. I hate clutter 🤣 Great video guys. Cheers! 🍻
We love our IKEA dining set too , it expands if we need it too plus when we visit the store great food Cheers 🍷🛋🍺🙂
Good advice for anyone who moves. Best to sell everything and live minimally than worry about getting rid of things. This way you slowly furnish your place with things that fit.
Well said Judy, Hope you are having a wonderful day so far?
Hello Tina and Norm !! Excellent video this week. Downsizing was painful for me because of all the "sentimental stuff" (china cabinet, my mother's good china, etc. ) We ended up getting rid of a lot. It was our adult children that encouraged us because they didn't want the "sentimental stuff" and it did not bring them joy! I look forward to your videos every week. By the way....we just booked a little summer getaway to Frankenmuth, Michigan. We are taking our trailer and camping! Excited and thank you for the tip. Hugs, Gabrielle. 😘
More and more adult children don’t want our sentimental things Gabrielle, have a wonderful time in Frankenmuth we enjoyed our visit there Cheers 🍷🇺🇸🌺🇨🇦
@@ThisIsOurRetirement ...have an amazing day!!
When my husband and I decided to downsize after we became empty nesters,we moved from a large suburban house to an uptown urban condo.We either sold or donated 90% of everything, and ordered custom furniture to fit into our new home. It was money well spent ($50.000) to make our new home perfect for us!!
Happy New Year greetings from Southern Ontario 😊🍁
Sounds great Happy New Year Shari 🥳🥂🌺
Very wise, I keep telling my husband at least 90% of furniture will go before shifting, a fresh new start.
We agree take a little for comfort then replace the rest have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
Hi Susan. In our state Goodwill will take some furniture in good condition. Also we have Restore ( Habitat for Humanity ) that will take furniture ( no charge ) in good condition right out of your house as long as they don’t have to do stairs. Junk removal companies will haul stuff away as well for a fee. Lots of options as I learned from moving my mom.
Thanks for sharing 🍷🌺🍺
Our Restore will not come to the house at all anymore. I recently had to pay a moving company $180 to take a couch, coffee table and console to the Restore. They are picky too. While they took all of my stuff I had a neighbour who had good quality but old fashioned items and they refused all of them and so she had to pay additional fees to have them taken to the landfill. Quite sad really.
I moved furniture into storage, thinking I'd use it for my next home but by the time I had made the onwards move (there was a delay of some months) I hated the old furniture and sold it on, gave it away! Cost me a fortune!! Your advice is spot on! 🌟✨
Yes that can happen thanks for sharing have a wonderful week Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
What a great story! Love that you brought some things but then bought (and rebought) smaller (and nicer) scale.
Glad you enjoyed it! it is nice Julie to still have a couple of items especially the bedroom furniture from our old house 🏡 have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🙂
We downsized to a bungalow townhouse 5 years ago. We needed the basement for my art and sewing studio and he needed room for all his tools. We quickly learned that no one wants your old stuff even for free. I wasn't having strangers come to my door so I could make $50 and charities do not want furniture either. So we took a crowbar to our buffet and dining table and took it to the dump.
You may also need to downsize vehicles. We went from a big double driveway and garage to a single. After a year my husband reluctantly sold his pickup and we now make do with one vehicle. You can always rent a van or truck when needed. For a while we paid storage fees for our 1970 Mustang but that soon adds up. Can you really justify several $100 a month and insurance just so you can look at it occasionally, so we finally gifted it to our son and it’s now his problem 😸
Thanks for sharing Susan great point about downsizing vehicles 🚗 we went from two to one car saves a lot of money 💰 Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
Interesting video, guys, but for us, I can’t imagine downsizing to an apartment. In retirement, my main hobby is gardening, so if we do move it will have to be a home or condo with private property.
Thanks for sharing! we are all different Scott if you want a garden have it , we replaced our 2 acre garden with underground parking and indoor swimming pool 🏊♀️ which works great for us 🍷🌺🙂
@@ThisIsOurRetirement Agreed , thanks for sharing
Thank you for this. Some photos would be a really nice addition to your work.
Well said Anne, Hope you are having a wonderful day so far?
We took only two times of furniture when we downsized. A couch and a wall unit. As the crow flies it was only 900 meters from where we lived ( that crow had to cross a river). So it wasn't the removal cost but the style why all the furniture had to go. So new bedroom suite, dining suite and partial lounge furniture was needed. Now we know that the furniture will last us. The only change since being here is selling that unit. It was FAR too BIG and not suited after all. We have lived here 8 years - and since then I have had two more 'unclutter' exercises. It is amazing what one can do without. Love the spacious feeling. Have a wonderful weekend. 🍷🍷👍🇳🇱🙋♀🇳🇿
Totally agree Anita downsizing gives a freeing feeling , we need to have another go at all our totes ( which obviously we didn’t need as we don’t use what’s in them ) have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🇳🇱🍷🛋🇨🇦🙂☕️
Downsizing was the best thing we ever did! We had lived 20 years in a 2,800 home on 5-acres with a huge pole barn and my art studio/papermaking studio. It took me almost a year for the overall downsizing process and to organize and carry out a huge sale. I sold many items on-line, gave a lot away and then had a large one day "Living Estate Sale." We made over $9,000 dollars over that year from selling items and that money went into a savings account for our higher property taxes that were coming. One thing that worked in my favor was that I had bought my mostly furnished condo before the country home had sol so i knew what would go where and what I could bring with us. I was able to move the smaller things (clothes, personal items, towels, kitchen items, etc.) myself in my car every weekend. I only had to hire two men to move our leather couch. I only items I had to buy was a used/refinished $600.00 1970's vintage cabinet to store items that did not fit into my kitchen and inexpensive linen drapes for our bedroom. We were fortunate that friends offered to help us move our bed and bedroom furniture and a leather club chair with an ottoman in their trailer and their teenage boys lifted and toted the items in for us. The fact that our condo was furnished was a huge asset for me because the items were a smaller scale than my vintage pieces I had bought, cheap repaired, refinished and chalk painted over the 20 years we lived in our older, vintage 1950's ranch home. Oddly too the vintage oak furniture easily sold when the "used" fabric furniture was just hard to sell here. The cost of my condo included the furniture that was in it. I did not have to pay for ANY moving costs!! I did pay $600.00 to advertise our huge Living Estate Sales but I got that money all back plus in the items we did sell. This all worked out well for us!! Just my time and labor!
Well said Donna, Hope you are having a wonderful day so far?
Hi TINA&NORM some more excellent advice Jan and i were only speaking about this issue last night .
Keep the good work up and get of on your holiday soon .
Take care Christopher Barker
Glad it was helpful! just have a couple of medical appointments to do Christopher before we can go on a trip , hope you are having a great weekend Cheers 🇬🇧🍷🇨🇦☕️🙂
You had a beautiful home. We have lived in our little 1400 sq bi- level for 41 years this summer. I really would like to have a ranch as we age but I’m afraid we have waited too long. I’ve been looking for a lateral move and not take on an additional mortgage but not having any luck. Also, I like having a WBFP for an alternate heat source. Everything being built today have only electric fireplace.
Thank you Carolyn we lived there for 18 years and loved it but it was time for a change so we sold, retired , moved 6 hours and rented our apartment in one go and never looked back have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🏡🙂
The Swedes have something they call "dostadning" which translates to death cleaing. It sounds morbid but it really isn't. The premise is when you die your loved ones are going to have to go through all your stuff and decide what to keep. Why not do it for them? As my husband and I are preparing to put our house on the market in the spring, we are going through our stuff and we keeping asking ourselves 'is anyone going to want this?'. The answer is probably not. For big items or very sentimental things we ask our kids if they want anything. And the rest - sell what we can and heave/donate the rest. Thank you for another great video.
And they send it all to a local Ikea store. 🤗
Wow ! we were more into “Hygge “in our appartment for coziness , thanks for sharing guys good luck with selling your house have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
Hi Tina & Norm, thanks for the interesting & useful info. Enjoy your weekend.
You are so welcome have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🛋☕️
Definitely important to get the right sized furniture for your new space. I set aside a budget to furnish the new place. The old stuff, even the heirloom pieces, rarely work well in the new space. And isn’t part of moving the fun part of building a new nest?
So true Alexandra thanks for watching have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
Retire at the end of the year. I downsized from 1800sq feet house to 850 sq feet apartment. Learning some of the same thing. Slowly getting the space right.
Sounds great we wish you all the best Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
The story of stuff - thanks for the laugh. My small place has really evolved from when I initially moved here with my gorgeous, gigantic furniture from the house. I learned to be ruthless -- designer stuff is pointless if it doesn't fit, and value reduces rapidly if you have no use for something. Ultimately I learned to keep the ceramics my kids made in 2nd grade, the paintings from friends and family - the truly irreplaceable items that you cannot buy. Right on target again you two! Keep 'em coming.
Wonderful! thanks for sharing have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🌺🙂
I love your channel. Your advice is invaluable. I have a house and had never considered downsizing to an apartment and am seriously considering it after watching you guys So thank you.
You are so welcome! we love it Tania we wish you all the best Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
This is going to be another very useful video, especially for those coming up on the downsizing decision. Interesting listening to your downsizing points and thinking back on our downsizing 7 years ago (and all the follow on adjustments) - comparatively ours was crazy expensive - buying a townhouse and almost all totally new furnishings, a lot built by the local Amish. Still, downsizing for us meant much lower living expenses, a mere fraction of maintenance effort and since we went from the city out to a village in the county, a much nicer natural environment. So the payback is there in spades, but over the long term. ~ from your neighbor in Buffalo...
That’s for sharing your story Gary, our monthly expenses are way less in our apartment than our house even though we had no mortgage ! have a great weekend Cheers 🇺🇸🍷🛋🍺🙂🚚 🇨🇦
I remember my mother going backwards and buying a BIGGER home in retirement. She couldn't climb stairs at her age, so the entire upstairs was never lived in!
Thanks for sharing a SAD story as you age you are better off on one floor we think anyway LOL 😂Cheers 🍷🙂
So funny you had this video today. We downsized 8 years ago! Brought some old furniture and bought some new stuff. However, sofa has got very worn. We went sofa shopping today. We fell for a cream sofa but very expensive 10,000 euro. So we have to look around to see if we can get a cheaper version. Definitely most furniture from a house does not suit an apartment. We also feel you need less clutter in an apartment. We have a fireplace with a gas fire. Our neighbours got rid of the whole fireplace and just have a fake electric fire. It is nice but we like our fireplace. But it does cost money to move. We cleared most of our house and brought the rest. Only 6 miles and the haulage company still charged big bucks.
But we were not able for the garden. It was costing us big money to have it maintained. Thanks for this video, all you said is so true. You cannot beat nice modern furniture in an apartment.
Thanks Mary Rose we love our fireplace even just to look at have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🌺🙂
It was wise to take the sofa with you since you had some furniture to live with and you weren't forced to buy something right away at full price that you might not be terribly fond of, so while it did cost you to move it, you were able to wait and find the ideal sofa , at a bargain , on your own timeline.
That’s how we felt a comfort level Catherine have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🙂
Good day!, Norm & Tina. Another great video. Furniture out, furniture in, as the next chapter begins.
You got it Eric ! we love our new stuff it fits the place really nice have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🇺🇸🍷🛋🇨🇦🍺
It’s ok to make mistakes if you learn them. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. Great tips!
We agree David, thanks for watching.
Hi Norm and Tina. Our problem in down-sizing is books. My husband is a professor/historian, and I am an ex-professor/historian who is now a writer. We have loads of books we originally bought for teaching and research. When we retire in 4-5 years, I'd love to get a condo at the Gulf into which we couldn't possibly fit all the books we have now. And we both want to continue research and writing. So, it's a real dilemma!
Go for it Miriam budget an amount for custom bookshelves to fill a wall, at the right dimensions for your library. We think it’s fantastic that you have a great activity planned for your retirement. The dolphins swimming in the gulf are so wonderful and calming. We hope your dream becomes a reality.
@@ThisIsOurRetirement And also man-up and get rid of books we no longer need! :) But it's hard!
Hi Miriam. Some professors have taken the books they don't want and left them by their office door with a sign inviting students to take them. 10 at a time of the ones he can part with now, will help him feel lighter, perhaps. Anyways, good luck with the down-sizing! 😊
Loved seeing you all pop on my feed, it had been a while. We moved JUNE 2022 to a large home, almost same size as one we were in since 1981 and raised our family. We downsized still to a good point as we had not thinned out, ever really! After these months here, we still look for things only to realize the item “ went”, yet marvel that we still have lots of stuff. I really agree with the thing about not really realizing the age of our furniture until the move. We probably should have shed more of it, have replaced some and still need to replace a chair, couch and some bedroom items that show their age to us now!
Love your videos and I will keep a closer eye out for you now! (Btw, we moved to be near children and grandchildren, plus an incredible location on the water. We thought we were too old. So proud of ourselves! 🤗).
That’s wonderful Mary we too moved to be near children and grandchildren and have a lovely two bedroom apartment overlooking a lake with indoor swimming pool, underground parking and gym we too are so proud of our move . Have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
Timely advise, my wife and I are thinking of moving in one to two years. As always, you provide sound advice. Rock On Norm!
Thanks Keith glad you enjoyed it Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
Such an important and helpful conversation. Thanks for sharing your experience.
You are so welcome! have a great weekend Lina 🍷🛋🌺🙂
I loved how you said - that it didn't owe us any money, ha, as somethings have done there job and you have gotten the value way beyond any imaginings and still going.
Everything you say is so true. Is hard to know best way to go. I did both extremes . A. I sold, got rid of everything and moved nothing, but the sentimentals in car ( airmattress for to sleep on day 1 ) and all new as it fit into our needs and size in new place eventually, and B. moved nearly everything at a big cost, but benefit was when arrived had a house full to set up immediately. Maybe there is an inbetween. ha
Konmarie is the way to go. ha Moving really shows you how much you do not need.
Thanks again for another spot on video.
Thanks for watching glad you enjoyed it Pamela Cheers 🍷🌺🛋🍺
We downsized from a 3000 sq. ft house to a 1500sq. ft condo in Toronto and so we downsized and gave our the kids lots of furniture. the condo was a 5 year plan. 5 years came up in 2020 and we sold and moved to the burbs into a larger townhouse worth less. Now in retirement, we have more space for larger family gatherings but with less costs. So we had to buy bigger furniture for the larger space. One of the many walk in closets, we made into a laundry room. So for us, it was a two step process. But I totally get the price of downsizing and then upsizing.
Thanks for sharing Nonna Rosie have a wonderful weekend and keep warm in this cold 🥶 spell Cheers 🍷🛋🌺🙂
👂Pack light cuz most things won't fit in your new space. It cost to downsize👀. 'No grass to cut'❤ Thanks guys! Checking out your previous downsizing video now. ❤❤❤
Glad you enjoyed it have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
I love the fun you two have together! I also want to thank you for your videos - in particular the one on security. I just this week got all set up on a VPN due to your recommendation. Curious to know about your travel decisions! God Bless!
That is awesome! glad you now have a VPN , we have a couple of medical appointments to take care of before another trip Dianne have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🙂
Hi Tina and Norm. Would you consider doing an apartment tour showing the rooms with the furniture you have brought with you and purchased? We’re waiting for our townhouse to be finished and have only brought a few pieces of furniture with us from our family home which is currently in storage until we’re ready to move in.
Great idea Danielle!
You guys are so great.
Thanks so much Barbie have a wonderful week Cheers 🍷🌺🙂
Costco is the best and the delivery service is excellent. We got our rebate cheque yesterday. It was $750..spent $1,200. We need to downsize from Costco.(wife worked there for thirty years as an auditor). Great story and tips as we will be following in your footsteps. Great shirt Norm. I saw Led Zeppelin on their last tour at Pontiac Stadium in Detroit. Plant and Page later in the Big Smoke. Jason Bonham concerts a few times. Have a great weekend. Cheers!
We agree Paul Costco is great , make sure you downsize more than us when you head to your appartment have an awesome weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
I just had to laugh when you mentioned that the chairs didn't match the sofa. I am having a similar meltdown about my settee. Something will have to go! That's for sure. This is just me having a complete rejig of furniture layout. My living room is long and narrow but I am getting there - slow but sure. I moved from a much larger house to a 2 bed flat. thanks for your good humour and advice. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
It does take some adjusting with the furniture moving from a big place to a smaller place , we are there now so keep at it Agnes Cheers 🍷🌺🛋🙂
Got this!!! CHEERS from HERE!
Thanks for watching Darryl have an awesome weekend Cheers 🍷🎸🍺
Hiya. Well we both had to chuckle with you while watching today's video. Our dilemma as we left UK. However, as you know houses are mainly small over there so we decided to bring furniture as we felt they would be like our comfort blankets and with our bungalow the old could go downstairs and the new on main floor. So all worked out well. If we move to an apt then that will be another storey 🤣 Stay safe, keep well and if you haven't flown the coop we will see you next Saturday ❤
Thanks for sharing Fay sounds a great plan hope you are keeping warm in this cold 🥶 spell ( we hear Florida 🇺🇸is freezing too ) have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🌺🙂
I'm really enjoying your videos!
Awesome, thank you! have a wonderful day Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
Zepp T-Shirt ! - WELCOME BACK Norm, we were worry the bots got you . . . consider bean bags and camping sleeping bags to save even MORE ! hehe . . . Happy 2023 !
Glad you like Norms T-shirt Timothy have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🎸🍺🌺
Very good advise T&N, but for me it is the opposite I am going from my tiny NY apartment to a house so in the beginning it will be a little pricey, but cheaper mortgage dessert landscaping, no snow.thanks again and I loved the humor.
Thanks Barbara we wish you well with your move Cheers 🇺🇸🍷🇨🇦🛋🌺
We have a large house and are thinking of downsizing in a couple of years time. So your video was really interesting and we shall take your views into consideration on what to take and what to dispose of! Hopefully we shall start little by little so when the time comes we shall be ready w3ith everything we need/want for our new home.
Thanks for watching Christine glad you enjoyed it we were surprised how long it took us to downsize probably about two years in total Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
I built a smaller house in the Fall and downsized and I am laughing because I have done all the same things. I purchased an electric fireplace from COSTCO 10 years ago and it serves as a TV stand as well. It really kicks out the heat, too.
That is awesome! we love our fireplace and yes it’s good for heat too Carolyn although at the moment the apartment is really hot with no heat on not sure why 🤔Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
another great video. the time, effort and cost of transitioning this change looks scary but it seemed like you had fun! I like your loose grip on stuff very refreshing!
Glad you enjoyed it Greg have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🛋🍺
All great points! I am currently fixing up and purging things in our family home. It's just my wife and I and our house sits on a quarter acre and is 4 bed, 2.5 baths, and 2300 square feet not including the basement and garage. It's paid off, but the maintenance is taking a toll on me physically. I would like to have the house ready for market in 18 months. The wife loves this house and doesn't want to move. I just need something smaller with a much smaller yard. Or, maybe a condo. I'm sure my wife will come around and want to move if I make her mow the grass, lol. Oh, and Norm, love the Led Zeppelin shirt!
That’s a hard one John , although we both loved our house when we retired it was time to move on to something new hopefully your wife might think the same . Since we moved life is wonderful no maintenance and expense problems just having a great retirement we wish you all the best Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
lots of good stuff here. thank you.
Our pleasure! enjoy your weekend Clive Cheers 🍷🛋🍺
We have a few core things which have sentimental value and add character to wherever we move and which we would keep at any cost.
For the rest we buy IKEA or equivalent and throw it away if it doesn’t suit the new apartment. It is important to make a new apartment feel like home, not try and shoehorn your old stuff into it. If you have a few signature things which make it feel like home the rest can be bland, just background.
Sounds like a great plan a bit of both Glen Cheers 🍷🛋🍺🙂
Thanks for the good advice!
No problem have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
I have moved 15 times for various reasons since the first home I owned. It wasn't the wisest thing for me to do, but it's what happened. What I know about moving is your furniture never fits. It's the biggest hidden cost that most people don't realize. For the past 2&1/2 years I've been decluttering - a major undertaking given I downsized my home first. I carried around so much stuff that was totally unnecessary and now at age 70 I'm paying the price of eliminating it. I live alone and have a small car. So removing stuff has been a slow project. It requires assistance and a larger vehicle if the items are big, bulky or too heavy for me to handle alone. I constantly advise people to downsize now, even start over if practical, because what you have won't work in the long run.
So true Beverly we have moved eight times and experienced the same thing.
This was such a fun video! ❤️
Thanks Kristi
Downsizing this year. Food for thought, thanks.
We wish you well Carol have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🛋
great upload
Thank you! Cheers! 🍷🛋🌺
Good topic!
Glad you enjoyed it Dani have a wonderful day Cheers 🍷🌺🙂☕️
I would have thought that having to find buyers for all the furniture which filled a full size house would have been quite a challenge.
And moving from a 2 acre secluded (nice looking) house would be a big change. I personally like the seclusion of a little over 1 acre in a wooded area. Although keeping up with the house, yard, and pool is starting to become less enjoyable than it once was! It seems as though you've gone from one extreme to another.
Selling some furniture was easy, we don’t regard what we have now as extreme, it’s great! We have travelled extensively in the seven years we downsized, absolutely carefree from a property point of view. When you think of something it always seems worse than it turns out to be.
we kind of done that but our son wanted to buy our family home and we bought a smaller place in another state where most of our work is so for our family a kind of win win but yes had to change furniture but left most of it for our son and his family big decision though interesting to hear how it worked for you
*full watch always 💯👀Au👍clicked that like button*
Looks like your plan worked all round Billy which is great have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🇦🇺🍷🇨🇦🛋🍺🙂
Sell off all old inventory and buy all new modern cool stuff. You’ve earned this 😊 👍
A little too brutal Billy having some things from the house is nice have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🍺
You resided in a beautiful house. Was it challenging to move to a bland apartment building? I am all about aesthetics ✨️. I think minimalism is the way to go.
Not at all we looked at what we were gaining underground parking , Indoor swimming pool, gym , as we lived in a bungalow our apartment is so similar being on one floor .Also a great way to meet new others with a community room , coffee ☕️ get togethers and other events , enjoy your weekend Johnny Cheers 🍷🛋🍺☕️
We very intentionally earmarked a portion of our house differential for new furniture, appliances and some renovations. Like most, however, we didn’t get rid of all we should have when moving to our older, smaller house so we’re still in the process of selling/donating our old things and buying, well, usually even older things lol.
Thanks for sharing Wayne have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🍺
My neighbors who have moved from family homes to a smaller one held estate sales. Many did not know how to sell online through various social media or advertisements so they left it to the realtor, results were mixed but never quite meeting expectations.
This is another informative video. Thanks. I have children which of course impacts your decisions on when, where and how you retire. I also feel that this impacts my decisions or my uncertainty of retiring. Did this impact your decisions? Make it harder to retire? Make it harder to move? Limit you on the things you do and places you consider? Leaving a home where you made and had lots of memories with family? This could be an interesting video to others also.
Yes having adult children had an impact on where we retired to , staying in your home when all your children move on with their lives needs to be discussed Eric Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
I thought the title was The Pearls.... then Norm started talking, and I looked again, hahahaha. This is a great informative video with some fun added, thank you both!
Glad you liked it! have a great weekend Jodie Cheers 🍷🛋🌺
I remember the story of an ascetic monk who asked if he could have a candle in his little room. The answer was No, because if he had a candle he'd want a plate to hold it which could lead to a night stand which would look silly without a bed instead of a mattress on the floor. Lesson, never take your wife shopping.
What a great story. I shall try to remember it for future use. Very true as well.
Great story Alan have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🌺
Excellent video, guys ! Really enjoy, you are lots of fun. Stay healthy and stay safe. . 🤠🍻🍻🍷🍷
Thanks Phil glad you enjoyed it have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🇺🇸🛋🇨🇦🍺
I moved to Australia and furnished a house, before moving inter-state at great cost with the removalists, and storage costs....I did this a couple of times, before returning to the UK for an indeterminate amount of time (I'm still there!), at which point I gave away a load of stuff to the Salvation army in Australia, but I still rented a storage unit in Melbourne, Australia, while living in Southern England near London. In the end I shipped the remaining stuff back to the UK. Frankly, the cost of all the storage and moving exceeded the value of the stuff. Some of it had sentimental value.... but the truth is, when/if you get on the move, I would just recommend being brutal first time around... otherwise you can waste a fortune moving and storing stuff. It just isn't worth it. Give to a friend or give it away.
Thanks for sharing your story have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🇦🇺🛋🇬🇧🍺🇨🇦
I have been looking at a bunch of Lock up and Leave places in Florida and Italy and France and many of them come with some or all the furniture. Also if people are selling their AirBnB unit, they tend to not want any of that furniture it they can leave it.
I never planned to take any of my furniture with me, but I probably won't be able to get down to my ideal of a backpack of clothes and phone, tablet and laptop either.
I discover that I have paddleboards, kayaks and bicycles and old outboard motors and thousands of records, CD's and cassette tapes and two big old stereo systems. I had at one point put all the CD's onto a hard drive and most of them onto the phone, but when I got a new phone, they didn't make it over. I probably listen to a bluetooth speaker 95% of the time, so the stereos just sit and I doubt anyone wants them, which is the same situation my mom is in with her fancy crystal glasses and china dinner sets. Things that seem valuable to one generation just aren't for the next
Thanks for sharing Ken have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
Very helpful. We're looking at downsizing. The amount we accumulate.
~ Ben, Vancouver ISLAND
Glad it was helpful Ben we still brought too much stuff , we are going to start purging the totes again soon Have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🍺🙂
👍👍✌️ If I moved out of my home I would have to get rid of tons furniture and stuff. Would be a nightmare.
Somebody at some point will have to do it 😀😀👍
Our condo is actually a bit bigger than our previous house but the issue is my husband isn't ready to give up on his shed so our son told him to build one in his garden and hopefully after 12 months I'm hoping he realised he neither needs nor has used anything from that shed lol.
Although our furniture fits in the condo nicely I keep thinking about replacing some of it to fit the character of the condo but I may have to recover from this holiday in the uk though before spending any money, definitely more expensive than I thought it would be lol.
We agree Lynn travelling seems to have cost more money 💰 lately as we found out in Orange Beach Alabama 🇺🇸 have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🙂
Norm, I followed the principle of never wasting my time on opening music acts, using time judiciously, either getting food or arriving late. Well in 1969 at Meriwether Post Pavilion, Columbia , Maryland (named for the owner of The Washington Post and now former owner of Mara Logo), I arrived timely to see the Who, the featured band. I missed the opening act: the only time Led Zeppelin opened for the Who.
So do you wait for opening acts now ? 🎉🎉
@@kathysheeran6589YES! You got that right!
Guess that was a lesson learned John LOL 😂 thanks for sharing your story have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🎸🍷🍺
Downsizing is such a daunting task. I’m currently trying to downsize. Can you recommend ideas on how you sold / got rid of stuff? I just want to get rid of everything in one shot, to help payoff debt & downpayment on a tiny-home.
I love your videos❤
You could have a company come in and they will quote for taking it all Debbie would be best way to get rid in one shot Cheers 🍷🌺🙂
@@ThisIsOurRetirement thank you. I’ll do some searching.
An interesting video and timely for us. It sounds like, outside of the bedroom furniture, you ended up replacing everything else.
My wife and I are still in our home that we bought in 1988. It's a 1958, 3 bedroom, side-split and not that big at 1200 sq ft though we have an additional 600 sq ft of finished basement. Our lot size isn't anything near what you had at about 1/3 of an acre but over the years my wife, the gardener in the family, has created a beautiful garden surrounded by tall hedges. While it is lovely, it is a lot of work and houses generally always need something to be done. Lately we have been thinking that in about 5 years (when we are 74/75) that we should sell and move, probably to a condo as there aren't many rentals near where we'd like to live.
We were thinking about furniture, what do we take with us, etc., and had come to the decision that we should take almost nothing and start again from scratch. By then most of our furniture will be 20 or more years old and probably won't fit or look right in a new place. As you found, I think that the bedroom furniture will transfer to a new place just fine but everything else won't make the cut. Even though we think "this is still good" and it is, it just won't be suitable. I think it'll be hard to do but we are steeling ourselves for when the time comes that we get rid of almost all of it and start fresh in a new place. I hope we have the resolve to do it.
One other thing about doing a downsizing is that it gives us the chance to get rid of accumulated "stuff". Those things that are still good so you keep it in the back of the closet, the garage, the crawl space, or the shed but in the end you never use. Were we to pass away while still in our house there will be decades of "stuff" that will fall to our children to dispose of. I had to do that when my father passed away and I can tell you it's an overwhelming job. Best to do that while we still can and leave less for our children to deal with when the time comes.
Sounds like a great plan in place and we agree it took that away from our children having to clear our estate . What we would say is the the older you get the harder it is to do a move both physically and mentally so we would encourage you to do it sooner than later ! When we did it we were 58 and 60 and it was a mammoth undertaking moving 6 hours away have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🛋🍺🌺🙂
@@ThisIsOurRetirement I don't disagree about the sooner rather than later but my wife still doesn't want to give up her garden and probably I'll have to think about if I keep my motorcycle or not (I am life-long motorcyclist). I would say both of those don't fit well with an apartment/condo so we'll have to decide when the timing is right to give those up.
I think the big shock for people is how little their used furniture is worth.. Facebook market place..😉.i don't regret downsizing at all.. except... big problem..sky high rents....now what ???
We agree Maryjoan people always think their furniture is worth more than it actually is worth have a great weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
You guys are so cute :) Hi Tina and Norm! Your fan Mary here from Toronto, ON !!! :) Love this! This video is LOL giving me anxiety and we're not even moving (not yet anwyay). We (hubs & I) have so much stuff!!! I can't believe it. My home is like going to The Bombay Company, Pier 1, HomeSense, Winners and MORE(WAY MORE!).. Ok , back to the video. GREAT VIDEO by the way. Mary :)
Always lovely to hear from you Mary glad you enjoyed the video stay warm in this cold 🥶 snap Cheers 🍷🛋🌺🙂
Good advice. We wondered if you had ever done a video on pre-planning your own funeral arrangements? So the kids don't have to deal with this later.
We are working on that one ! Donna have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🍷🌺🍺
We go to a lot of estate sales and see a lot of furniture pieces that seem to go unsold. ...Unless there is a some company that makes an offer on the remainder(?). My sister tried disposing of our aunt's furniture and found a guy who would take the stuff for free only, saying it had little value (I agree, near worthless). I guess I'd try selling on Facebook and if no luck, offer it on one of their free (no $)groups. There are some charity resale places near us, but they are deluged with stuff so getting picky. Another alternative is putting at the curb, if you can move the stuff. I've used a reciprocating saw and cut things up (there are specific metal and wood blades)...I've even cut up sofas. This saw is not for the weak or faint of heart! Last alternative is a junk hauling outfit, but could cost you thousands. We actually sold my parent's home partially furnished, with permission of the buyers...the furniture was actually free stuff we didn't want...may work for some.
Thanks for sharing yes for us if we need to get rid of big stuff we often have to pay 💰 or do a deal to have it removed have a wonderful weekend Cheers 🛋🍺🍷🙂
Exactly what we found. No one, including charities, wants your old stuff. We took a crowbar to things and broke them down so we could get them to the dump ourselves. A friend used one of those Junk companies where you point and they take. She said it was worth the money for her.