It’s time to let the downsizing begin! This past week, we put our suburban home up for sale in anticipation of building and moving into our “Simple House” at the farm this summer.
IT’s official – the house went up for sale this week – and the move to the farm is on!
Our “Simple House” is all about downsizing to live comfortably without wasted space. It certainly wouldn’t qualify as a “tiny house”, but at 1050 square feet – we like to call it the “practical home.” Practical because it lets us live only with the space we need – and without all of the extra “stuff” needed to fill, decorate and maintain extra rooms. (see: The Simple Home Design)
There is a tremendous amount of freedom in living with less. In reality – it allows you to live with so much more. More freedom to travel, garden, spend time with family – and not be held captive by the expense, space, energy and stress of a larger home.
It also lets us create a home that we can hopefully live in comfortably well past retirement age. In fact – with the lower cost of building and maintaining – we hope we can retire much earlier. In a nutshell – less IS better!
Eliminating Clutter – The Success of the One-A-Day / 365 Project
A little over a year ago, when we decided to embark on the house and downsizing project – we started the process of eliminating unneeded clutter from our current house. We called it the “One-A-Day / 365 Project.”
Each day, Mary and I both eliminated one thing from our house that we didn’t use, need or want. It was crazy to see how may “things” we had simply accumulated over the years that we didn’t need or utilize. 30+ coffee cups we never drank from, old sports equipment in the corners of closets, two toasters, (not sure why on that one) – and the list went on and on. By donating, giving away or selling those items – it really cleared out space. (see: 365 Project)
It was truly the turning point! It eliminated a huge chunk of responsibility and stress in our lives. The more we cleared out – the better we felt. It not only freed up space – but the time and energy it took for upkeep. As crazy as it sounds – it made a huge impact on our lifestyle. Our only regret was that we didn’t do it sooner!
So the 365 Project really started it all – and now that the house is up for sale – it’s time to get “down” to the final downsizing project – deciding on what needs to go to the final house.
The Next Phase of Downsizing – The Room By Room Survey
The room by room survey – deciding what moves – and what doesn’t
So with a lot of the clutter removed over the past year from the 365 project – the next phase is to get ready for the actual move.
We spent a little time this past week walking through our current home to create a room by room list of what will go into the smaller space of the new home – and what won’t be needed.
We separated the list into 3 categories.
(1) Items that will make the move to the home.
(2) Items that will not go – but need to stay until the home sells.
(3) Items that we can eliminate now by giving away, donating, or selling.
And with that simple list – it begins. It’s nice to have a plan – to see what we need, and to see how much we really don’t. Just since creating the list – we have been able to clear out a few more items that were simply taking up space.
The Plan From Here…
There are two things we will miss – Our incredibly wonderful neighbors Dave and Debbie and the view from our back deck.
As of now, our foundation work is set to begin on the farm house in May – and we will hopefully have the house ready for move-in by August or September.
That of course leaves the question – what if our current house sells early? Initially, we were going to wait until late May to put the house on the market. But with a furnished home near our current house available to rent for the summer if needed – it was a no-brainer to get our house on the market as Spring sets in.
Yes – it may be a little crazy over the coming months – but knowing a much more simple life is in the near future makes it all worthwhile!.
Happy Downsizing – and hopefully Home Selling! – Jim and Mary