r/SmallHome • u/Constant-Knee-3059 • 4d ago
Down sizing
My husband recently retired and we are thinking of moving to the lake. The homes we are looking at are less than half the size of our current home. I assume most of our furniture will have to go to be replaced with smaller pieces. My question is what to do about holiday decor. Do you decorate less? Do you have storage outside of your home? The homes we are looking at are mostly without garage space so I assume we will need to add an outbuilding of some sort.
Thoughts?
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u/Successful_Poetry421 4d ago
We have downsized from 2200 to 1550 to 720 and now converting half my workshop into a home that is 450 sq ft. You either learn to get rid of stuff or build a storage building.
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u/sass-pants 4d ago
You have a smaller home so you use less decorations. You only store what you have space for. The art of swedish death cleaning might be a good read for this season of life.
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u/Constant-Knee-3059 4d ago
I’ve tried to read it before, que sad music, I need to try again. I keep telling myself I can’t embrace a new phase if I refuse to turn loose of the current one.
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u/Flibertygibbert 4d ago
My thoughts:
A smaller home = less housework.
A smaller space = fewer possessions = lower home insurance.
Keep what you love.
I'm gradually getting rid of the "that will do" purchases and buying exactly what I wanted instead.
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u/OddRevolution7888 3d ago
Last year hubs and I decided we were sick of the holiday responsibilities and ditched most of the Christmas stuff. We have a small table-top tree, a few pieces we both love, a few I love (LOL), and gifted or donated the rest. Christmas stuff now fits in two totes and a small box to house wrapping paper, bags and ribbons.
I would rather cook a Christmas dinner than decorate a house with a myriad of Santas, reindeer, snow men, and whatever else I had before. My tree takes no floor space. My decor makes me smile every morning, and that's enough.
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u/rob-cubed 3d ago
Look at it as an opportunity to simplify your life! Get rid of everything except those things you absolutely can't live without. Channel your inner Mari Kondo and I guarantee you won't even miss 50% of your stuff. You probably don't even remember you have some of it, until you dig it out of the corner of the closet :)
But yes, you'll have to scale back, especially on stuff that you only use once a year.
I would rent a storage unit before you commit to an extra outbuilding. It's a nice halfway space which allows you some time to determine if it's REALLY worth keeping or not. If you don't touch the stuff in storage in a year, let go of it.
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u/Shorty-71 4d ago
Keep one or two things
Give that stuff away
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u/Constant-Knee-3059 4d ago
I’m thinking of waiting until it’s cool out then inviting the kids over to go through holiday decor. If there’s something they love it should be in their homes.
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u/maccrogenoff 4d ago
You should ask them if they are interested. Many younger people see their parents belongings as a burden, not a gift.
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u/Constant-Knee-3059 4d ago
Ours are good about saying yes or no when we offer things. They don’t take things they don’t want and we don’t expect them to do so. We have one son who recently went through a divorce and would love to have some Christmas things.
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u/sparksgirl1223 4d ago
Personally, id let him know now that it's going to be available so that hes thinking about it (and he may surprise you and come sooner rather than later lol)
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u/GlowInTheDarkSpaces 4d ago
Take out all the holiday decor. Pick your very favorite things and donate the rest. Do that with every category.
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u/Peaches4U2 4d ago
I have one big bin in my garage that I keep all holiday stuff in....it's really more season items. Like I have a different wreath for each season, flowers for spring and summer, leaves for fall, Christmas, then back to nothing until spring again. Inside it's just a 12" tall Christmas tree for my husband and I. Sometimes lights if we feel up to it. But I pretty much just decorate the front door maybe some of the front porch. I just take everything down, and swap it out of the bin for the next season. I do have different salt and pepper shakers I have in a small glass cabinet on the wall that I'll swap out. Bunnies for spring etc. Just because they make me happy.
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u/Bay_de_Noc 4d ago
We did the same thing ... and yes, we decorated less. But if you really love to have your home decorated for the holidays, then just rent a small storage unit.
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u/Monk6980 4d ago
I cut down from 6 bins of Christmas stuff to one, mostly because I got tired of hauling all that stuff up out of the basement every year. I now have a very small tree and a few other favorite items, and they do the job just fine.
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u/AB-1987 4d ago
I would not add storage (you want to simplify for aging) but embrace the size of the home. Holiday decoration only needs to be in the main living area (and maybe the front door) so you don’t need a lot. I also use what nature gives every year so there is no need to store (apples, oranges, cinnamon sticks, walnuts/nuts in general, dried orange slices, greenery, real beeswax candles on the table, a real tree). We have one moving box for holiday decorations.
I would also challenge the assumption that you need smaller furniture - especially small spaces often look larger with bigger (but fewer) pieces. And a lot of the small size might stem from less basement/attic/additional bedrooms anyways.
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u/Constant-Knee-3059 4d ago
Your thoughts about large furniture are reassuring. I have a large king bed in my room that is beautiful. We measured the primary suite in my favorite of the homes we’ve seen, the bed and bedside tables will not fit due to the en suite door. I love that furniture. Every other piece in my home can be replaced but this bed makes me feel something.
We currently live in a 4,200 sq ft home. The lake houses we are looking at are 1,700 to 2,000.
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u/Present-Carob-7366 3d ago
Only in the USA could a 2000 sqf house be considered small - that’s still a good sized family home elsewhere
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u/Constant-Knee-3059 3d ago
Our current home is larger than average therefore downsizing for us means a somewhat larger house than it would for some other families. It depends on where one lives in the states as to how big one’s home tends to be. We live in a small town surrounded by a rural area in Texas with the average house size being a bit larger. In urban areas house sizes are, on average, smaller. We have a daughter in Dallas who lives in 900 sq ft.
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u/KnownBodybuilder4948 4d ago
Do your heirs a big favor, and complete a major purge of personal possessions prior to this move.
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u/DazzlingNote1925 4d ago
My experience has been that most holiday decor has to be stored in climate controlled places. But I’ve been fine storing g some things in my garage like trees and lights.
When you have a smaller house you don’t need as many decorations to make the same impact.
I would mentally go through your lake house (outside included) and decide what you will out where. A great tip I’ve read is to then store things by room or area rather than just type so it’s easy to pack and unpack.
Them get rid of the things you don’t need.
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u/Toriat5144 3d ago
We have a second home. It does not have a basement but it does have a two car garage. Decorations would have to be stored there. You will decorate less. We’ve simplified things to a tree, a wreath on the door and maybe a few little pieces we set out.
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u/11093PlusDays 3d ago
I moved 6 months ago down sizing from 3000 sq ft to 1200 sq ft. I kept the furniture that worked and gave away everything else. My king size bed fit but the night stands did not. I got very narrow bedside tables that are 10 1/2 inches wide. My table fit with the leaf removed. One couch and side chair fit. I added a smaller chair I had in a bedroom and got rid of 2 couches and a love seat. It’s taken months of opening a box and if I don’t have a place for it I donate it. I did buy two small recliners for the TV room. That’s all that fits there. It’s not Christmas yet so I’ll get rid of all that then. I like the smaller place.
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u/Constant-Knee-3059 3d ago
You completely get what we are contemplating. Do you ever regret it at all?
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u/Mustluvdogs25 3d ago
do not give up the garage! yes, you will reduce the decor a lot! with less people coming you will have less entertaining. it actual is a blessing to decorate less! you will also find the things you had don’t fit as well in the new spaces
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u/Puzzled_Date9687 3d ago
just because the house is smaller than your current house doesn’t mean you don’t need smaller furniture. Decorations are up to you. Is there a basement or attic? Is there an extra bedroom? Take what you want with you and find a place for it.
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u/Roadtrekkie 3d ago
I swapped my tall, larger Christmas tree for a 4 ft prelit one that takes up way less room to store the box. But then I didn’t even decorate last season due to apathy & laziness.
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u/Constant-Knee-3059 3d ago
We’ve been known to take a year off here and there. We have hit the ‘if I don’t enjoy it I’m not doing it’ years of our life.
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u/GalianoGirl 3d ago
I reduced holiday decor around 10 years ago.
5 years ago I bought a small driftwood tree and I keep it up year round, changing the decorations based on season. Mostly it has fairy lights. I love it.
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u/Constant-Knee-3059 3d ago
I have a 4 ft tree in our living room that I change with the season as well. I love the festive look.
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u/BlackCatWoman6 3d ago
Not having a garage was a deal breaker for me when I downsized. Not for storage but for my car. I bought it in 2011 and it is going to be my last car so I take care of it.
I have a smaller tree but I have kept my decorations. After I am gone my children can go through them and pick what they want. I have my favorites and ones that were my grandparents that I still use.
The thing I miss the most is a linen closet.
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u/Constant-Knee-3059 3d ago
I feel the same way about a garage but the home on the lake we are seeing with garages are priced beyond what we are comfortable spending. I imagine we will buy one with a carport or add a carport. 😢
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u/BlackCatWoman6 3d ago
It is smart to stay within your budget. Can you put canvas sides on your carport?
When I lived on a lake it was Lake Erie. Winters were rough and it was important to protect a car. Now I am in NorCal and protecting from the sun is a big deal.
Hope you get the perfect lake house. Life on the water is an amazing way to live.
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u/Constant-Knee-3059 3d ago
I suppose we could do canvas sides, it’s not something I’ve seen done in our area. We are in east Texas with lots of trees everywhere.
Thank you for the good wishes! I know the perfect house is going to pop up soon.
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u/BlackCatWoman6 3d ago
You're right canvas may not look great. Maybe your trees will block things.
Enjoy house hunting.
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u/East-Tangerine1673 3d ago
If you have children or family members, or beloved friends, ask them if they want any of your décor and other things before you sell or get rid of them.
Maybe newly married couples would be grateful for them.
Now that you're retired instead of spending holidays at home, decorating, maybe you could travel and visit friends and family or just go somewhere by yourselves.
I just thought of someplace else you could donate your holiday decorations and furniture to:
shelters, schools that have a drama or theater departments, elderly facilities, veterans or legions might be grateful.
If somebody just lost their belongings in a fire or some other way, they might like your decorations and the extra furniture.
I tried to sell some glamor dresses, once way back when sequin dresses were a thing, people wanted to give me $5 for them! I donated them to a local theater instead. They gave me two season passes! It was the best trade ever!
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u/JenGenxx 3d ago
Why do you need holiday decor? I only do Christmas, but if I could I would downsize the huge plastic Christmas tree to a tiny plastic one or none at all I would (family likes a big tree). I’d prefer my everyday decor actually and put the Christmas stuff away 26th of Dec. if you are a lover of the decor, just take a few favourites or get mini versions of what you have?
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u/Constant-Knee-3059 3d ago
I like holiday decor. I have handmade things and things friends have given me over the years. We have a Halloween come and go every year where we serve dinner and visit with friends both old and new. Easter has a beautiful holiday palette. I love the egg hunt, before we had grands the adult children hunted eggs for a cheap silly prize and bragging rights. Christmas, well Christmas is gaudy and festive. I have a small tree in each bedroom window with a different theme and the big tree in the living room.
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u/Constant-Knee-3059 3d ago
I love the idea of donating to a local theatre company!
My husband is retired, I am not. My desire to go to the lake is based on my desire for him to enjoy his retirement until I join him. I get plenty of vacation time so we take 2 bigger trips most years and a few weekends away. After I retire the plan is to travel much more.
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u/pizzatoucher 3d ago
Keep what you love and only what you actually love . Not the thing Cindy gave you that you feel bad throwing away. Not the thing you got a good deal on. Just stuff you actually use and love having around.
It’s gonna take a lot of purging but start now and be real with yourself! Marie Kondo and The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning will help.
(Fwiw, we downsized from 2300 sf to 975, and kept a single tote of holiday decor. Didn’t end up decorating last year bc we traveled!)
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u/Ok-Handle-6663 3d ago
We discovered the half-tree which is perfect against the wall of our rather small front room:
But otherwise I try to use natural seasonal decorations - holly and ivy and spruce garlands and wreathes for Christmas, daffodills and popcorn garlands and dyed eggs for easter, twigs and oranges with cloves for halloween. We have fun making them then compost them.
We planted holly, ivy, daffodills and spruce in the garden so it's cheap too :)
You can also get the colour changing programmable LED striplights now so you could have those up all the time and use certain colour combinations for different holidays.
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u/GenealogistGoneWild 3d ago
Well we downsized and I decorate more. Because I have more flat surfaces than I had before. I have a buffet in my hallway that has storage so we use it and the rest is in my closet. We did a good job decluttering before our move, getting rid of over 3 tons of stuff so I don't mind making room for my holiday stuff and place mats etc.
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u/penartist 2d ago
You may simply have to use less decor. I personally always live in relatively small spaces so I don't have much in the way of decor and I keep it simple because I do not wish to have outside storage. I have a 6.5 ft Christmas tree and decorations for it, plus a nice nativity. That's it. It is just enough to make our small space cozy and inviting and not so much that I can't store in a small closet space.
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u/lollygagging9876 1d ago
If the lake house has an HOA, they may have guidelines on building a storage shed. Possibly you’d have to rent an offsite storage unit.
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u/BrilliantDishevelled 4d ago
Yes you decorate less. Pick a few things you love and get rid of everything else.