Comments on: Downsizing and Decluttering 101 | Help for Empty Nesters

By: EmptyNestBlessed

EmptyNestBlessed — Sat, 19 Oct 2019 23:58:04 +0000

In reply to Bob.

Bob,
So glad you enjoyed it. I’m sorry to hear about your wife. Praying for all the best for you! Suzy

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 19 Oct 2019 22:57:14 +0000

I love your downsizing tips. My wife might get fired. Her company is downsizing.

By: EmptyNestBlessed

EmptyNestBlessed — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 19:51:31 +0000

In reply to Andrea M Spencer.

Andrea,
Wow! Thanks for sharing your story! Bob and I have no plans for downsizing either! We built this house 14 years ago with the idea that it would work for grandkids too! Your house sounds lovely, and I’m so happy for you! A thoughtful, intentional decision, for sure. xoxo Suzy

By: Andrea M Spencer

Andrea M Spencer — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 16:33:47 +0000

My husband and I built our retirement house in Alpharetta north of Atlanta last year. We did a lot of research on various cities and viewed a lot of model homes. We came to the conclusion that we could NOT downsize to a home with less square footage inside but that we did want a smaller yard to maintain in a gated, non-retirement community with lots of amenities. We built a new home with the same square footage as our last family home with ample space for visting family and all of the furniture that we love. The extra furniture is stored in a mini-warehouse for our twins’, who will graduate from college in May 2020. We hired Junk in the Box at our old house to bring us a huge dumpster to dispose of old household items we no longer needed and that helped a lot. This is our 8th house in almost 27 years of marriage and hopefully, the last!

By: EmptyNestBlessed

EmptyNestBlessed — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 17:35:05 +0000

In reply to Jana L. Vanderburg.

Jana,
Thank you so much for sharing all of that! I’m using the same method for my kids Christmas ornaments. If they don’t want them, I’m going to put them in their keepsake boxes. I have to think at some point when they have kids of their own, those ornaments will be more meaningful to them. I keep having to remind myself that it’s the relationship that’s important, not the stuff. (But I’m still having a hard time with it all!) Thanks for echoing my sentiments. So sweet of you! xoxo Suzy

By: Jana L. Vanderburg

Jana L. Vanderburg — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 16:12:00 +0000

Suzy,
This was a very helpful post! Both of our boys are out of the house and have families of their own. This past Christmas I decided to start decluttering just a bit, not starting off too aggressively because I\’m SUPER attached to my stuff! lol I started with my Christmas decorations. I have purchased an ornament every year since the birth of each boy and I decided to box them all up along with any Christmas keepsakes they\’ve made throughout the years. Neither of the boys wanted to take them yet, one due to space issues (tiny apartment and a newborn on the way) and the other the ornaments don\’t match the specific decor of their tree (I\’ve always had a mix-match home tree, not anything consistent and uniformed in color or themed)… 🙁 My fear is that if they take them they\’ll get thrown in a closet somewhere and eventually get thrown out or lost. It\’s hard to let go….something I\’ll still consider going through and letting go little by little though. 🙂
Jana

By: Jana L. Vanderburg

Jana L. Vanderburg — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 15:53:32 +0000

In reply to EmptyNestBlessed.

Ellen that is a great tip! I’m definitely going to remember that!
Thanks for sharing!
Jana

By: EmptyNestBlessed

EmptyNestBlessed — Sun, 11 Mar 2018 20:12:44 +0000

In reply to Tamara.

Tamara,
Wow! That is a lot of good information. Like you, we’ve made it a point to save things that we think will be meaningful to our kids as they get older, and to their kids. You are so right that we never quite know what the future holds. When our middle son got married, we realized we didn’t have a queen size bed for the newlyweds, so we repainted and redecorated our oldest son’s room to make it into a guest room for the happy couple. (The oldest was fine with that.) Thanks for sharing your thoughts and advice! xoxo Suzy

By: EmptyNestBlessed

EmptyNestBlessed — Sun, 11 Mar 2018 20:07:42 +0000

In reply to Cynthia Winters.

Cynthia,
I think your positive attitude is awesome! Good for you. Letting go is always so challenging, but it’s an ongoing part of life. I always think of it as part of just being an emotionally healthy person. That means having to let go is kind of like working out at the gym. It may not be super fun, but it does make you healthier in the end. Thanks for sharing those good thoughts with us! xoxo Suzy

By: Tamara

Tamara — Sat, 10 Mar 2018 23:46:15 +0000

Don’t your kids come home to visit? Are you not planning to have grand kids visit? Family holidays at your house? Your kids+ their spouses + their kids + their dogs coming to stay. Decluttering to fit them in the guest rooms I can understand. However, life also has a way of throwing curve balls. My mother had to move her mother in with her for five years. Now at 75 she is raising her grand daughter because of High School shootings in the country, and a divorced parent that moved in with an abusive loser. My niece is wearing a lot of my old high school quality sweaters my mother saved. My brother moved all his stuff into her basement 18 years ago and left it there do to downsizing after a job loss. That type of thing he should declutter or donate. So, your job is not done. I bought two new mattresses so my kids want to visit. I saved the best important kids toys and books to entertain my increasing family. It’s better to clean the garage, basement, and attic out. The wealthy pay off houses and continue to live in them. They donate only what will not need again to Good will. Write it off on your taxes if you own a home or rental property. I cleaned each child’s room out and repainted their freshman year of college. Things I got rid of were paper clutter.