How will you downsize?

[tabs]

Originally Posted by MRM

Why does “downsizing” require you to get rid of your perfectly restored cars? If they needed restoration or were deteriorating before your eyes I could see why you’d want to get rid of them to simplify your life. But think about it, what effort or angst does having your truck, your 911, your speedster sit quietly under a tarp in your barn where you can look at them any time you want and take them for an ice cream cone run when the mood strikes and the weather is good? Is your lifestyle going to change depending on whether you have the money from the sale of your vehicles? I suspect not. Does it cost much to keep them safe in storage? Probably not. So why do you want to get rid of them? Some people consider vehicles to be the ultimate in pop art sculptures. Lots of people pay a lot more for less attractive sculpture and claim that they derive pleasure from having it in their possession to view. You could do worse than consider your vehicles as sculpture to be admired.

If you really do just want to divest yourself of any of those beautiful pieces of moving art because you don’t want the responsibility of keeping them, please consider the MRM ranch as a happy safe space for any vehicle you don’t want anymore.

Yeah like a Lenard Kester.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Interesting thread because this is a topic that my wife and I discuss often. Post-kids I think we are in agreement on selling our modest home, eliminating a lot of the accumulated detritus, and getting a small place at the lake. If I still work for the same Tampa based company maybe we’ll get a small place down there as well and spend our winters there. I’m not anywhere near retirement but am fortunate that I can work from anywhere.

As for cars, I don’t have Patrick’s difficult choice to make. I see us maybe sticking with the current model of always having a light truck, a sedan, and maybe at some point another fun sports car. Plus a boat, always a boat. But I really don’t want a “collection” of any kind. When I had two fun toy cars at the same time it sometimes became overwhelming to keep up with maintenance and repairs. I’m over having stuff that’s a burden.

[dmcummins]

I’ve been downsizing for the last 5 years or so. And we still have to much stuff. I just got rid of the last stuff my dad had in a storage building. We may have sold enough to cover the rent, and it was a pain getting rid of it.

Our house is still way to big, but we only have a 2-1/2 car garage. Getting rid of all the lawn care stuff did free up some space, no more mowing for me. When we moved from MO to FL was our first chance to downsize. We sold or gave away everything we could.

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by Scott R

I’m still upsizing.

Me too!

[Seahawk]

"Downsizing" can mean different things to different folks.

For me, it is simply a desire to not have a farm in a few years, no more than five. My wife is onboard as well...that is why we bought the house in South Carolina, which is being managed, rented, by an excellent company I have know for decades.

Farms are incredible places to raise a family and we accomplished that. Both my children are fine young cannibals

Post children, running a farm blows. In the last three years I shifted from active participation in crop production (I machine hired combining and a few other tasks best done by big equipment I don't have) to farm acreage lease.

The same guy that has been working with me for 25 years now leases my crop acreage for a set price every year. He then does everything. There are no upfront expenses for me at all, a huge blessing. On average there was about $10k worth of seed, fertilizer, lime and pesticides in the fields every year (two crop rotation) with no guarantees we'd make any money.

This was a big sea change for me but without an extra set of hands I began to hate farming.

I still keep the lines mowed, etc. and do all farm repairs.

So I have begun to auction off support equipment I no longer need or, frankly, want to keep in operable condition...also a lot of tools I no longer need. I made tool boxes for my daughter and three of my son's friend (Jack was way ahead of the curve) and they could not have been more appreciative.

I also sold the old MF tractor that was a beast and bought a newer, smaller, hydrostatic tractor for stuff since I no longer need the plowing, no till towing, spray rig attachment capabilities.

On the horse front, we are down to two and will soon be taking the pony our daughter won the Maryland Pony Breeders Cup on to South Carolina, to my sisters place for her well deserved retirement as a lead line Pony for some lucky girls in Aiken.

All the equipment (and there is a ton, including a cart) will go with her.

We have also brought on horse boarders to help with work at the stable. They have been great and have cut our workload way down. It is almost a Tom Sawyer deal with their husbands.

Anyway, that is how we are doing it, a little at a time, pick our spots and give away or sell the stuff we don't need and the kids do not want.

[recycled sixtie]

Great entries above everyone. It sounds like you are doing the right thing. Paul Seahawk sounds like he is being preemptive and on top of things without being overwhelmed. In my next life I would like to come back as Paul Seahawk #2 but I would have big boots to fill.

The worse situation I see is the occasional person who sells their house and moves into a condo. Then they regret it after. A house and yard keeps you physically active especially if you do your own yard work and house cleaning. A condo can be challenging especially if you go on the Condo Board. The politics can be interesting but some owners may hate you if you enforce the rules.

At least if my wife or I pass on we have a two bedroom condo to move into if our house becomes too much for one person. In the meantime it is rented out to a lovely older couple our age.

Cheers, Guy

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by MRM

Why does “downsizing” require you to get rid of your perfectly restored cars? If they needed restoration or were deteriorating before your eyes I could see why you’d want to get rid of them to simplify your life.

They do deteriorate while sitting. But more importantly, eventually we're all going to face the end of our lives. You can't take it with you. Something has to be done with all the "stuff" sometime, somehow. I'm not in a hurry, but I am trying to make a plan for the inevitable.

[GH85Carrera]

When we moved into this house 22 years ago, we agreed this was our last house. No more moveing until I leave feet first on a gurney, or to the nursing home in a wheel chair.

My wife went through all of her stuff, opened in every closet, drawer, cuby hole and nook or cranny and took everything out, decided what was worth keeping and what went to Goodwill. I emptied out my closet in my office and did the same.

I still need to attack the attic as I know there is crap up there I will never use and can go to the landfill or the curb on big trash day. Someone will grab it before the trash man comes.

I plan to keep my 911 and Elky until I can't repair them myself and or get in and out of them without too much effort, but that is hopefully many years away.

[wdfifteen]

I have tried to get rid of clothes over the years, but I still had a lot of stuff. Two years ago MrsWD set apart space in our closet to put all the clothes we used after we wore and laundered them. This separated the clothes we actually used from the stuff we thought we used. We did this for a year. Probably 80% of the stuff in our clothes closet was left on the other hangers, untouched all year. We gave away everything that hadn't been worn. It's been a while, and we don't miss any of it.

[Superman]

The closet story is a good one. Do that with the rest of your stuff. You'd be surprised how much stuff you do not need. Your mind will be more peaceful with all that stuff gone. Keep the cars, though.

[Evans, Marv]

Patric & Paul really seem to have things figured out as do several others here. I turn 79 in less than two months, but what really scares the crap out of me is the realization I enter the 80's next year. I would say I have managed to keep things down to a manageable amount in terms of "stuff." We don't plan to move, so I will eventually have to get somebody to do the maintenance around the property. We're staying because we really, really like it here and my wife still will be working for another ten years as a school principal. I still maintain an area of maybe an acre & a half of clearing, weed whacking, etc. as well as maintenance on the 3K+ sg.ft. home. People look at me sideways when they learn I do things like get up on the roof to clean the solar panels or do roof maintenance. I plan on keeping up with it as long as I can, because I feel energized and can feel my conditioning improve those times of the year when I have to put in a lot of physical work.

[PorscheGAL]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I have tried to get rid of clothes over the years, but I still had a lot of stuff. Two years ago MrsWD set apart space in our closet to put all the clothes we used after we wore and laundered them. This separated the clothes we actually used from the stuff we thought we used. We did this for a year. Probably 80% of the stuff in our clothes closet was left on the other hangers, untouched all year. We gave away everything that hadn't been worn. It's been a while, and we don't miss any of it.

I’ve been doing this. It’s easy for me to throw out clothes now that my job requires scrubs everyday. I just need a few outfits for weekends or vacay.

I’ve started clearing out the kitchen. Even though I have a lot of everything I only use a hand full of the pots, pans and baking dishes. I almost never use serving plates. All that is going. Some stuff is harder to let go than others. I have a gigantic cast iron casserole baking pan. Probably 12x24x 4 inches deep that dad owned. There is only 3 of us with my son 2 years from leaving. I have never needed to use that but how do you move that along?

[vash]

I am no longer all that interested in working on cars as a hobby. the parts storage, the parts coming in, the specialty tools. all of it is too much for me. at my old house I had shelves full of stuff, that was put aside, "just in case". I was not surprised by the sadness that took hold right after I sold my 911. but I was surprised how light I felt when I lovingly boxed up all the parts and handed it off to the guy that bought my car. it took about 2 weeks for me to actually enjoy the space that all that stuff took up.

i'm not old. well, I am not that old. 50's, and I don't expect to die or retire soon. but if I don't have a interest in some stuff, it needs to go.

I had way too much kitchen gear. I have pared it down to exactly the pots/pans/knives that I need. no more, no less. nothing stays around that only does one task.

I don't even own blue jeans anymore. not a single pair. I just don't find them that comfortable to me anymore. I put them all in a box and gave them away.

my next hurdle will be firearms. I need to sell a crap load of my stepdads stuff. I have way too many myself. it isn't about the money. I just don't need all of it.

silver. ah @!#$!$#@!..when my parents had a grocery store, my dad would count the evenings money. every silver coin he found, he pocketed and replaced with a standard one. there are bags of that crap around. giant old school bank bags laying as ballast in gun safes. what a pain in the ass!! we are tempted of just dropping them off at a coin buyer. at this point it is like a mystery. are there any extraordinary coins in the bags? or are they just run of the mill silver coins. I did find 3 miss stamped pennies I pulled aside and put in the top shelf. what a pain. I am checking off this planet with a light load.

[GH85Carrera]

Vash, the silver coins are mostly worth the weight in silver. It is very rare indeed to have found a rare silver coin in circulation. Most are very worn, and just silver value. Still better than face value!

I am too much of a tool junkie to ever toss a tool. I have my dwell meter and timing light hanging on my garage wall as a trophy. Most people have no idea what they are.

[vash]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Vash, the silver coins are mostly worth the weight in silver. It is very rare indeed to have found a rare silver coin in circulation. Most are very worn, and just silver value. Still better than face value!

I am too much of a tool junkie to ever toss a tool. I have my dwell meter and timing light hanging on my garage wall as a trophy. Most people have no idea what they are.

long after my 911 was gone, I found my CIS pressure gauge set. haha..i don't know what happened to it. I think I gave it away.

I think the only specialty tool I still have is that fuel injector puller. I lost track of my Island gap-tool. one of my friends must have LOVED it. I never got it back.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Vash, the silver coins are mostly worth the weight in silver. It is very rare indeed to have found a rare silver coin in circulation. Most are very worn, and just silver value. Still better than face value!

I am too much of a tool junkie to ever toss a tool. I have my dwell meter and timing light hanging on my garage wall as a trophy. Most people have no idea what they are.

About 8 years ago, we downsized (empty nest). We sold the house in the burbs and moved to a nice apt in town. It was awesome being 3 miles from work and in the middle of it all. The traffic was better than in the burbs and we could get almost everything we wanted within 2 miles of the apt with the occasional trip needing a 3-5 mile jaunt. To make that move, we went from a 2000sqft house with 2 car garage, attic and shed (and still had a storage unit) first to a 1250sqft apt and then to an 850sqft apt. I had a big closet with 2 rolling toolboxes full of tools, plus more tools and stuff on shelves on both sides of the closet. And then out in the garage, I had a work bench and a slew of woodworking and/or home repair type tools, jig saw, sawzall, sander, drill press, hand drills, worksite table saw, 2x grinders etc....

I sold almost everything except tools with sentimental value. I've got my dad's toolbox (mostly for working on cars) some tools that were my grandfathers, and tools that I was given by my parents when I was 16. I think I kept a few more tools, but mostly small stuff that's a little odd, but useful.

Now we're at a home in the country. I now have to buy a bunch of stuff to replace what I sold. The only downside is that prices have gone up, so it's easy to think, "I already had that." But I wouldn't have wanted to pay for the extra storage space to keep all of the stuff for 7-8 years.

[rusnak]

if any of you guys find a need to lighten your collections of a .22 semi auto, preferably with supressor, then I'm the guy to carry your burden. I'm selfless like that.

[MRM]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

They do deteriorate while sitting. But more importantly, eventually we're all going to face the end of our lives. You can't take it with you. Something has to be done with all the "stuff" sometime, somehow. I'm not in a hurry, but I am trying to make a plan for the inevitable.

I understand, WD. And to a certain extent just having the responsibility of having the vehicles is a weight on your psyche. But they are so beautiful. Take your time and we know you'll place them with good homes when the time to let them go does come.

As to Herr Tabs', this is Lenard hanging from a place of honor at home.

A beautiful piece of art is a joy forever. I stole this one off'n a collector who lives in Vegas. I think he was distracted by a buffet at the Bellagio when he agreed to the price. I'd like to take a few more pieces off his hands if I had the wealth and taste to do business with him.

[thor66]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

They do deteriorate while sitting. But more importantly, eventually we're all going to face the end of our lives. You can't take it with you. Something has to be done with all the "stuff" sometime, somehow. I'm not in a hurry, but I am trying to make a plan for the inevitable.

ok

in that case, sell the bumper car & see how you feel without it - you can buy another one easy enough (or get a 993 or early 911 to 'balance out' your 356s)