It's that time of year. The time of year when every
other ad on television is for a gym or a weight-loss program. Many of
us are thinking about ways to downsize our "lady lumps," but Holmesey over at Dadbloggers has just downsized his life:
See, in December, we sold our house in the suburbs...and
moved into a smaller and less expensive condo on the other side of the
city. We gave up about 800 square feet of space, plus a two-car garage
and a yard. We sold off and gave away several truckloads of excess
furniture and possessions, things that frankly we weren’t using and
didn’t need. Now instead of opening the backdoor to let the dog out,
somebody has to put his leash on him and take him for a walk. Instead
of going out to the garage to do the laundry, we use a community
facility...We’ll have to *gasp* go play at the park down the street.
Not like you need a reason, but he has one. He's finally
figured out what he wants to be when he grows up—a counselor—and that
means going back to school. After re-evaluating his life goals, he and
his wife decided that the house was the thing to go.
My husband and I have been where Holmesey was and we chose a
different path. We've gotten rid of lots of extraneous crap as we
strive for a more "unburdened" life, and we also have sacrificed living
space in order to save money. But being city-dwellers, we wanted a yard
expressly to avoid having to pack up and go to the park everyday. Which
is a pain in my ass. Nothing can replace saying, "Go play, kids!" while swinging open the back door.
We also wanted our own washer and dryer in our house, and I cried
the first time I did laundry without having to hump it down to the
corner. For us, downsizing also involves reducing stress and
simplifying, not complicating, our lives. We seem to be on a
never-ending quest to make
our lives easier. And, material things aren't always your enemy when
downsizing. If you can get rid of hundreds of CDs by downloading the
content into your iPod or computer, that's a good thing in my book. I
wish Holmesey luck, but I wonder how quickly lugging all that
laundry back and forth will get old?
What's your take? If you've downsized, how did you do it? What
worked and what didn't? If you are thinking about taking the leap, what
would you like to tackle first?
[graphic credit: A Perfect World]
