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Organize, declutter, donate—downsize and simplify your life
Downsizing For Dummies provides you with strategies to downsize your life by moving to a smaller home, decluttering, simplifying your budget, and saving more money. You’ll find tips to help decrease your cost of living, lower your home maintenance costs, protect and leverage your assets, and decide whether downsizing is right for you and your family. After downsizing your life, you’ll save time on household chores and gain the freedom and flexibility that come with having fewer possessions. What will you do with all the time you save? Downsizing For Dummies will help you understand the benefits of living simply!
This book is for anyone who is ready to live clutter-free and to downsize. It’s the perfect Dummies guide for homeowners looking to save money, plus real estate brokers who are working with clients who are downsizing, and designers and builders of new homes who want to stay on top of the downsizing trend.
Ralph R. Roberts is a real estate expert, investor, and author of more than a dozen books, including Flipping Houses For Dummies and Foreclosure Investing For Dummies. As a real estate agent, he sold more than 10,000 homes, with a focus on helping his clients find the perfect living arrangements for their situation.
Facing retirement and an empty nest, Ralph and his wife, Kathleen, recently downsized from a 7,000-square-foot home to a condo less than half its size. In Downsizing For Dummies, they share the tips and tricks they discovered through their downsizing journey.
Introduction 1
About This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 4
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: Getting Started with Downsizing 7
Chapter 1: Downsizing in a Nutshell 9
Downsizing: Who, What, When, Where, and Why? 10
Who? 10
What? 11
When? 12
Where? 12
Why? 13
Envisioning Your Future 14
Navigating a Major Lifestyle Transition 14
Getting All Your Ducks in a Row 16
Choosing a lifestyle and housing 16
Establishing your timeline 18
Creating to-do lists 18
Drafting a budget 19
Protecting and Leveraging Your Assets 20
Decluttering Basics 20
Moving Out and Moving On 22
Addressing your changing priorities 22
Selling your home 23
Buying a new home 23
Exploring other living arrangements 24
Our Downsizing Experience 25
Chapter 2: Deciding Whether Downsizing Is Right for You (or Your Parents) 29
Recognizing Common Reasons People Downsize 30
Weighing the Pros and Cons of Downsizing 32
Potential benefits of downsizing 32
Potential downsizing drawbacks 33
Analyzing Your Situation and Mindset 34
Examining your situation 34
Taking stock of your thoughts and feelings 36
Considering Your Loved Ones 37
Making sure you’re on the same page as your spouse (or siblings) 38
Listening to your kids’ opinions 39
Letting close friends and neighbors in on it 41
Making the Tough Call for an Aging Loved One 42
Settling a Major Dilemma: To Sell or Not to Sell Your Home 43
Chapter 3: Envisioning Your Future: Lifestyle and Location 45
Building Your Vision 46
Complete our lifestyle questionnaire 46
List your must-haves, nice-to-haves, and please-no’s 48
Build a vision board 48
Gather more details in vision folders 49
Choosing a Location: Factors to Consider 51
Settled or nomadic 51
Foreign or domestic 53
Terrain 55
Climate 55
Size/population 56
Affordability 57
Employment opportunities 57
Health care 58
Proximity to friends and family 59
Activities, entertainment, and restaurants 59
Getting around 60
Crime rates 61
Public amenities and cultural centers 61
School system 62
Existing property or new construction 62
Opting for a Nomadic Existence 64
Researching Locations 65
Test-Driving a Location or Lifestyle 65
Chapter 4: Laying the Groundwork 67
Developing a Positive Mindset 68
Consulting with Family Members (or Not) 69
Teaming up with your partner 69
Deciding how much input you want and from whom 70
Getting everyone else on the same page 73
Tabulating Your Net Worth and Monthly Income 74
Distinguishing between Essentials and Extras 76
Drawing Up Preliminary Plans 77
Drafting a budget 77
Creating a packing list 79
Making a to-do list 79
Scheduling activities 80
Delegating duties 81
Chapter 5: Rallying the Troops 83
Tapping Your Family for Help 84
Knowing the type of help family members can provide 84
Recognizing the type of help you don’t want 85
Getting a Little Help from Your Friends 85
Hiring Professionals 86
A financial advisor 87
A certified public accountant 87
Attorneys 88
Appraisers 89
Real estate agents 89
A bank, mortgage company, or loan officer 90
A title company 91
A home inspector or builder 91
Downsizing pros 92
Movers 92
An interior designer 92
Health-care professionals 93
Delegating and Coordinating with Team Members 94
Motivating Your Crew 95
Helping a Loved One Downsize 95
Just talk about it 96
Ease the transition 97
Start downsizing the least-used areas 98
Provide emotional support 98
Make it fun 99
Part 2: Protecting and Leveraging Your Assets 101
Chapter 6: Getting a Handle on Your Finances 103
Calculating Your Net Worth 104
Gauging Your Cash Flow 107
Tabulating your monthly and annual income 108
Estimating your monthly and annual expenses 110
Calculating your cash flow 112
Leveraging the power of debt to help finance your dreams 112
Accounting for Medical Insurance and Health-care Costs 113
Planning to Live on a Fixed Income 116
Exploring ways to trim expenses 117
Exploring ways to generate additional income 121
Chapter 7: Planning Your Estate 125
Getting up to Speed on Estate Planning Basics 126
Step 1: Preparing Your Will(s) 127
Writing a simple will 129
Writing a joint will 130
Writing a living will 131
Knowing when to use a testamentary trust will 132
Step 2: Keeping Your Valuable Assets Out of Probate 132
Steering clear of probate without a trust 133
Using a trust to protect your assets 135
Deciding how to take title when buying property 137
Step 3: Creating a Power of Attorney 139
Step 4: Ensuring You Have Some Control over Medical Decisions 141
Step 5: Planning Your Business Succession 141
Step 6: Buying Life Insurance (or Not) 142
Step 7: Documenting Your End-of-Life Plan 143
Step 8: Gathering and Organizing Essential Documents 144
Step 9: Completing an Estate Planning Checklist 145
Chapter 8: Using Your Home to Generate Income 149
Leasing Your Home (or a Part of It) 150
Taking on the role of landlord 151
Using a property management company 152
Running your own bed and breakfast 153
Selling Your Home 154
Borrowing Against Your Home to Cash Out Equity 155
Making the Most of a Reverse Mortgage 157
Part 3: Decluttering: Sell It, Give It Away, or Trash It 161
Chapter 9: Sorting Your Belongings 163
Mastering Decluttering Basics 164
Stop Cluttering 166
Decluttering One Room at a Time 167
Bedrooms 167
Bathrooms 170
Kitchen 171
Living room 172
Office 173
Laundry room 174
Garage/shed 176
Sorting Your Stuff into Six Categories 178
Keep 179
Store 179
Sell 180
Give away 181
Donate 181
Toss 182
Chapter 10: Digitizing Photos, Videos, and Documentation 183
Exploring Your Digital Storage Options 184
Internal drives 185
External drives 185
Cloud storage 186
Social media storage 188
Photo processor storage 189
Eliminating Unnecessary Documents, Photos, and Videos 189
Downsizing your document collection 189
Deciding which photos to keep 191
Paring down your video collection 192
Scanning Photos and Documents 192
Do it yourself 192
Hire it out 194
Transforming Photos into Memorabilia 195
Digitizing Your Video Collection 196
Do it yourself 196
Hire a pro 197
Chapter 11: Selling Stuff You No Longer Want or Need 199
Finding Out How Much Something Is Worth 200
Exploring Ways to Sell Your Belongings 203
Estate auction 203
Estate sale 204
Garage/yard sale 206
Online listing 206
Hiring someone to sell your stuff 207
Selling Your Belongings Online 209
Hosting an Estate Sale 211
Before 211
During 213
After 214
Conducting a Garage Sale 214
Chapter 12: Giving Away Some Stuff 217
Returning Items to Your “Kids” 218
Being Prepared for Disappointment 219
Deciding Which Family Member Gets the Family’s Treasures 220
Offering Your Belongings to Family Members and Others 221
Donating Items to Nonprofits 222
Salvation Army 222
Vietnam Veterans of America 223
AMVETS 224
Goodwill Industries 225
Habitat for Humanity 226
The Arc 226
Local nonprofit groups 227
Pushing It to the Curb 227
Chapter 13: Storing Stuff You Can’t Part With 229
Reconsidering: Will You Really Ever Need This Item? 230
Exploring Your Storage Options 231
Friends or relatives 231
Portable storage containers 232
Self-storage units 233
Peer-to-peer storage options 234
Protecting Your Valuables 235
Home safes 236
Safety-deposit boxes 237
Insuring Your Valuables 238
Chapter 14: Disposing of Your Remaining Belongings 239
Recycling as Much as Possible 239
Having Your Junk Hauled Off in Dumpster 241
Disposing of Toxic Items 243
Hiring a Company to Haul Away Your Junk 244
Part 4: Moving Out and Moving In 245
Chapter 15: Gimme Shelter: Choosing a Home 247
Finding Your Place in the World: Location, Location, Location 248
Deciding Whether to Buy or Rent 249
Deciding Whether to Build or Buy 250
Estimating the Living Space You’ll Need 252
Total square footage 253
Rooms and room sizes 254
Living room and dining room or office/den? 255
Entertainment areas 255
Office space 256
Outdoor living areas — porches, decks, balconies 256
Pool or hot tub (or both) 257
Basement (or not) 257
Garage/parking 258
Storage space 258
Considering Mobility and Accessibility 259
Exploring Your Housing Options 261
Traditional house 261
Apartment 262
Condo 263
Granny pod (aka mother-in-law cottage) 264
Tiny home 264
Mobile home 265
RV or van 265
55-and-older community 265
Barndominium 266
Shipping container home 266
Houseboat or cruise ship 267
Assisted living facility 268
Accounting for Additional Costs 268
Utilities 268
Maintenance and repairs 269
Homeowner or condo association fees 269
Property taxes 270
Chapter 16: Buying and Selling a Home 271
Deciding Whether to Sell or Keep Your Current Home as a Rental 272
Deciding Whether to Buy First or Sell First 273
Keeping your finger on the pulse of the housing market 273
Keeping an eye on interest rates 274
Buying before selling 274
Selling before buying 276
Choosing Whether to Pay Cash or Finance Your Purchase 278
Advantages of paying cash 278
Advantages of financing the purchase 279
Picking the Right Real Estate Agents for You 279
Timing the Market (or Not) 281
Getting a Home Equity Line of Credit (Just in Case) 283
Accounting for Taxes on the Sale of Your Home 284
Capital gains tax 285
Property tax 286
Real estate transfer tax 286
Chapter 17: Packing Your Belongings 287
Taking the Easy Way Out: Hiring a Professional 288
Recognizing the advantages of hiring a moving company 288
Choosing a reputable moving company 289
Teaming up with your moving company for best results 290
Doing the Packing Yourself 292
Gathering your moving supplies and equipment 292
Packing room by room 294
Labeling boxes 309
Chapter 18: Executing a Successful Move 311
Changing Your Mailing Address 312
Avoiding hurt feelings 312
Notifying the postal service of your change in address 313
Changing your address on all your accounts 314
Sending change of address notifications to everyone you know 315
Arranging Transportation: Trucks or Portable Containers? 316
Scheduling movers 317
Being available on moving day 318
Switching Your Utilities 319
Unpacking: Decluttering, Round 2 321
Kitchen 322
Bedrooms 322
Bathrooms 323
Living room 323
Dining room 324
Garage/basement 324
Part 5: The Part of Tens 325
Chapter 19: Ten Good Reasons to Downsize 327
Reduce Your Cost of Living 328
Spend Time and Money on What Really Matters 328
Save Time and Effort Cleaning, Maintaining, and Repairing Property 328
Become More Mobile and Flexible 329
Reduce Stress 329
Spend More Time with Loved Ones 330
Alleviate the Future Burden on Loved Ones 330
Optimize Your Health and Fitness 330
Focus on Quality Over Quantity 331
Work Less 331
Chapter 20: Ten Tips to Make Downsizing Less Stressful 333
Focus on What to Keep, Not What to Get Rid Of 334
Follow the One-Year Rule 334
Downsize One Room at a Time 335
Set a Manageable Deadline and Milestones 335
Follow the OHIO Rule 335
Host a Sorting/Packing Party 336
Pack an Essentials Box 336
Have Your Adult Children Clear Out Their Belongings 337
Create a Yes and No Pile (No Maybe Pile) 337
Opt for Amenities Over Square Footage 338
Chapter 21: Ten (or So) Ways to Reduce Your Living Expenses 339
Slash Your Insurance Costs 340
Reduce Cable TV, Internet, and Phone Costs 340
Cancel Subscriptions 341
Reduce or Eliminate Vehicle Expenses 341
Clear Out Your Storage Unit 342
Take Better Care of Yourself 342
Shed Your Consumer Debt 342
Use Cash-Back Credit Cards 343
Buy Your Groceries Online 343
Set Spending Caps 344
Ask About Senior Discounts 344
Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Supplement Your Income 345
Find a Part-Time Job 346
Manage Property 346
Start a Business 347
Watch Other People’s Pets 347
House-Sit 348
Sell Your Crafts 348
Tutor or Substitute Teach 349
Become a Driver 349
Build a Career as a Social Media Influencer 350
Become a Virtual Assistant 350
Index 353
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