Downsizing

carefullycautious

We downsized from 3 bed house to 2 bed flat and then to a one bed bungalow.


To be brutally honest we had to give away most of our home. We could not get our leather 3 piece in so gave that away to charity shop along with other big pieces of furniture. Our king size bed fits in to the good sized bedroom along with chest of draws wardrobe and bedside cabinets but we have zilch other storage.


The problems we have is that there is no decent sized hallway so straight into lounge with bedroom off it and kitchen off lounge which is tiny.


However, we have everything we need close at hand, we don't have a large garden to deal with and at least we can still hang washing out in the tiny yard area.


My main problem has been claustrophobia especially in the summer months which I did not think about really, it gets very hot in here and as I have no garden as such I cant go out unless for a walk. It would be ideal for one person but put 2 in the mix and you have to really hold your tongue as there is nowhere to get away from your other half if you have any kind of disagreement. It has really made us think about not starting any sort of argument that cant be resolved quickly. I cant cope with 2 of us in the kitchen due to the small space.


We are trying to see if we can move into a 2 bed with some outdoor space. But if that does not come to fruition we will have to stay put.


It will be difficult and you may have more chance of a 2 bed if you slept apart for medical reasons.


I hope it all works out for you and I haven't sounded too negative. Just to make you aware that at first you will have some adjusting to do. As a matter of interest do you have a garden you can sit out in?

moneyistooshorttomention

If you do have a garden, would it be possible to get one of those home office type buildings - or at least a posh/big garden shed with shelving in? That way, you could keep as many possessions as possible stored there and, if it were a home office, then some of them are quite nice and could maybe be used as an extra "room" for when you just had to have "your own space".

Other thought being = what's the roof space like? Any possibilities for loft storage of possessions that aren't being used everyday?

I know what size of house I need myself to accommodate a "reasonable" number of possessions. In my last house (ie the starter terrace house) I basically had to put a lot of kitchen stuff in built-in cupboard space in the 2 reception rooms. My current house has more space, but no loft storage space at all and that has been problematic. So, I put the largest possible garden shed I could fit into the garden/shelved out the boiler room with as much shelf space as possible and shelved out the former airing cupboard with as much storage space as possible.

As regards clothes - I had/have no intention of getting rid of any clothes I have decided to keep. In my last house, I had a vast walk-in wardrobe wall. In this place there is a 1970s size built-in wardrobe - ie will only accommodate a 1970s amount of clothing. So - I bought a dual push-along wardrobe rail from Arg*s or similar that will take "half-height" clothing and one of them is sitting in the main part of my bedroom with half-height clothing on (ie tops/cardigans/etc) as somewhere to put the overflow from that built-in wardrobe only being big enough for a 1970s woman or a man.

With all that - I've only had to get rid of a single spare bed I intended to keep.

Hoploz

My mum downsized from a 3 bed house to a ground floor flat a few years after we lost my dad.
She settled immediately and was relieved to no longer have the responsibilities e.g. Garden, guttering, drains etc.
I was much happier too as she has a few health problems and I no longer had to worry about her falling down the stairs on her own.
She gave most of her furniture to my brother and I took most of her garden stuff. She didn't have loads of junk tbh. She even went through family stuff like photos and dished a lot of them out to family members.

I myself have got rid of loads of furniture, bits and bobs and clothes on ebay, Freecycle/Freegle, charity shops. There's also car boot sales, nearly new sales, or you could have a garage sale? You might even make a few quid! Storage is a good idea although it is expensive. Loft or garage will be very useful, especially if you are in a hurry to move and dont have much time to sort through and get rid of things.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll find there are more positives than negatives

lessonlearned

Parting with treasures and favourite things such as large pieces of furniture, ornaments etc can be upsetting, especially if they have sentimental value. Before you part with them , take a photograph of them, so at least you can have that.

Photos can be scanned onto computers, just keeping a few really special ones in a traditional album or photo frames.

Paperwork can be scanned and stored in digital format. Books, DVDs, CDs, etc. can all be replaced with digitised versions.

Clothes can be stored away each season using those suction bAgs.

If you are buying new furniture then try to buy pieces that incorporate storage, for example instead of side tables next to the sofa use a small chest of drawers, have a coffee table with at least one drawer for the remotes, drinks coaster, pens and bits and bobs.,A divan bed with storage drawers underneath gobbles up lots of stuff.

Then look at the new property itself. Are there nooks and crannies, alcoves etc that lend themselves to built in storage. Obviously if you are renting you might need a landlords permission.

I am currently decluttering my possessions. I'm getting there. I've also got to tackle my parents house but I can't pluck up much enthusiasm for that at the moment. That will be a mission and a half:eek:

lessonlearned

originator wrote: »

I downsized too in January after 32 years in largish 3 bed semi.Went for a 2 bed new build semi and left the old house without a backward glance ,Getting rid of accumulated stuff was one of the best bits for me,some went to neighbours some to charity shops and loads to the tip,very cathartic lol.
I am 63 and thought now or never,so glad I did.

I can echo this. Getting rid of stuff has been liberating. I have not yet moved into my new home, am still living with my son for a while but I can envisage what my new environment will be like and I have started Decluttering in readiness.

I have in a mind a light airy space which will be simply furnished and clutter free, manageable and easy to maintain, quite small and cosy so hopefully reduced council tax and heating bills. I would like a little bit of outside space but again something small and manageable, a small courtyard garden would be ideal.

I'm 63 too.;)

mllgnc

Thanks again to everyone that took the time to reply, all your advice and insights have been really helpful. Well we went to see the bungalow earlier, unfortunatly it was tiny

The lady from the housing office that showed us around, admitted herself that it was really only suitable for a single person. She is filing it as an "unreasonable offer " in other words it really shouldn't have been offered to us in the first place as it doesn't meet my needs.

As she is doing this it means it won't count as one of the three offers I will be given. I'm not sure what way it works in the mainland, but in Northern Ireland if you apply for social housing, you will be offered a maximum of three properties and if turn them all down your then taken of the waiting list.

Anyway I'm no worse of because of this offer, and hopefully it won't be to long before a suitable property becomes available. Thanks again for all the advice :T

Davesnave

mllgnc wrote: »

The lady from the housing office that showed us around, admitted herself that it was really only suitable for a single person. She is filing it as an "unreasonable offer "

... it won't count as one of the three offers I will be given. I'm not sure what way it works in the mainland, but in Northern Ireland if you apply for social housing, you will be offered a maximum of three properties and if turn them all down your then taken of the waiting list.

That's how the system worked when my elderly Dad applied. He didn't have a particularly helpful housing officer though, so when he turned-down a place in sheltered accommodation occupied mainly by deaf people, it counted against his 3 'goes.'

Good luck with finding something more suitable.

tyllwyd

Sorry to hear that you have health problems - are they likely to get bad enough that you will be in a wheelchair? My mum has recently fallen ill, and its made us realise that finding a bungalow for two people which allows wheelchair access inside the house, a wetroom, hospital bed, hoist is not so easy. You don't want to move twice, so do look at what you are offered with a worst-case scenario in mind. Good luck with everything.

CH27

mllgnc wrote: »

Hi All, we have a difficult decision to make, in a very short space of time. We recently applied for social housing, my health and mobility have unfortunatly deteriorated in the last 2 years. I have a neurological condition and my symptoms etc are unlikely to improve.

We only applied around a month ago, and this morning we have been offered a one bedroom bungalow ! We are going to see it first thing in the morning, and the housing office will need our decision before the end of the day. We are currently in a three bedroom property and although we are not hoarders we have accumulated quite a lot of "stuff" over the years.

I'm already worrying about how on earth we can comfortably go from a three bedroom to a one bedroom ! Since it is only myself and hubby it's unlikely we would be offered a two bedroom property. Has anyone here had such a downsize, if so how easy or difficult was it ? Did you regret doing it or is life much easier now ? I would be really grateful for any experiences and advice

My OH's nan did this after her husband died.

We helped her clear everything out over a weekend.
The majority of furtiture went to the charity shop or tip as nothing fit in her new place.

She was so much happier for downsizing & was really happy & safe there.

Good luck with your move

mllgnc

Hi Everyone :j

Just wanted to post an update for you all, we received an unexpected phone call from the housing officer this afternoon. To cut a long story short, first thing tomorrow morning we will signing oft our new property it is a 3 bedroom house :j :j

It has one bedroom downstairs, along with a downstairs toilet along with a disabled shower room. Upstairs there is a full bathroom and the other bedrooms, all the rooms are a great size. The back garden is absolutely huge ! Ours dogs are going to be delighted ! It also has a nice sized front garden. My hubby and I are completely over the moon, it's so much more than we ever expected.

It really is going to make such a massive difference to my everyday life