Your downsizing experiences

hb2

In April 2016 we moved from a house with 1 reception, 3 bedrooms, a loft, garage, shed and 2 large, built in cupboards to a flat with 1 reception, 2 bedrooms and 1 cupboard. We knew the first thing we needed to do was get more storage so we added units in the kitchen and built wardrobes/cupboards into the bedrooms. We also have storage under the beds. 

We had a lot of decluttering to do before we moved! In addition, my Mum went into a care home just  before we moved, so we had to be pretty brutal about clearing her flat as we knew we wouldn't have room to keep a lot of her 'stuff'. Actually, with all the storage we created, we could probably have kept more but there is nothing I regret. 

We now have little outside space and are not responsible for maintaining what there is - which was the main reason for moving to a flat. We are very happy here and hope we don't have to move again unless it is our final departure.

cattie

I only moved from a 3 bed house with very big bedrooms into a 2 double bed ground floor flat in the location I wanted.  I knew I didn't want a garden as I hate gardening, but wanted some access to outside space. I've got a balcony which has a gate at one end giving me access to the beautifully maintained grounds. I wanted something spacious, which is what I've got, with plenty of storage & windows that let in lots of light. A big bonus for me was also getting a garage:o) I don't drive but it's great for storage.
The only furniture I had to get rid of was a double bed & as my kitchen is smaller than previous I got rid of lots of items that I really hadn't used in a long time. The flat needed work but I had money left over from the house sale that paid for the refurbishment.

My only regret is that I didn't make the move sooner. I have great neighbours & there's a real sense of community here than I ever had in my previous houses. In the past I was a serial mover, but am here to the death now!

pattypan4

I did it, including putting a single/workshop garage worth plus a large store worth all into a single garage. I planned and planned again, on paper. Had all the garage walls boarded so I could get screws in and it is `warm` and welcoming. I used lots of shelving from bigdug, the best were/are the chrome shelving systems, the cheaper blue or red shelving were good on a temporary basis as I had moved too much stuff, all gone now. 18litre really useful boxes on the chrome systems fit perfectly, all boxes labelled and now a workshop that people envy. Use right angle spaces and btw I got a big workbench in easily, as well as a sideboard. I reckon it is now the most important and most used area of my house

I went from large 4 bed/3 reception to smaller 4 bed with kitchen/diner and a living room, much cosier and more compact. The most important for me were location and the fact that I found an extremely well built small development

Dramaticat, yes storage is a big issue in a new build. I had fitted cupboards built into 2 bedrooms, both have turned from so called doubles to one large and one small single. Developers use any alcove in part of their room measurements