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Retired and downsizing

#21
Ostie said:
That’s a common problem. My mother and step-father kept everything. My step-brother and I had an estate sale, but still only grossed a couple grand. Better than nothing, but it was a lot of work.
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I went through the same thing a couple of years ago. My feeling was: if it gives them joy, who am I to argue? When the time came to downsize (dad had passed, mom moved into a care home), I had a friend (odd jobber) come in to clean, sell what he could and toss the rest. I paid him his flat fee and ended up with a couple of thousand bucks. He also detailed and sold Mom’s car privately for a commission. Well worth it.
 
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#22
My parents are both in their 70s, and I've been suggesting for the past couple years that they move closer to me and my sis (we're both in the same city). They don't need help yet, but they will at some point. I fear that if this happens, they're just going to move everything without downsizing. They've moved several times in the last 10-15 years for various complicated reasons, and they still haven't decluttered.
 
#23
I downsized a few years ago…due to my age and not playing anymore. I’m soon to be 66.
Now I’m playing again and gigging. I build a bass over Covid. I bought some minor stuff. But…just yesterday I purchased another $peaker cabinet….
But overall, I have less stuff.
I told the wife not to worry too much about the stuff when I pass. I got my use/enjoyment, value out of it.
Music has been the best for me all my life…although my daughter is on the top of that list.

edit: added this article.
'Swedish death cleaning’ is the newest decluttering trend
 
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#24
StereoPlayer said:
I downsized a few years ago…due to my age and not playing anymore. I’m soon to be 66.
Now I’m playing again and gigging. I build a bass over Covid. I bought some minor stuff. But…just yesterday I purchased another $peaker cabinet….
But overall, I have less stuff.
I told the wife not to worry too much about the stuff when I pass. I got my use/enjoyment, value out of it.
Music has been the best for me all my life…although my daughter is on the top of that list.

edit: added this article.
'Swedish death cleaning’ is the newest decluttering trend
Click to expand...
Interesting article and the name Death Cleaning certainly catches my attention !
 
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#28
I have a lot of various tools, few saws, nail guns, impacts, have bunch of fishing stuff, a couple of cameras & related stuff, stereo stuff, firearms, art stuff, and of course bass guitar stuff. WAY TOO MUCH! sadly I will use all of it. Too many hobbies I guess. I need to quit something! I talk about downsizing, but what?? Wife is wanting me to build an entertainment center this will result in a few more tools. Maybe one day I can downsize!!!
 
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#30
I'll give you a simple rule I try to live by with musical equipment:
If I haven't used it in a year, or can't remember the last time I used it; it's gotta go. Start by asking friends and family if they want it. Next stop is the local consignment shop. I don't want to deal with selling anything myself. 20% consignment fee is well worth it for my time and PITA
 
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#32
I think of when I was a kid, everything I owned I could fit in my car.

Now... when my folks downsized from their big-ass house to a 2 BR apartment... they tossed a LOT of stuff, but one of the things that's been haunting me has been their motor home. They had a big shed built to house their motor home- it was in great shape, stored indoors, winterized every winter- it was taken care of. My mom asked me if I wanted it. My wife is NOT into such things- her parents had a nice camper that they would go to on weekends and she HATED it. Couple that with the price of gas being $4 at the time, and really not knowing that I could afford insurance and storage on it- I passed on it. But I have been OBSESSING about getting a motor home these days. Like, unhealthy obsessing about it. Like contemplating selling all my guitars, basses, amps, bikes and stereo gear to buy one obsessing... I don't care if my wife doesn't like it, I don't care if she sits at home and watches Hallmark movies- I'm going to do stupid road trips and take my picture by every Muffler Man I can find in the West.
 
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#34
When my mom and dad moved from the old homestead to a senior apartment, my brother had to deal with their 50 years of accumulated stuff. After taking what he or I could use, he brought in an outfit that removed everything else and was paid a bit for the lot. I'm sure we could have gotten more selling it piecemeal ourselves but it would have been a big time and effort suck and we'd have still been left with junk nobody wants.

My wife and I have accumulated stuff over the 30 years we've lived in our present house, but it's not too bad. She's ruthless about donating or trashing stuff we aren't using.
 
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#35
Last edited:
#36
Some great advice! We are making headway and selling stuff on eBay, donating to Goodwill and churches and even recycling some stuff. There are some things that will be decided when we put our house up for sale.
Basses, guitars, piano and tons of music stuff still reviewing. Dang it was fun accumulating the stuff but hard to let go!
 
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#37
SubHuman said:
Basses, guitars, piano and tons of music stuff still reviewing. Dang it was fun accumulating the stuff but hard to let go!
Click to expand...
Yeah, same here. I was a former “collector” well I say former, I picked up an old oil lamp today at a yard sale. Why? Still collecting I guess. After we buy something, it is hard to ‘give’ it away. We all think it’s worth something.
 
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#38
Question for any of you who have retired and moved into a smaller home: did you move closer to family so they could potentially help you if needed? I'll be facing this soon with my parents. They're both healthy now, but my sister and I have been trying to get them to move closer to us so we can assist them in their later years. My sis and I are both in the same city, and my parents are 3 hours away.
 
#39
My wife and I have been downsizing steadily since the kids all got married and bought homes of their own.

My guitars and collectibles have been discussed with the kids so they know where to get rid of them for appropriate $$. If something happened to us tomorrow sure would still be alot of regular stuff but no garages, closets or rooms stuffed to the roof with boxes of junk to go through.
 
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#40
friskinator said:
Question for any of you who have retired and moved into a smaller home: did you move closer to family so they could potentially help you if needed? I'll be facing this soon with my parents. They're both healthy now, but my sister and I have been trying to get them to move closer to us so we can assist them in their later years. My sis and I are both in the same city, and my parents are 3 hours away.
Click to expand...

We kind of did the opposite of that. When my father-in-law's health was really starting to go downhill we convinced them to live close to us so we could help. A few years after he passed away we convinced mom-in-law to move to a really nice senior living apt and give up the 3 bedroom house. She's a great lady but she's a packrat and we wanted to get the ball rolling to reduce some of the stuff.

She has too much stuff in her apt now but it will still be much more manageable than had we left her in that house to continue "storing" things.
 

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