Downsizing and enhancing go hand in hand?

[gtivan]

As I get closer to 60 than 50, I have started downsizing A LOT!

Moved to new home about 8 years ago. Downsized a ton then. But I still am as I go through room by room making it exactly how I want.
Had to "make do" through out the years, buying what would work. Not necessarily what I really wanted. That was very rare. Guns, vehicles, furniture, etc.
Then never sell or give away cause who knew when the next opportunity to acquire would come since there was always competition for the spare cash.

The excess is annoying the buggers outta me now. My available spending money has risen drastically in the same time period.

So my response?
If it hasn't been used in extended time. Gone. Half my guns have been gifted to family. The others? Already "refined" to my specific taste. Meaning my eyes suck and scopes or sights that work for my eyes have been added.

Those 12 totes of Christmas stuff for the last 20 years? Down to 8 with brand new totes.

Those bathroom floors with brand new Leno? Well they are 1/2 inch lower than the hardwood floors I had installed. So in next couple of years they will be gone with probably Travertine tile put down. At the same level as my hardwood floors.


After 25 years of marriage. Where we pinched every penny possible to make a better future for us and ensure our son had what he needed. It feels very strange to splurge on new Christmas totes since the others were old and dirty. probably could a got another 5 years outta them.

Or trading in wife's car last month since it was a decade old. It was the first brand new car for either of us. Never had a serious issue with it. Or a major repair. But a plastic connector broke when I was playing with the engine last year. That did it for me. Broke way too many of those suckers on older vehicles I have owned. So made the trade and she is in another brand new vehicle. Even paid 2/3 of it in cash and financed the rest only cause I didn't feel like draining the savings acct totally we use for those things.

Basically I am learning how to spend money to reduce headaches or to just put a smile on my face.

Anyone else having their spending habits change as they get older and hopefully the cash flow increases?
I am even having steaks most times I go out to eat. No more burgers to save the cash. I want a ribeye, I am getting a ribeye!

Life is good and getting better.

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[bcp]

Google AI Overview

"Less is more" is a principle suggesting simplicity and minimalism create greater impact, clarity, and beauty than complexity, originating in design (Mies van der Rohe) but applying broadly to lifestyle, art, and thinking, advocating for focusing on essential elements to achieve more fulfillment and effectiveness by removing clutter and excess. It's a philosophy of intentionality, reducing distractions to highlight what truly matters, leading to more peace, focus, and quality in life and design.

Bruce

 

[Joe13]

Still pinching penny's but this is our year to start downsizing as well. Even though together we make decent money, just not extravagant money.

For me, unfortunately, a decade or more may go by before I get back around to a hobby I have gone thru but then rotate what I am into with time and as our lives change. Between hobbies and my tools I've downsized most of what I most likely won't use but there are still a few things to go thru. Organizing my stuff would also help a ton.

Still have the VR headset from 2 years ago I was playing daily and never thought we would end up with a puppy that was so Velcro and such a firecracker at the same time. So while I haven't touched the thing in almost 2 years now, I still keep it because it was a lot of fun and I have been a gamer my entire life.

Got some time but I would like to transition into a street level single story house by retirement and it would be nice if we had everything ready to do that when the time comes.

 

[Joe13]

Google AI Overview

"Less is more" is a principle suggesting simplicity and minimalism create greater impact, clarity, and beauty than complexity, originating in design (Mies van der Rohe) but applying broadly to lifestyle, art, and thinking, advocating for focusing on essential elements to achieve more fulfillment and effectiveness by removing clutter and excess. It's a philosophy of intentionality, reducing distractions to highlight what truly matters, leading to more peace, focus, and quality in life and design.

Bruce

Idk lol - I like almost all of my junk.

 

[FourTeeFive]

Been thinking about this a lot lately. But my job keeps me very busy as do lots of home projects. I'm definitely in the mood to start selling stuff and having less... stuff.

 

[Nosferatu]

I find it more satisfying to light everything on fire and walk away.

 

[arakboss]

I am starting the downsizing process slowly, only because of a lack of space and to ease the wife's misery.

I will always pinch pennies but I may start looking for deals in a slightly higher class of products.

I enjoy finding deals and hate spending money on stuff I consider a bad deal. My income has not kept up with inflation.

Edit: The title of this thread describes the new direction I want to take. My favorite past time is shopping for cheap groceries and cheap gun stuff. Unfortunately both take up space I don't have to spare.

Shopping and downsizing don't really mix well. I am going to stick with cheap groceries, I throw out what goes bad.

When it comes to gun stuff, I really need a better rotation plan. I would like to be in a situation where something of equal volume has to go before I bring something new home. Timing won't always work that way so I should have a buffer of storage space to absorb the new item before an old item goes.

At the point I am at now, I really need to stick with downsizing only until I gain that buffer space.

I wish I got the same enjoyment out of selling but so far it hasn't worked out that way. I have a lot of downsizing to do.

 

[boattail]

I have been purging stuff for a while now, lots more to go. We made do with a lot of things that we have now been upgrading. The wife's bathroom is one of them that we are just now finishing up. 23 years of dealing with a crappy set up and now it is all custom built to her liking. Just today I upgraded a water trough that we have been replacing every couple of years and fighting issues on all of them that we have bought. I could have bought four new troughs for the price of the one I bought today but I can guarantee you this one will be the last one we buy. Not only quality but convenience, the old ones were hard to clean, this one will take 10% of the time to clean verses the old style.

We are both getting older and cannot function like we did forty years ago when we got married. Everything we do know is to make life easier. Yard work is a big issue for us and we are taking steps to make it easier as we get older. We are eliminating things that take too much to upkeep.

I still have a bunch more stuff to eliminate and now that I am retired, from two state jobs, (still working part time for a private company) I will have more time to purge items and clean up. The home repairs seem to never end but I now have funds to hire the bulk of the work out and not kill myself doing them by myself.

My part time job is funding my extra projects and the horses we have. I plan things around how much money I make extra and try not to spend our base income on our hobbies. One day I will do a mass clean out of my shop and create a bunch of free space that I hope to not refill. It's hard to do when all that stuff supported my hobbies and side businesses for so long. Just today I needed a pipe fitting that is hard to find, and expensive. I dug into my stash and found one saving myself $15 and a trip to town....that is what makes it hard to let go of stuff. Last year I got rid of a ladder that I had been keeping to restore for twenty five years. The day after I cut it up I needed it.....but I had another one of the same age that I used for the project instead...now I have no spare ladders.....and that is a good thing!

 

[Bobbygun]

You lost me when you mentioned getting rid of guns.

In a few months, I'll be closer to 70 than 60. My mom passed away a couple of years ago, my dad and sister years before her. My wife and I have a ton of "stuff" we have been given or inherited as our family members passed away. We have focused quite a bit of energy in de-cluttering the past year. It is hard to part with stuff that has sentimental value, but we don't want our son to have to worry about what to do with films, slides and pictures of people he never met. Now that we are empty nesters, we have plenty of room to store stuff, we just don't want to store it. We live in an old house on about three acres in the country with a 30' by 30' shop, and have no plans of downsizing, particularly as long as our health is good.

We're not used to spending money frivolously. Over the past 35 years of marriage, about the only time we did that was at various charity events such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation banquets. We have more recently found ourselves dining out at more expensive restaurants occasionally. Something we didn't do in the past. We've always lived beneath our means, and I doubt that will dramatically change. We still do our own yardwork, and it is rare I don't do my own repairs on the house or cars. I can afford to have somebody else do it. But being retired I don't have a lot of reason not to do it myself. I still cut our firewood in the national forest and split it myself with a maul. I could afford to buy it, or at least buy a wood splitter, but I actually enjoy doing the work and it helps keep me in shape for elk season.

We don't take expensive vacations. We enjoy the outdoors and most of our entertainment doesn't put much of a dent in our bank account. We already have most everything we need equipment wise for our outdoor adventures, so the main expenses are food and gas to get to our destination. My wife and I both grew up where we didn't have a lot of money. Compared to where we came from, we feel like we are rich. We don't have very many "wants" and even fewer "needs".

 

[User 1234]

I'm not even 50 and am already intent on downsizing. I just don't want many material possessions anymore.

 

[P7M13]

"Less is more" is a principle suggesting simplicity and minimalism create greater impact, clarity, and beauty than complexity, originating in design (Mies van der Rohe)

"Less is more" is Euro-babble for, "you're going to live in a shoe box and *like* it."
My mom, in her later years, lived in a home in a complex designed by Van Der Rohe. Everything was small, but you'd be amazed at the amount of crap you can stuff into those. Taught me, *never* buy a home with a flat roof.

 

[floyddog12]

As I get closer to 60 than 50, I have started downsizing A LOT!

Moved to new home about 8 years ago. Downsized a ton then. But I still am as I go through room by room making it exactly how I want.
Had to "make do" through out the years, buying what would work. Not necessarily what I really wanted. That was very rare. Guns, vehicles, furniture, etc.
Then never sell or give away cause who knew when the next opportunity to acquire would come since there was always competition for the spare cash.

The excess is annoying the buggers outta me now. My available spending money has risen drastically in the same time period.

So my response?
If it hasn't been used in extended time. Gone. Half my guns have been gifted to family. The others? Already "refined" to my specific taste. Meaning my eyes suck and scopes or sights that work for my eyes have been added.

Those 12 totes of Christmas stuff for the last 20 years? Down to 8 with brand new totes.

Those bathroom floors with brand new Leno? Well they are 1/2 inch lower than the hardwood floors I had installed. So in next couple of years they will be gone with probably Travertine tile put down. At the same level as my hardwood floors.


After 25 years of marriage. Where we pinched every penny possible to make a better future for us and ensure our son had what he needed. It feels very strange to splurge on new Christmas totes since the others were old and dirty. probably could a got another 5 years outta them.

Or trading in wife's car last month since it was a decade old. It was the first brand new car for either of us. Never had a serious issue with it. Or a major repair. But a plastic connector broke when I was playing with the engine last year. That did it for me. Broke way too many of those suckers on older vehicles I have owned. So made the trade and she is in another brand new vehicle. Even paid 2/3 of it in cash and financed the rest only cause I didn't feel like draining the savings acct totally we use for those things.

Basically I am learning how to spend money to reduce headaches or to just put a smile on my face.

Anyone else having their spending habits change as they get older and hopefully the cash flow increases?
I am even having steaks most times I go out to eat. No more burgers to save the cash. I want a ribeye, I am getting a ribeye!

Life is good and getting better.

100%. For years I was in accumulation mode. Now the only things I accumulate are ammo and time spent with family.

 

[Stomper]

As I get closer to 60 than 50, I have started downsizing A LOT!

Moved to new home about 8 years ago. Downsized a ton then. But I still am as I go through room by room making it exactly how I want.
Had to "make do" through out the years, buying what would work. Not necessarily what I really wanted. That was very rare. Guns, vehicles, furniture, etc.
Then never sell or give away cause who knew when the next opportunity to acquire would come since there was always competition for the spare cash.

The excess is annoying the buggers outta me now. My available spending money has risen drastically in the same time period.

So my response?
If it hasn't been used in extended time. Gone. Half my guns have been gifted to family. The others? Already "refined" to my specific taste. Meaning my eyes suck and scopes or sights that work for my eyes have been added.

Those 12 totes of Christmas stuff for the last 20 years? Down to 8 with brand new totes.

Those bathroom floors with brand new Leno? Well they are 1/2 inch lower than the hardwood floors I had installed. So in next couple of years they will be gone with probably Travertine tile put down. At the same level as my hardwood floors.


After 25 years of marriage. Where we pinched every penny possible to make a better future for us and ensure our son had what he needed. It feels very strange to splurge on new Christmas totes since the others were old and dirty. probably could a got another 5 years outta them.

Or trading in wife's car last month since it was a decade old. It was the first brand new car for either of us. Never had a serious issue with it. Or a major repair. But a plastic connector broke when I was playing with the engine last year. That did it for me. Broke way too many of those suckers on older vehicles I have owned. So made the trade and she is in another brand new vehicle. Even paid 2/3 of it in cash and financed the rest only cause I didn't feel like draining the savings acct totally we use for those things.

Basically I am learning how to spend money to reduce headaches or to just put a smile on my face.

Anyone else having their spending habits change as they get older and hopefully the cash flow increases?
I am even having steaks most times I go out to eat. No more burgers to save the cash. I want a ribeye, I am getting a ribeye!

Life is good and getting better.

Yes, I'm at the same phase of life... if I haven't seen, thought of, or used something in a year (or so) it's a strong candidate to get culled.

The house, motorcycles, and cars are all paid off, and we don't carry credit card debt.

Own your possessions, don't let them own you!





Oh yeah, and I grilled up some med-rare ribeyes for dinner last night!

 

[TTSX]

I find it more satisfying to light everything on fire and walk away.

Me too. Problems solved immediately.

 

[Mikej]

Taught me, *never* buy a home with a flat roof.

?.....Is that because you won't have an attic to put stuff in? Dad/Mom (Greatest Generation), Dad designed his own home and did a lot of the work himself, and much of the garage by himself with friends. Both flat/slanted roofs. I had been believing all these years that it was the Depression era they grew up in that caused the piles of stuff?

 

[orygun]

I have downsized a couple of times. However, about 27 years ago I got married and even though I talk to my wife about it, more bubblegum shows up...

I have a couple of guns that I'm moving out the door and have a couple more I'd like to part with. More so stuff that I don't use, has no family value, but has cash value. I'm tired of tripping over stuff.

 

[Bobbygun]

I got married and even though I talk to my wife about it, more bubblegum shows up...

I feel this in my soul! My wife will never drag me to the poor house. She's too thrifty. However, she does love shopping and finding a good bargain. The number of knick knacks, Christmas ornaments, Halloween decorations, etc., has reached epic proportions. I stuck my foot in it one time when I asked, "Why do you buy all that stuff? It's not important." Her response was, "It is to ME." Oopsie.

In recent years I have persuaded her to donate some of the old stuff to make room for the new. She doesn't complain about the number of guns in the safe or my ammo/reloading components hoarding, so we get along just fine.

 

[arakboss]

I feel this in my soul! My wife will never drag me to the poor house. She's too thrifty. However, she does love shopping and finding a good bargain. The number of knick knacks, Christmas ornaments, Halloween decorations, etc., has reached epic proportions. I stuck my foot in it one time when I asked, "Why do you buy all that stuff? It's not important." Her response was, "It is to ME." Oopsie.

In recent years I have persuaded her to donate some of the old stuff to make room for the new. She doesn't complain about the number of guns in the safe or my ammo/reloading components hoarding, so we get along just fine.

I imagine my wife wants to put her foot through a lot of my stuff.

 

[VinnieBoomBah]

If you want to help your kids out "when the time comes" start getting rid of all your Time Life books and Encyclopedias, nobody wants them Same with Readers Digest, old newspapers and any kind of 'Collectors Series' books that you got from an advertisement in the Sunday Supplement of the newspaper

 

[ilikegunspdx]

As I get closer to 60 than 50, I have started downsizing A LOT!

Moved to new home about 8 years ago. Downsized a ton then. But I still am as I go through room by room making it exactly how I want.
Had to "make do" through out the years, buying what would work. Not necessarily what I really wanted. That was very rare. Guns, vehicles, furniture, etc.
Then never sell or give away cause who knew when the next opportunity to acquire would come since there was always competition for the spare cash.

The excess is annoying the buggers outta me now. My available spending money has risen drastically in the same time period.

So my response?
If it hasn't been used in extended time. Gone. Half my guns have been gifted to family. The others? Already "refined" to my specific taste. Meaning my eyes suck and scopes or sights that work for my eyes have been added.

Those 12 totes of Christmas stuff for the last 20 years? Down to 8 with brand new totes.

Those bathroom floors with brand new Leno? Well they are 1/2 inch lower than the hardwood floors I had installed. So in next couple of years they will be gone with probably Travertine tile put down. At the same level as my hardwood floors.


After 25 years of marriage. Where we pinched every penny possible to make a better future for us and ensure our son had what he needed. It feels very strange to splurge on new Christmas totes since the others were old and dirty. probably could a got another 5 years outta them.

Or trading in wife's car last month since it was a decade old. It was the first brand new car for either of us. Never had a serious issue with it. Or a major repair. But a plastic connector broke when I was playing with the engine last year. That did it for me. Broke way too many of those suckers on older vehicles I have owned. So made the trade and she is in another brand new vehicle. Even paid 2/3 of it in cash and financed the rest only cause I didn't feel like draining the savings acct totally we use for those things.

Basically I am learning how to spend money to reduce headaches or to just put a smile on my face.

Anyone else having their spending habits change as they get older and hopefully the cash flow increases?
I am even having steaks most times I go out to eat. No more burgers to save the cash. I want a ribeye, I am getting a ribeye!

Life is good and getting better.

Normal. When we are younger we are "acquisitive". When we reach that age we do "voluntary simplification". Those are the terms others have used for it. Not sure about "why", only that it's normal.