I recently spent time with several different friends who have “downsized.”
One couple is selling their four-bedroom, three-bath house with the aim of cashing out the equity, buying a smaller home in a less expensive location and using the extra cash to follow some lifelong dreams.
Twenty-five years of accumulation now fills the two-car garage from floor to ceiling, except for a narrow aisle to allow access for the building inspector. The stack includes furniture inherited from grandparents, portraits of ancestors and many beloved books. They plan to consign the dining room furniture and donate the sofa, the piano and half the book cases, but they still worry about how they will fit the things they really love or need into a mere two-bedroom, one-bath house with a one-car garage.
A second friend has moved into a two-bedroom, one-bath house with a one-car garage after a divorce. His home is filled with art and artifacts related to his life and interests, and he does have bonus space: A basement stairway leads to a fully equipped wood shop and foundry where he can hone his woodworking and brass-casting skills. Every corner, every bookcase, every picture (and there are a lot of them) holds a story relating to his life. It is the perfect home – for one person. Yes, he has downsized, wrapping his life history around him.
My third set of friends have left a home that accommodated a family of nine, including two biological and five adopted children, all now grown and gone. They moved to a three-bedroom, two-bath house. The new house is smaller, but it feels big, as it is perched on a bluff overlooking the ocean with 270-degree views from the living room, study and kitchen. Every wall, every nook, every cupboard is filled with items salvaged, discovered, given or retrieved – a thousand stories. It is the home of two people, but it feels as though it also comprises a small art gallery and museum.
I also visited a younger friend whose business is taking properties that scream “Scrape me!” and turning them into attractive Airbnb one-month rentals for young professionals. His prospective renters need an attractive and functional bathroom; a kitchen with a stove, oven, sink and microwave, and the minimal necessary pots, pans and utensils; a bedroom with good reading lights and a comfortable bed for two people; and a sitting/eating space near the kitchen with a large-screen TV and internet access.
I made these visits with my sister, who owns a small teardrop-shaped trailer that includes a king-sized bed, lots of storage nooks under the mattress and above the bed space, a small TV screen and DVD player, heat and AC, and a kitchen with a two-burner stove, a microwave and a battery-powered chest refrigerator. We traveled comfortably for 11 days. I had more than enough clothing to keep comfortable from the cold, foggy shores of Washington state to the searing summer heat of California’s Central Valley, packed in a duffel, a backpack and a tote bag.
A one-bedroom Airbnb or a trailer gives you a simplified life, but a life with no sentiment, no memories, no past.
So how much of your past do you want to bring along when you “downsize”? How many memories do you think you will need?
Allyson Johnson is a longtime Los Altos resident. For more information, visit allysonjohnson.com.
