The Human Drama of Downsizing

No one said this was going to be easy. Trying to decide what – out of 2500 square feet of possessions – we should move to a 1000 square foot house was never advertised as a simple task.

And it is not.

I think it’s not as hard on me, emotionally, because I’m the one driving this process and I’ve been thinking about it longer. Plus, it’s always running in the background of my thoughts, no matter what else I’m doing.

I can tell that, unless I’m talking to M about us moving and what we’re going to take with us, he ISN’T thinking about it. And it shows.

Saturday, I tried to clear out a bookcase so I could put it for sale online. We won’t have room in the new house for the bookcase and there were a couple of items (belonging to M) displayed on there that will need a new home.

OMG.

Just talking to him about his items and possibly giving them to our sons touched off a firestorm. First, he wanted to know how long we would be living in this new place. Then, he wanted to know what I was giving away out of “all my stuff.”

Where to begin?

Once we make this move – that’s it. I’m only doing this once, and I mean for it to be for the rest of my life.

And, of course, he hasn’t paid the least bit of attention to all the bags and boxes of “stuff” I’ve been getting rid of over the past few weeks. And that I’m continuing to get rid of. If nothing else, I’ve pared down my book collection by a good 75%.

All I can say is – Saturday was a VERY emotional day. Very. Emotional.

When we were finally able to sit down and talk calmly about why he was so upset, he said how much he loves the house we’re in now. I know what he means – I love it, too. But the three-page list of things that need to be done to get it ready to sell tells me that it is too much house for the two of us to handle.

The “honey-do” list is a mile long, and now I’m the honey and I don’t know beans about how to do the majority of things that need to be done. So, I’m watching a lot of YouTube videos and doing the best I can.

And calling “the experts” when I can’t figure it out for myself.

I have been able to sell two pieces of furniture that are too big and that won’t be able to go with us. Time to start snapping some more photos and listing more items.

2 Replies to “The Human Drama of Downsizing”

  1. This is too hard for words. Having to work around M seems almost impossible. I remember trying to get my mom to get rid of some stuff. No way.

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