Just the thought of downsizing is enough to put some people in a panic. But there are actually many benefits to letting things go, and I’m not the only one who thinks so! Here are three people who would like to share their positive downsizing experiences with you.
Richard M. is a widower who lives in Palo Alto:
I guess I’m like a lot of people. I recognized I was getting older, but since I’m active, I didn’t worry too much about it. When my wife died last year, I started seeing my life differently, and I realized that living in a big house with all of this furniture made no sense. That’s when I called Maria.
Right now, I don’t know exactly where I’m going to move, or what I’m going to do. But I’m looking around; and when I find a new place that appeals to me, I’ll be ready to move. With Maria’s help –3 hours a week on a regular basis — I’m letting go of things a little bit at a time. It’s good to know I won’t be stressed when it’s time to pack. And I can’t believe how liberating it feels to be living with less!
Susan S. is a single woman who lives in San Carlos:
I’ve always been one of those people who can’t throw anything out. Because I’ve lived in the same place for more than 30 years, I’ve never had to. But when my house got to the point that there was no more space to put anything, I knew I had to start letting some stuff go.
I tried doing it by myself, but I felt guilty. I know it sounds silly, but I wanted my things to be loved. Maria understood exactly what I was talking about, and she helped me find organizations where my things would be needed and used. I got a lot of joy out of deciding who would get what. And, with all the room I have in my house now, it’s like I’ve got a new place to live!
Carol and Dan moved from their home in Hillsborough to a Senior Residence community:
We thought our kids would be fighting over our stuff as soon as we told them we were moving. As it turned out, they didn’t want a thing! We knew we couldn’t take it all with us, so we called a consignment store. Another shock! With the money it would have cost us to deliver it to the store, we would have been paying them to sell it!
Thank goodness a friend told us about Maria. She did a space plan for our new place, so we knew exactly what pieces we could take with us. She helped us sort through the rest of the our stuff, and took care of donating the rest. Maria took us through a very challenging situation –- and made it much less stressful. We couldn’t have done it without her.
