{"id":269,"date":"2017-03-01T00:00:53","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T00:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthemovenow.com\/blog\/?p=269"},"modified":"2017-03-01T00:00:53","modified_gmt":"2017-03-01T00:00:53","slug":"the-hardest-part-of-downsizing-may-be-letting-go-of-your-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthemovenow.com\/blog\/the-hardest-part-of-downsizing-may-be-letting-go-of-your-expectations\/","title":{"rendered":"The hardest part of downsizing may be letting go of your expectations"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a\u00a0lifetime<\/a>\u00a0of choosing, purchasing and living with things you love, it’s natural to want to pass them down to the next generation.<\/p>\n

There’s just one problem: The next generation really doesn’t want them.<\/p>\n

And it’s not just\u00a0your\u00a0<\/em>kids who don’t want your stuff. It’s\u00a0everybody’s<\/em>\u00a0kids. There is very little demand for the things baby boomers and their parents have spent lifetimes amassing.<\/p>\n

While the post-war generation looked forward to filling their homes with “grown-up” furniture, china and silver, today\u2019s millennials like living lightly. They’re happy to have fewer things and live free-of-attachment.<\/p>\n

What’s a\u00a0downsizing\u00a0<\/a>baby boomer to do?<\/p>\n

Follow these tips to successfully downsizing your home — and your expectations.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Check online to get an idea of current prices for your things<\/strong>.
\nIf you’re looking for values for\u00a0furniture, china and\/or crystal, you’re likely to find they’re worth a fraction\u00a0of what you paid for them.\u00a0On the other hand, Midcentury Modern furniture is hot right now. \u00a0So if you have an original Charles Eames chair or a Knoll table, you are in luck.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ask, don’t argue.<\/strong>
\nWhile you certainly want to ask your adult children which of your things they’d like, don’t be surprised when they say “none of it”. Suggesting that your things need to be kept in the family won’t change their minds. Don’t frustrate yourself trying. And remember:\u00a0saying no to your\u00a0things<\/em>\u00a0doesn’t mean they’re\u00a0rejecting\u00a0you<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0See if you can consign.<\/strong>
\nThe Bay Area has a variety of consignment shops, some of which specialize in particular kinds of goods. Know that you are usually responsible for taking your things to the store, and for picking them up if they\u00a0don’t sell. You’ll receive 40-50% of the sales price for things that move. Decide if it’s worth your time and\u00a0energy before you start.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Feel good about moving on.<\/strong>
\nDownsizing isn’t only about letting go. It’s also your opportunity to take a fresh look at your life and decide what’s important to you now. The truth is, at this point you’re probably not interested in\u00a0caring for furniture, china and silver any more than your kids are. So use this opportunity consider what would make you happy\u00a0now<\/em>.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Commiserate.<\/strong>
\nIt may help to know that many other downsizing adults are sharing your experience. Here are a couple of articles from the very helpful website, nextavenue.org, that will assure you lots of other people are in the same boat.\u00a0\u00a0Sorry, Nobody Wants Your Parents’ Stuff<\/a>\u00a0 and\u00a0What You Said about ‘Nobody Wants Your Parents’ Stuff.’<\/a><\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Get help.<\/strong>
\nDownsizing can be emotionally overwhelming and physically exhausting, even when you’re ready to do it. (Or think you are.) If you’d like some help getting the process started, or taking it all the way through, I’m happy to assist. As a Certified Senior Move Manager, I can make the downsizing process much easier than you might have expected. Let’s talk about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a\u00a0lifetime\u00a0of choosing, purchasing and living with things you love, it’s natural to want to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthemovenow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthemovenow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthemovenow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthemovenow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthemovenow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onthemovenow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthemovenow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthemovenow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthemovenow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthemovenow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}