Introduction

Do you feel crowded by clutter? Are you a prisoner of your possessions? Has your pursuit of the American Dream become a nightmare, leaving you feeling disenchanted and deep in debt? Do you yearn for a simpler life with a healthier work-life balance - less toil and turmoil and more living? Have your children moved out, leaving you in a house that's far too big and with an emptiness you need to fill? Are you worried about leaving your loved ones with a big mess when you're no longer around to help clean it up? Are you having to downsize your parents, who should have scaled back years ago but kept putting it off until they can no longer do it themselves?

If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, you need to downsize (yourself or someone else) - shed possessions and perhaps move to a smaller home to make life less cluttered, more affordable, and more manageable; free your mind; and focus on what really matters at this stage in your life.

If you're like most people, you're dreading the prospect of downsizing. The process can be very stressful and overwhelming, but like most major life changes, it can open the door to new possibilities that you may never have imagined. In fact, it can be the first step on the path to a totally new life. Even so, it's no less a challenge, and you're probably thinking that you could really use some help right now - guidance from people who have been through the process and have firsthand experience.

Welcome to Downsizing For Dummies. We've been through the downsizing process several times, not only downsizing ourselves recently but also our parents and grandparents. We've observed and felt the emotional conflicts and pain of having to part with treasured possessions, leave the family home, and transition to a new lifestyle. We've done the hard work of researching locations, finding the perfect living situation for ourselves and our loved ones, building a new home (when we decided to downsize), sorting, packing, moving, and all the many tasks those processes entail. In this book, we share the collective wisdom we gained through our experience to make your downsizing journey as smooth and successful as possible.

About This Book

Downsizing For Dummies is a guide to living a richer, fuller life with less stuff, lower bills, and fewer worries. It's a guide for envisioning and transitioning to a life with fewer possessions that's better suited to your current needs and desires. After all, downsizing isn't restricted to retirees who need to shed their possessions and move to a smaller home. Downsizing can benefit anyone. It's all about using your personal, professional, and financial assets most efficiently to live the life of your dreams, whether your dream life revolves around family, travel, leisure, adventure, comfort and security, work, or all of the above, regardless of your age.

In Downsizing For Dummies, we lead you step-by-step through the process, from deciding whether downsizing is right for you (or a loved one) to executing a successful move and transitioning to a new life. Along the way, we guide you through the process of envisioning your future lifestyle; choosing a location; getting other people to help; planning and managing your finances and your estate; digitizing photos and important documents; sorting, selling, giving away, and disposing of your possessions; and buying (or building) and selling a home. With this book and your own creativity, talent, intelligence, and energy, you'll be able to envision a richer, fuller, more manageable future and successfully transition yourself or your loved one to that new life.

We wrote this book so that you can approach it in either of two ways: You can flip to any chapter for a quick, stand-alone mini course on a specific downsizing topic, or you can read it from cover to cover. You may not need all the information and guidance that's packed into this book. For example, if you've already decided to downsize and have a clear vision of your future life, you can skip Chapters 2 and 3 and head directly to Chapter 4 to start crafting your downsizing plan and setting the stage for a successful transition. Likewise, if you've already engaged in estate planning with your attorney and financial advisor, you can skip Chapter 7. We don't want you to have to read any more than necessary - you have enough on your mind.

Foolish Assumptions

Every book, article, screenplay, blog post, and other written document makes assumptions about the audience, the purpose for writing the piece, the scope of the material to be covered, and the appropriate tone. As we began to develop the concept for this book, we made the following foolish assumptions:

• You're downsizing your personal possessions, not a business. Downsizing is a hot topic both in families and for businesses. This book is not about downsizing a business to reduce overhead. It's about downsizing a household to make it more affordable and manageable and free up resources to pursue other opportunities in life.
• You're not necessarily an older retired person. Although most people seeking help with downsizing are older retirees (or their children), people of any age can benefit from downsizing, depending on their circumstances and the life they envision for themselves. For example, we know young children and teenagers who are in dire need of some downsizing in their bedrooms.
• You're committed to improving your life or the life of a loved one. We assume that you're feeling some level of dissatisfaction with your life or the living situation of a loved one. It's just not working, and you need to do something about it. We wrote this book to help people overcome a major challenge in their life: a living situation that's no longer sustainable, perhaps because of financial strain, concerns about a loved one's safety and security, a strong desire for a different and better life, or some other reason.
• You're overwhelmed by the prospect of downsizing and don't know where to start. The thought of downsizing can trigger the fight-flight-or-freeze response. Right now, we assume you feel like the proverbial deer in the headlights - frozen in place, unable to move, because downsizing seems so daunting. We've broken down the process for you and provided the guidance and assurance you need to tackle what can be an overwhelming task with confidence.

Icons Used in This Book

Throughout this book, we've sprinkled icons in the margins to cue you in on different types of information that call out for your attention. Here are the icons you'll see and a brief description of each.

We want you to remember everything you read in this book, but if you can't quite do that, remember the important points we flag with this icon.

Tips provide insider insight from behind the scenes. When you're looking for a better, faster, cheaper way to do something, check out the tips.

"Whoa!" This icon appears when you need to be extra vigilant or seek professional help before moving forward.

Beyond the Book

In addition to the priceless information and guidance you'll find in the pages of this book, you can access the Downsizing For Dummies Cheat Sheet online. Just go to www.dummies.com, and enter "Downsizing For Dummies Cheat Sheet" in the search box.

The Cheat Sheet includes downsizing pros and cons, relocation factors to consider, seven ways to get a loved one on board with downsizing, guidance on how to budget for your post-downsizing lifestyle, and decluttering basics.

Where to Go from Here

You should be walking to the cashier and handing them this book! But . after that, Downsizing For Dummies presents the guidance you need in the sequence that follows the downsizing process itself, starting with envisioning your future life (post downsizing) and wrapping up with executing the transition to that new life. However, you may take a different approach, or you may already be in the early stages of downsizing and finished with some of the required tasks, so feel free to skip around.

We recommend starting with Chapter 1, which covers the downsizing process in a nutshell. Reading this chapter first gives you the mental framework for understanding the rest of the topics and how they fit into a cohesive downsizing strategy.

If you're still on the fence about whether downsizing is right for you or a loved one, head to Chapter 2, where we help you make that determination. You may also want to check out Chapter 3 for inspiration, especially if you're having trouble envisioning and planning for the future. Chapters 4 and 5 can come in handy to ensure that you have a solid downsizing plan in place and many hands on deck to execute it before diving in.

Downsizing also involves getting a handle on your finances and becoming a master of using all your assets efficiently to finance your lifestyle. When you're ready to take control of your finances, check out the chapters in Part 2.

If you find yourself wondering, "What am I going to do with all this stuff?!" turn to Part 3, where we provide guidance on sorting your possessions, digitizing photos and documents, and...