How To Prevent These 3 Biggest Mistakes If You’re Downsizing in Your 60s

By Rita Wilkins
The Downsizing Designer

There are 3 main reasons baby boomers decide to downsize to a smaller, more manageable, and affordable home.

1.    Reduce expenses

Many baby boomers who are either retired or approaching retirement and who might be on a fixed income are concerned that they will no longer be able to afford the expense and upkeep of their large homes.

2.    Mobility and health concerns

While they might still be experiencing good health, they are anticipating the possibility of declining health and mobility as they age, preventing them from maneuvering stairs and caring for a larger home.

3.    Lifestyle

At this stage of life, they want to enjoy life as much as they can for as long as they can. A smaller home with less stuff gives them more time, money, and freedom to live their best life right now.

Then, once they make the decision to downsize, they are suddenly faced with a plethora of additional decisions that need to be made:

When to downsize?Where will they live?What kind of lifestyle do they want?What to do with all their stuff?

No wonder they get overwhelmed and anxious when they even think about downsizing!

No wonder many baby boomers make these big and costly mistakes.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!The 3 biggest mistakes baby boomers make when downsizing and how to prevent them:#1 BIGGEST MISTAKE: Playing the Waiting GameWaiting to get the best possible price for your house.Waiting to do research and due diligence for affordable options where you might want to live and the type of lifestyle you want.Waiting until something happens. A serious fall, heart, attack, or accident could change everything, giving you fewer choices.How to prevent this big mistake:Don’t wait until it’s too late

With the housing market being so unpredictable and with fewer available affordable housing options, not having a vision and plan for the kind of lifestyle you want sets you up for failure.

Don’t wait and procrastinate until downsizing becomes a necessity.

Start planning your decluttering and downsizing journey today. 

#2 BIGGEST MISTAKE: Rushing the ProcessWaiting until the last minute definitely has its consequences.

Rushing the process forces you to make important life-changing decisions under pressure about where you want to live and the kind of lifestyle you want.

Rushing to declutter and prepare your house for sale causes undue pressure. Mistakes are more likely to be made under these conditions. As an example, throwing too much away. Had you been more mindful and had you taken your time with the process, you might have given more things to your loved ones who wanted or needed them.

Panic sets in, often resulting in no decision at all, thereby, packing it all up and taking it with you to your new smaller home.

How to prevent this big mistake:Decluttering and downsizing takes time. Start before you have to. Allow at least six months.

Take time to research where you want to live and the kind of lifestyle you want to live.

Take time to declutter, dispose of, and donate things you don’t want, don’t need, or won’t use.

Make sure to involve your kids and loved ones in the process. This will prevent you from giving things away they might want, need, and use.

Declutter one room at a time. Enjoy the process. It’s cathartic. 

#3 BIGGEST MISTAKE: Not Downsizing Enough/ Double Downsizing This is a very costly mistake! Not just in dollars but also in time and energy.

If you have been living in a large home, it might be difficult for you to imagine yourself living in a much smaller home, so you might decide to downsize a little

… but not enough!

Then, in a few years, you might find yourself having to downsize again!

Not downsizing enough also happens when you are so attached to your stuff that you can’t let it go so you bring it all with you… all of it! When all of your stuff gets to your new much smaller home, your home is overwhelmed with too much stuff and you have to declutter again!

How to prevent this big mistake:

If you have done your research and created a vision for a simpler lifestyle you really want.

If you have selected a home that suits your lifestyle now based on your wants, needs, and wish list, you can avoid this costly double downsizing mistake.

Baby boomers, if you are thinking about downsizing, please watch this video, and read this blog. It will be time well spent.

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