When i was invited to dinner pre COVID by my neighbor, now my friend, I fell in love with her home which is nicely and tastefully decorated. I've seen bigger homes that did not appeal to me. This home is not enormously big but had ample space for entertainment and can accommodate visiting family and friends. Who wouldn't want a home like that?
I reminded myself however that we are already retired. At this stage most couples would usually move to a smaller home while they sell or rent out the former. Many too, migrate to another state or country where the cost of living is relatively cheaper.
Retirement is when we care less about the image we portray to family and friends. Now is the time to set aside our ego that usually want to portray a semblance of success.
It doesn't mean that when retired, we don't live comfortably like we used to, and live the way we want to. In retirement, when the children move out to live their own lives, a big house is expensive to maintain and is not at all practical.
On the flip side, a bigger house would come in handy when children and relatives visit; but how often would that be, once a year, twice at the most? Won't going to visit the children and grandchildren instead be a more appealing arrangement?
Five years ago we move to this present home, I didn't realize until we packed what an enormous amount of stuff we had accumulated through the years. Back then we just built and built storage spaces to accommodate our stuff.
The present home has a bigger land area but the house itself is a little bit smaller. After putting the furniture in place, the whole family felt that this suits us better since there's just the two of us. The big plus is that we have a space for an edible backyard garden. Having that Is a blessing; gardening got us through the adjustment phase.
When my stay-in household help left last year, we managed the daily chores on our own for almost a year, something I couldn't have done in the old house without help. Indeed upkeep is definitely easier and maintenance cheaper. Power and water bills were remarkably reduced.
Presently, I noticed that I still have a lot of stuff which I never touched since the move. My children have their own style and choices of household effects that they do not want to take on our stuff. Besides, my daughters have also been decluttering since the trend of minimalism became popular in recent years.
I often wonder where our belongings will be when we go. Will they be in garage sale? Hopefully they wouldn't end up in a thrash bin. I'm contemplating having a garage sale now but my husband may not think well selling our stuff, it seems like a difficult task for him.
I'm sure that seniors like me have seriously considered this at one time or another. For the rich and famous, this task is made easier by estate sales done by prestigious antique and collectibles dealers like Sotheby's and Christie's because of valuable paintings and furniture. But for an ordinary citizen like me, the items we hold are mostly because of sentimental value.
I'm sure that most of the younger generation won't have that much of a problem when they retire since minimalism has become a trend.
Oftentimes I'm still attracted to buy decorative objects or kitchen effects; it's so tempting to buy online but I always restrain myself. I've known for a long time now that it is in the act of buying that is irresistible and the most exciting part but it all diminishes once the item is acquired.
So my mantra: no more buying unless necessary, and it is often said that there is a difference between a need and a want.
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