Summary: Downsizing is a word we hear a lot about these days, and I’m surprised at how often it’s talked about in the negative sense versus the positive. If you’re not familiar with the term, typically, we hear “downsizing” being used in one of two contexts: the first is as a business term, used when business are scaling down & people are getting fired or laid off. The second context is the one we're focusing on today. It's often when people are facing retirement or decide it’s time to make some lifestyle changes and "scale back" their personal econoomies. Heck, sometimes the business downsizing leads to personal downsizing!<br> <br> In the end we think you'll agree that downsizing can be a very positive thing. Armed with some information, downsizing tools, and a plan, you too can benefit from the "upside" of "downsizing." Read more...<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Main Topic: Are you missing out on the benefits of downsizing now? Why wait for retirement?<br> <br> <br> How downsizing is perceived<br> <br> <br> Reasons to downsize<br> <br> <br> Some benefits of downsizing<br> <br> <br> Planning to downsize on your own terms<br> <br> <br> Background:<br> But before we address those 4 things, first let's look at the starting point...downsizing from what, exactly? Well, most articles about downsizing are home-size centric as opposed to stuff-centric. They focus on going from a big house, to a smaller one. Most articles end there. And home size is certainly relevant. OK, I’m going to throw some numbers at you:<br> <br> <br> <br> According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the average household size (meaning members in the home) in the United States has dropped steadily from 3.67 members in 1940, to 2.58 in the 2010 census.<br> <br> <br> The average size of new houses increased from about 1,100 sf (100 m2) through the 1940s & 1950s, to 2505 sf in 2012.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> That’s about 290 sf (or 27 sm) per person in 1950<br> <br> <br> That’s 970 sf (or 90 sm) per person in 2010<br> <br> <br> Everyone has to figure out for themselves what size space is right for them. I just wanted to put those numbers out there. But I think it more than just the size of the home that matters. In Episode 4 we mentioned Parkinson’s Law, which states: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. You may recall I discussed some corollaries to Parkinson’s Law, one of which is: "Storage requirements will increase to meet storage capacity." Want that big house because you’ll enjoy the extra space? It’s not likely to last long...it’ll fill up.<br> Here’s why we say it’s not likely to be spacious for very long:<br> <br> <br> <br> Back in Episode 14, we talked about a study conducted by UCLA’s Center on Everyday Lives of Families that focused on how much stuff is in the typical middle-class American home.<br> <br> <br> They sent a team of professional archaeologists, anthropologists and other social scientists to conduct a systematic study of home life in 32 middle-class, dual-income families in Los Angeles.<br> <br> <br> Four highlights of what they found:<br> <br> <br> <br> With Family #27, they found 2,260 visible possessions in the first three rooms recorded (two bedrooms and the living room),” and that didn’t include “untold numbers of items tucked into dresser drawers, boxes and cabinets or items positioned behind other items.”<br> <br> <br> In another home, Family #1 they looked at a display shelf in a girl’s bedroom and found: 165 Beanie Babies, 36 Human/Animal Figurines, 22 Barbie dolls, 20 other types of dolls, 3 Porcelain dolls, 1 Troll, 1 miniature castle<br> <br> <br> The average refrigerator front panel in the homes studied holds 52 objects. The most crowded refrigerator was covered with 166 different objects.
