My husband and I are doing the same thing this spring. In the early days of our marriage we moved about every 5 years but now we have been in this house for 16 so have accumulated a lot more stuff and I am actually kind of looking forward to paring it down. Just yesterday I started on my sewing room and got rid of 90% of the fabric I had been saving "just in case".

I regularly pare down my clothes but probably still have too much for a smaller house (and closet) so will have to work on that too. I love the advice you have gotten so far, especially Gaylene's advice about what direction you want to go in - so smart! And per Bijou's advice about storage, I totally agree. If we have to use a storage unit it will have to be very short term until we know what kind of space we will be moving into.

Oh, this is exciting for you! I agree that wine is not only recommended but required.

You’ve gotten good advice already, but it strikes me that this timing is really good. You can take note of what is really working for you this winter (outerwear-wise especially) and let go of whatever is not. I would not be in a rush to do a big edit until you get some good wearing time in for your winter wear, since that seems to be the most space-consuming category. That might mean resisting the urge to jump into a big purge, but I think it’s the wisest course, since I seem to remember you saying you can sometimes be overly brutal while editing.

Good luck! I’m excited for you. When we get home from this vacation, I expect to take stock and do some serious editing of my own (not just clothes but home goods, holiday stuff, etc).

I'm going through this right now. We sold our house in three weeks and bought a much smaller home 700 miles away on the coast. Two totally different climates. The moving van comes in one week. I first went through all of my clothes and bagged up everything I hadn't worn lately. I tried not to let emotion get in the way and donated 15 bags of clothing including old favorites and expensive, well made garments. Someone will be happy to get these. I will still have too many clothes because instead of my lovely medium size walk in closet, I will have a reach in wall closet. I'm kind of looking forward to setting up my new compact closet full of favorites.

I had the same thought as Suz - given the climate you live in, I'd prioritize leaving space for your coats as much as possible! They are a key part of your style and a necessity given climate. Good point she had too that you might have a good storage space you could keep them in, and sort of some sort of rotation system ...

I haven't gone through a downsize but my thought would be to pick the category of item you care about least and start there ... remembering that everything you get rid of from that category frees up space for items in your higher priority categories! It might motivate you to get chucking. And - yes there are some irreplaceable items - but they are fewer than we often fear, I think. If you do get rid of something and realize it was truly a necessity, it's an opportunity to replace the gap with something newer, fresher, and even more perfect.

Good luck and looking forward to the updates!

YES, wine is allowed! You are going to need it!

Hubby and I made this transition three years ago. We took 6 weeks to get our 4 bed/3 bath house up on the market, and those 6 weeks were a whirlwind of massive decluttering. Sold our house within a week of listing, made an offer on another place in similar time frame. We thought we'd downsize -- but we lucked out and found a condo in the city that is actually larger sq footage (though it's a 2bed/2-1/2bath). However the condo needed extensive renovations. We wound up getting rid of nearly ALL our furniture pre-reno, packing up everything, and living in a construction zone for 9 months....

During those 9 months, I lived out of two carry on suitcases! One filled with casual clothes, one filled with work clothes. That exercise was very eye opening as I learned how little I really needed. However, I was never so relieved to unpack my clothes when the renovation was finally over!! Though I can live with a smaller wardrobe, I don't want to.

As part of the renovation, we designed lots of clever storage, including a walk-in closet for me. First time in my life I've had this much space for clothes! It is all tricked out with lighting and custom shoe cubbies etc. Now, it's not as big as what you may be imagining (call it city sized) but I can see all my clothing and no longer have to rotate. We also designed a clever double-deep hall closet which has two rods, one in front and one in back, for the coats. Out of season coats go in the back.

I will say that 9 months of renovating meant lots of eating out, takeout, stress, traveling to get out of the worst of it, and tons of WINE to get through it all! As a result I gained a lot of weight! So when it was time to unpack, lots just didn't fit anymore so got donated..............

You can use this as an opportunity to get rid of everything that is just the slightest bit off (not quite the perfect fit, unflattering color, too worn out, not your current style etc pp). Don't keep things you normally would hold on to "just in case". Or even things that are mostly good. After that, have a look how much you have left and if further reductions are necessary. If yes then I would proceed and make groups to pare down further. If you often wear black jeans, then keep only the best three pairs of black jeans, for example. If you seldomly wear your white knit sweaters, keep only the best looking one. And so on.

And yes, wine is allowed. Good luck!

More thoughts. After the atrocious job of having to clean out and sell my parents' house with many years accumulation. I did not ever want to do to our children. Tell your children to come take anything of theirs and what they want of family stuff now. Do not save stuff for them or toys for grandkids unless it is Legos. They will not want it or want their children to play or use old stuff that. Iightnight be unsafe. Take pictures of stuff for memories. If it will stay packed away, don't move it. Start now going through books, especially cookbooks. Copy out that one recipe you use in a book and get rid of the book. We lived for months with open boxes we packed as we were able. It also helped to start taking donations to the Good Will or wherever. Early on I got rid of a couple of guest room beds and my diningroom set and never missed them. We used an empty bedroom to stack boxes that were to be moved.

What if you had dessert wine?

YAY, everything fits! GOOD JOB Lisa p.

I have a large outerwear collection - and am keeping it that way. I LOVE my coats and jackets, and wear them a lot. Soooo, I get it. You might though, want to edit TNF toppers in the house......

And the jewellery collection needs an edit! I've got my eye on you...

Wow - I did not expect such a plethora of great advice and commiseration ! Fortunately, we did a massive general stuff edit this summer , so it's really my clothes and footwear that I'm worried about. I culled my massive cookbook collection and my cheap costume jewellery collection earlier this year and gave it all away. Fun to see some really appreciative women cart it all off. It's interesting , and heartening, to hear that newer condos have better closet situations, and that's something I didn't consider. I know that a locked storage unit is usually part of the deal, and that will help too. I've never utilized under-the-bed storage before - as our bedroom is not carpeted, and thus prone to a lot of dust and cat-hair tumbleweeds in corners and under furniture . This will certainly be something to consider - as most condos are carpeted......

Thank you all for the good ideas and support. Again, I'm pretty pumped about this, even though it means saying goodbye to gardens and a yard I tended lovingly for half my life. However, time marches on ....and it will be great to live a simpler life filled with less stuff. Gaylene, I'm taking your words to heart - and agree that setting the tone is important. Our whole goal here is to simplify and enjoy living with less, and only the best .

And Angie, you're right . My North Face collection may be up on the chopping block

Agreeing you may not need to downsize as much as you think, as there may be efficient built ins. How about checking out some of the places youre considering ahead of time to get an idea? Maybe there are floorplans online?

Just a couple more thoughts:

(1) Yes, you can cram quite a bit into condo closets, storage lockers, under beds, etc., but will you be happy living in those spaces? I’ve found, after living for years in a house, I needed breathing space in my condo to make the smaller spaces feel comfortable.

(2) Getting rid of stuff is hard work. Clothes are easy, but hauling away unwanted electronics, older furniture, sports gear, tools, and kitchen appliances can be difficult because many places have strict rules about what is, and what isn’t, accepted. I’ve found the recycling stores attached to Habitat for Humanity to be one of the best places, while second-hand stores are often quite picky. If you’ve already done a massive clean out, you’ll know how hard it is to find places to take discards.

(3) The whole process of getting rid of stuff gets easier as you go along because you do get fatigued and feel overwhelmed. If you can’t decide about your coats right now, then move on to something else and revisit your coats later.

(4) And, last, but not least, be careful about wine and friends as “helpers”. That kind of culling is great when you have the time and energy to laugh, reminisce, and ponder item by item. If you want to seriously downsize, you need to be able to roll up your sleeves and make decisions. Yes, you might have to replace a toaster you threw away in a fit of craziness, but a $25 replacement is not the end of the world. Having other people say “But I always loved that ...” or “you might be sorry...” doesn’t help, nor does feeling resentful seeing something which holds memories being cast aside as “junk” by someone else. YOU need to decide what is important to keep without having to justify your decisions to others.

Good luck, stay strong, and have that glass of wine once your vision clears and you climb out of the pit!

How exciting Lisa P. I have nothing to add to the wonderful advice you have received but just wanted to say cheers to you in your new adventure.

Congrats on the new phase of your life! We downsized a year ago to a condo roughly half the size of our old house. While I miss my front porch, the new, easy lifestyle makes up for it--less house chores means more free time to do the things you want to do!

Another tip for you. Our RE agent had an excellent eye for staging. He recommended we clear out our closets to no more than 2/3rds full. So I did an initial editing, then on top of that boxed up stuff to get the wardrobe down to 2/3rds. Mind you, I was already rotating seasonal clothes so this wasn't as simple as packing the seasonal stuff away.

I didn't get rid of these items... but it made me prioritize. At this point, we had no clue where we'd land next and how much closet space we'd have. It'd be a crime if you drastically cut down your wardrobe, then found an apartment with tons of space for clothes. So you really should wait on that until you know where you're landing.

In the meantime, pack up 1/3rd of your clothes. Stack the boxes somewhere while you are selling. We stacked them inside of one of the kids' closets (as they were moving out at the same time), but a corner of the basement or garage will do well too. It just looks to buyers like you are already in process of packing to move.

Then we moved, and I unpacked and did another edit. Many items that were packed in the first round did not make the cut -- a cooling off period helped. Then 9 months later when we were ready to kick off our renovation, I packed the two suitcases worth of clothes for duration of the reno, did another edit, and boxed the rest. Once reno was over, unpacked again-- and found myself doing another edit as some items didn't fit any more, and some items just looked old and ratty compared to my brand new closet....

Elizabeth - yes, our daughter (22) will be with us - she's still in University. I'd love a 3 br condo, but they aren't easy to find and some are out of our price range for monthly costs. It'll likely be a 2 br, and that's just fine. Jill won't be with us forever, and we can expand into her room later . I have no desire to own a house again - unless I win the lottery

Shiny - your experience is invaluable, thank you SO much for sharing the details. And yes to not overreacting and giving away everything

teresa - having less house and yard work will be so great. I am absolutely OVER the upkeep of this house, and the backbreaking work involved in a big yard. Happy to spend my weekends getting more athletic exercise and doing less housework!

Gaylene - you're the best:) And don't worry, no one else will be involved in the edit - just me. And I'm not terribly sentimental....but I do worry about this move as it represents the end of a big stage of life ....the family home etc. So good idea - no wine until after it's done

Christina - no Container Store up here with the igloos, you're right, but we do have Bed , Bath & Beyond (which is horrible, but has all of the stuff).

This is a big step ,I really feel for you,try not to look backwards but forwards to your new and exciting stage of life.ln the end it’s only stuff,all the important things you carry with you in your memories and your heart.I wish you the very best of luck with it all.

You're welcome Lisa!

I am now recalling my RE agent also advised me to pack away any valuables prior to listing our house. He told me how he had a client who's expensive designer handbag was stolen out of the closet during an open house. Now, I don't own any designer-level clothing so that wasn't much of an issue, but if you do, this may be what you want to pack up and put away now.

Just know that buyers will definitely open your closet doors and poke around. They'll also open your kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors too. These spaces should be thoroughly decluttered/edited way way down to look more spacious. You can also make this fun and edit down your spaces and rearrange it so it looks like the (unrealistic, fantasy) "after" in an Instagram-worthy space.

For boxes we used those wardrobe boxes from the U-haul store, the ones that are tall and have a rod in the top for hanging stuff. Toss shoes and bags in the bottom, as well as puffers and bulky coats that won't wrinkle, before loading up with hanging clothes. For folded clothing (and pretty much everything else), we used office moving crates, which are sturdy and can stack on top of a pallet with wheels. That made it easy for us to wheel our stuff around during the reno. Also, no taping /assembly required with those. We lucked out as hubby could borrow these crates from work, but I do believe you can rent them.