Downsizing?

Someday, Jan and I will move back to Dallas area, and we've been talking about downsizing. It has been so convenient to be able to just set the thermostat to a minimum, lock the door, and be gone for an extended time without worries and maintenance of anything.

Every time I come home to Texas, I'd look at the pile of junk I have and work that needs to be done and I get depressed (well not really) seeing how much of this stuff I really need to get rid of. In the 3-car garage, there are stuff in boxes that had moved with me from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Milford, Massachusetts, and now in Rockwall, Texas. Some of these boxes have never been perused, so why am I keeping all these stuff? There are cans of paint that I know I will not use again. Why is that still in the garage?

Then I have a motorcycle that have not been driven for a few years, and the carbs are now gummed up. The last time Teddy and I looked at it and try to get it started, it won't even fire. My friend here offered to pick it up for me (he's driving his truck from Denver to Texas and said he can swing by to pick it up). But the registration expired a few years ago, no longer insured, and I really to have to have someone tuned it up to get it in running condition again. I can do it, but don't have time nor place to work on it here in Denver. With winter coming up perhaps that is not a good idea.

I also have a TOY car that has not been started in almost a year. I think it will start up just fine if the battery is charged, but the inspection sticker has expired. The last time I tried to get it inspected, the place I took it to had a broken inspection computer, thus it never got inspected. I think I am going to post it in CL during this Christmas break and see if there is a "rice boy" interested in buying it.

Then, there is house maintenance. Some rooms have never been painted since we moved into the house in 1986. The deck leaked and needs to be fixed. It needs a new staircase (been thinking of installing a circular stairway). Teddy and Mel have done a good job keeping the house in order and fix little things before they get worse, and he had fixed the plugged air conditioning drain tube and rotted celing underneath that unit.

And lastly, we want to replace the outdated formica kitchen counter top and replace the carpeting in the living room and family room with laminated wood. So much work to do.

Once all that is done, Jan and I will begin to look for a smaller house nearby and downsize. I can't understand people that are near retirement age and bought a much bigger house. It just doesn't make sense.