Movin' on Down... Part 1

I'm excited to share that Jeff and I are officially the proud new owners of a condo... that won't exist until 2020! Yep, that's right - we are downsizing! The driving force is financial freedom - I know mortgages are kinda de rigeur, but we have a unique opportunity to sidestep the last 12 years of payments, because we bought our house when the market was in the tank (and the Guelph market did well as the TO market boomed), and are willing to live in a smaller space - I just felt this pressing need to take advantage of the value in our home. And like 60 year old empty nesters, we have realized we don't need this much space, we're tired of the maintenance (yard, cleaning, repairs), have always been interested in downtown living - so here we go! The 2 year window until our home actually exists should hopefully be enough time to get rid of several couches, cars, treadmills, coffee tables and the remarkable number of 'things' we have filled our house with since we moved here in 2010 (...maybe). Though I'm relieved about my heavy duty Marie Kondo effort of December 2017 (see I Got Kondo'd - Part 1 and Part 2), which I had in the back of my mind was the first step toward downsizing, it didn't take care of the pieces of furniture which fill this full house plus basement. To Kijiji!! (p.s. anyone want a couch or treadmill? let me know!)

Question Period

Questions? I thought you might have some - I've heard every question and concern under the sun, but to the credit of my coworkers, friends, and family once their questions had been answered they were happily on board because they could see that we were stoked about this (as usual, against social norm) life choice.

1. What about your dog?
Our dog's top 2 priorities are napping as close to us as possible at all times and going for walks. Bailey was a 10 year old at heart by the age of 2 - just an old soul. His use of our backyard consists of laying on the deck staring at the grass and occasionally using it as a toilet (though he mostly goes on walks, because it's important that I touch poop every day of my life). When we have to get up with him in the middle of the night there are a lot of stairs to head down anyway. And since he will never age or pass away, we're good.. right? ;)
Conclusion: more small walks, nothing else changes for Bailey

2. Don't you love your backyard?
Yes, the big willow trees on our back neighbour's rural property and shaded deck are wonderful. We sit out there about 1x a week from April - October (though not in this crazy kinda heat) and love it. But I just don't love it ENOUGH to keep paying through the nose for it for another decade plus. I would literally pay someone if I never had to garden again in my life. ;) The hot tub was a fun/novel addition but it is a lot of money and maintenance and the chlorine plus my skin is not a great combo, especially in the winter.
Conclusion: Our 250 sqft shaded 5th floor balcony will have nice views of treetops (and our building allows hot tubs on balcony - doubt it, but good to know!)

3. But I thought you loved your house!
I never would have spent every last cent to my name if I didn't love this house to pieces. I think an appropriate word all my fb/friends could agree to use is "obsessed" during the buying, building and decorating process. In 2009 my priority was buying as much space as I possibly could and I was thrilled to end up here. We felt so lucky, so in love with this home, and spent years lovingly tending to it. But the bloom is off the rose. We can't/don't want to sacrifice $ for Leafs tickets to pay for cleaners so we spend 1 hour a week dusting, vacuuming and scrubbing 2000 square feet. Jeff mows the lawn in the stifling heat of summer. We seal the driveway. We refinish the deck. Jeff waters and weeds the gardens and lawn. We work, and work, and work, and have stopped finding joy in it. There's always another outdoor improvement project to blow a couple grand on per summer and yet another room to upgrade in our home. The windows and shingles are more than halfway through their life so I see that $30,000+ cost staring me down. And I just... want out.
Conclusion: We aren't "in love" with our home anymore, though still love it very much - but we are starting to see some red flags! ;)

4. You're going down to one car? But you love Sparky!
That one's easy - I love our fully electric Tesla even more! And I will not miss the multiple car payments or insurance payments, that's for sure!
Conclusion: I get 2 more years with Sparky, and then share Tesla with Jeff. I can do it.

5. Won't you and Jeff feel cramped, cutting your space down to 1050 sqft?
It's very difficult to use two living rooms, a dining room and three bedroom simultaneously, if you can imagine (haha, I was so irritated when I drafted this blog post in early August, I'm actually just transcribing it now - but I'm leaving that in because it made me laugh). Two adults need maximum two living areas and we will have three (it's a 2 bedroom plus den with a living/dining area). I don't think we need 2000 square feet to fit comfortably. Contrary to what Jeff will tell you, I do really like him! ;)
Conclusion: We will not feel cramped and if we do there are multiple indoor/outdoor common areas as well as nearby parks and coffee shops!

6. What about Jeff's tools and woodworking?
Jeff builds about one piece of furniture every 2 years. We'll put his albeit impressive tool collection in our external storage space ($150/month compared to a decade of four digit mortgage payments per month felt like a good tradeoff) and he found a space in downtown Guelph you can pay a monthly fee that you can stop and start anytime to use their tools, workbenches and space as often as you like. However, he has decided he doesn't like the idea of building things for selling (too bad, he could have a great side hustle, he's so talented!!) and already having built our entertainment unit, kitchen table, headboard and coffee table, and in the process of building a new writing desk for me (all can fit into the new space, yay) he's basically out of stuff to build. Unless we wanted to sit on some sort of wooden couch..
Conclusion: There is a workable solution for my woodworkin' guy.

Stay tuned for the next post, containing a list of the things we're pretty darn jazzed about... :)