Downsizing a little and panicking there won’t be enough space

[newyorkparis]

Kids have flown the nest and DH and I feel our large 4 bed semi is just too big. There are some things about the layout of our house we don’t like, it’s getting on a bit now and the ‘quirks’ that we lived with whilst the children grew up are getting tiresome. One thing we don’t lack though is space.

We’d like a detached house, something a bit newer than we have where everything is neat and feels new. We’ve found a potential 3 bed detached which means we will pay only 10k less for it compared to us so by the time we factor in moving we won’t be any better off.

Pro’s are location, house only 20 years old, almost brand new kitchen and bathrooms, pretty garden, beautiful finish - it’s been really well looked after. A garage - we don’t have one at the moment but slight downside it’s an integral one which does obviously impact of the downstairs floor space. We’d rather not convert it as that’s what we did in our current house and we missed the storage.

Im wobbling over little things - mostly how to move down into something smaller. Cons for me are having to house a tumble dryer and chest freezer in the garage (only entrance is up and over door). No airing cupboard as it houses the hot water tank but we’d switch to a combi boiler so that could be remedied. It’s little things like not being able to leave an ironing board up in spare room (both spare rooms will be full of our drawers for clothes, also WFH desk and spare wardrobe for linen).

DH says we have way too much stuff anyway and we need to clear out. He’s probably correct but I’m worried that I’ll feel annoyed we’ve moved from a house where I needn’t think about where to store things and I’ll feel resentful that we moved.

So, where do you keep your ironing boards? Under the stairs? That is the only downstairs cupboard we will have.
Does anyone have an integral garage with the only entrance through the up and over door? How do you find that?

Tales of successful downsizing please! Especially if you still needed to occasionally host your kids and partners for the odd birthday or Christmas

I’ve just got rid of my ironing board and bought a fold up one that is so small and takes up no space at all. I’d put a door through into the garage if you can and possibly get building regs to convert some of it to make a utility room and add in worktops and cupboards to make extra storage.
and ruthlessly declutter, especially old paperwork.

We downsized in 2024 and had a vast amount of stuff (despite having previously downsized from a large six bed to a sprawling five, then down to a four 🙄😉).

Ahead of our move we ruthlessly decluttered, getting rid of many box loads of mementoes etc some of which hadn't been opened in several moves! We are maximalists though, so were never going to pare things back to a bare minimum.

Most of our huge furniture (antique stuff we'd collected since the early 2000s) went last time we moved, but we still had a bit too much for our new compact three bed Georgian cottage. Or so we thought!

We kept the majority, convinced it would fit - and it did. We even had to buy more, although that was mainly for storage reasons. Like the house you're considering @newyorkparis, our place - whilst much older - had very little decent cupboard space. It was last renovated in the mid 60s (previous owner was there from 1970 till she died in 2023 and had done virtually nothing since) - and the cupboards that were here were all in terrible locations, where original features once were, so we knew they'd be coming out. We prefer freestanding period-appropriate furniture to built-in, but with the new(ish) build you're looking at that's obviously less of a concern!

In c1965 one of the reception rooms here was converted to an integral garage with the only access an electric door at the front. We have converted the back two thirds into a multi purpose room - part boot room, part office, part storage for overflow stuff within a 3m wall of built-in cupboards - retaining the front section for DH's tools etc.

We now have an opening into the house from the 'garage' which will eventually have a door. There's no window, but it's not a space we'll use much in day time. We would never have parked in the garage and do have a drive at the rear of the cottage, plus it could easily be converted back should a future owner wish to do so.

Our cottage was a similar price to the house we sold but because it's in a more expensive area, it's smaller. For us, it was about moving closer to family and also 'coming home' as we'd been living in various parts of the UK for 15+ years and although we'd renovated some gorgeous houses, we were no longer happy living away. We've been mortgage free for ages so that wasn't an issue, but equally we didn't want to borrow to buy bigger.

Almost two years on we don't regret our decision to downsize. I initially thought the cottage would be too small, but I've grown used to it (mainly due to reconfiguring the space drastically including relocating the kitchen, which has somehow both opened it up more and added character!) We might move again in a couple of years, but that's because I miss our much larger garden.

We changed our up and over door to one that converted to a normal door opener my washer etc is in there wouldnt change it back to going in the house love it.... we never put car in there so itsa a bonus like an extra room when we downsized the only regret I have is not enough space downstairs we have a very small dining room and so wished I had a bigger one to host more family meals

Meant to add, our downsize cottage already had a massive utility. We took the decision to shrink this down to a much smaller 'lootility' with space for washing machine (and tumble dryer although we don't have one), plus the boiler which was previously in the kitchen.

We don't currently have an ironing board, but if we get one again, it will live in the converted garage where there's also space to do the ironing should the need arise 😉

Eventually our electric garage door will be replaced by a normal one same as @snoopinginstlye has done.

You need three bedrooms to house your clothes? Sounds like you frankly just have way more stuff than anyone needs. People manage to live in one bed flats… just get rid of some crap and store your ironing board wherever it fits.

Re ironing board, haven’t ironed in over 3 years. It’s currently stored in our garage as that is the only place it will fit.

I am not sure this house is for you if you are already wobbling about the space.

A whole wardrobe full of linen?? I think you have too much stuff if you want to keep all that.

I live in a small but beautifully formed two bedroomed house. I have a garage and a loft. No access to the garage except via the up and over door. No problem, as it doesn't have anything in it. Neither does the loft. Ironing board and iron are in the under stairs cupboard. I don't iron that much that it's any kind of inconvenience to get it out to use it 🤷🏻‍♀️

I have a combi boiler so the old airing cupboard is a linen cupboard, but it's regularly cleared out, I don't have huge amounts of bed linen and towels. To downsize, you need less stuff 🤷🏻‍♀️

Have you thought about getting an interior architect to help you rethink your current house? The costs might be very manageable vs the cost of moving.

We downsized when the kids were left and settled. 3 bed cottage,to 2 bed bungalow. Mostly for location, edge of a village,10 minutes drive from the sea.. ironing board lives in the airing cupboard as does the iron. No combi boiler, solar panels and emersion heater. Plenty of room for linen..we also wanted to be detached and big garden. Cheaper area, from Surrey to east Sussex, paid cash

I think it's hard sometimes to downsize and declutter. It involves a lot of emotional decisions re keeping and discarding, which for some is a task that they enjoy when they see the result, and for others it is difficult - will I keep or let it go? Plus it's hard work!

I live alone in a three bed house with garage (other family store stuff there), and a tiny utility/shower room off the hallway. (main bathroom upstairs). I am not a hoarder and my house is fairly organised. But I do have masses of bedlinen, towels, clothes, bulky jackets, shoes and bags. They each have their own storage boxes in the spare room. The ironing board is kept up and is not used much but is handy as a parking space to place things on when rooting through a box!

My attic space is floored and insulated and has electrics. There's nothing much up there, but it's there if I ever need it.

So my plan (eventually) is to refurbish my bedroom and use the spare room as a dressing room off it, with acres of clothes hanging space, shoe and bag space, etc. I will get new beds that lift up with storage underneath for the linen, towels and seasonal heavy jackets etc. vacuum packed! I do have an airing cupboard but it's very small really. I might leave the ironing board up in there, don't know yet.

I don't store anything downstairs, except the usual stuff in the kitchen and the hall cupboard.

I don't think I know what I'm letting myself in for here, but as I get older, maybe it's the famous "death cleaning" I'm planning subconsciously!

It would be really easy and relatively cheap to have a proper door put into the garage. Perhaps knocked through from house or if not the garden.

If I were you, I would forget about this house as you're not ready to move yet. Take a year and declutter first. Spend an hour every day together going through stuff. Once you have decluttered, look for a house. And then when you unpack in the new house declutter again as I guarantee you will spot more things to get rid of.

”smaller” and “more convenient” aren’t the same.

Is this house more convenient than your current house based on your current needs? If so: how? Did you make an actual pro and const list?

and how about the future? Did you factor in possible mobility issues, public infrastructure? Carefully weigh pro and cons?

We have a 3 bedroom house. Open plan downstairs. The ironing board is in a corner of the dining room, behind one of the big curtains for patio doors. You just have to find an out of the way spot. If nobody's ironing it takes 10 seconds to put it away.

We make good use of our garage, as we have no utility room. It has a back door as well as the up and over and houses washing machine, dryer, and a big pull up airer. (Should say it's not used for a car, but includes a motorbike, work bench and loads of storage).

We downsized into this house from a 4 bed and did a big sift of surplus items, no regrets. You don't need 12 of everything.

I’m moved into a teeny tiny flat. Literally the smallest I have ever seen in my life. It has many pluses - in particular less cleaning and much cheaper to heat.

I can't advise as there are only 3 of us in a 5 bed and we joke about needing a bigger house. I was about to say that 2 people shouldn't need 3 bedrooms worth of clothes storage but that would make me a huge hypocrite that also needs to de clutter. The ironing board is the least of your worries 😂and agree with pp that this doesn't sound like the right house for you.

I would consider:
Do you really need a chest freezer for 2 people?
A combi boiler sounds great but the hot water pressure is rarely enough to have a bath (luxury I know). Also hot water takes a long time to flow through to tap unless it is situated really nearby.
Look at what you really need, have you used a particular item in the last 2 years.
If you have "best china" why not get rid of the old and use your best as there is nobody better than you and your DH.
How many saucepans do you now really need.

Good luck. We haven't managed to get rid of a lot!

I have my ironing board behind a wardrobe and the iron is on the shelf inside it. I iron our clothes and put them straight into the right places.

But your opinion counts too and if you don’t agree you need to stand up for yourself.

Yeah, don’t worry I will have a good say in it!

We’ve done pretty much this (but also still have a teen & adult living at home!). We had a four bed three story house, and gone to a two story three bed detached.

Decluttering was the absolute key, I always struggled to keep on top of the old house, there was folded washing everywhere, cupboards bursting at the seems etc.

We made sure that each bedroom had the right amount of storage so the ‘kids’ can put their clothes straight away. We gave all the airing cupboard full of bedding and towels to the dog shelter and each person has two bedding sets and two bath towels & hand towels each. They get stored in their room and washed when needed.

We have proper racking in the garage so everything has a home. I would never go in the old garage but now I have an overflow fridge freezer and a shelf for my extra foods / appliances etc.

We got rid of loads mismatched of cups and plates etc that we had acquired over the years.

Everything feels much easier and calmer now and we are all coping just fine with the reduced belongings.

We downsized 2 years ago from 4 bed/ 3 bathroom 3 floor house to a 3 bed/ 1 bathroom house. Much better! I have always decluttered regularly and this was liberating!
We had wardrobes/ cupboards fitted in small bedroom which doubles as dressing room for me.
Its a warmer house, cheaper to run plus a buzzier area.no room for tumble dryer but I have a dishwasher

Free yourself from ironing and buy a clothes steamer. We have been decluttering for six months. Part of your issue is leaving decluttering with the pressure of moving on top. I agree with @iniati about suspending moving until you have decluttered. It was our loft, sheds and also cupboards that were the issue.

It is my loft and garages that are the issue. I have decided not to put off moving, but to rent a storage space for the things with value and give myself six months to sell them. The sums add up on this £1200 to rent storage and probably £7500 of stuff to sell.