I have come to realize that we go through phases in life, or at least it seems I have.  First there is the education phase where we prepare ourselves for becoming independent adults who earn a living.  The second is like a sort of acquisition phase where we buy a car, maybe buy a house,  buy furnishings and clothes.  Up to this point, the phases are building on each other.

And then comes middle age which, I guess, would be a phase where we are supposed to enjoy or reap the rewards of the acquisition phase.  If you had children, they are likely headed off to college or at least out of the house so there is now time to enjoy what you worked for.  Or something like that.

I am looking ahead to the next phase and it seems some people find this a bit odd.  My next phase, if all goes well, will be downsizing and simplifying.  My version of minimalism.  There are a good number of retired folks who get to this point eventually, after leaving the workforce.  I am trying to plan for it BEFORE leaving the workforce.

I have pretty much decided that I will be selling the house in the next two years or so, if all goes as planned.  It’s an interesting thought process – I just got tired of spending weekends taking care of a house.  The reward is not so much a reward when it feels like it is dragging me down.  I am also tired of the congestion, traffic issues, and unchecked growth in the area where I live.  It used to be fairly quiet here but it is becoming more urban than suburban.  Not my cup of tea.

So I started perusing real estate websites just to see what is out there.  This seems to make some people think I have gone off the deep end.  But I have two words for those people:

Challenge Everything

Yup, challenge what “society” says you should do.  Challenge the norm. Challenge convention.  Do what is right for YOU.

The thought of pushing around a lawnmower in Florida heat for many more years just exhausts me.  And the thought of paying someone else to do it just goes against my thrifty natured grain.  I’d rather not have to be bothered with it AT ALL.  The thought of having to repair, replace, and maintain the various parts of the house is almost depressing.  I’d rather be able to spend my hard earned money on things a bit more fun.

The goal now is to figure out how to accomplish a somewhat lengthy “honey do” list over the course of the next year or so.  My long range goal, is to sell this place and find something smaller and cheaper.  Reducing the monthly expenses means I can give consideration to leaving the high stress job sooner.  In a lot of ways, that is the giant carrot on the end of the stick.

What is important to me right now is to figure out a way to enjoy life and if that means moving into smaller digs, then I’m all for it.  And so I begin the simplifying phase.  This might just turn out to be fun.