12     The Senior Reporter  |  January Regional Senior Housing Directory 2018

After more than 50 years of 

marriage, I had a stock answer 

whenever my wife, Bonnie, 

suggested we consider moving: 

“That’s between you and your next 

husband.” In other words, I had 

no intention of budging from our 

home … I was dug in. My very 

patient bride usually smiled at my 

light-hearted comment, for we both 

knew there would be myriad things 

involved in a move and neither 

of us, especially at our age, was 

enthused about starting down that 

road. 
But time catches up with people 

and houses alike. For example, our 

home had two levels, and we noticed 

that we weren’t visiting the upstairs 

rooms as often as we used to … 

the stairs had become increasingly 

difficult. And while our house was 

in excellent condition, there was 

always some sort of maintenance 

or housekeeping issue to tend to. I 

had always taken pride in handling 

most repairs and renovations that 

came my way but, with age, I 

no longer relished climbing an 

extension ladder to clean the gutters 

or repair a piece of loose trim. 
Perhaps Bonnie was right … 

maybe it was time to think about a 

new living arrangement.
Once we reached that conclusion, 

we took the time to seriously 

consider who we are, what we want 

in life, and what we wanted our 

new lifestyle to look like. We then 

stayed focused on that goal as we 

sold our home, moved to an “Over-

55” apartment community, and rid 

ourselves of a lot of accumulated 

stuff. We were fortunate that 

the sale of our house was quick 

and easy, the move itself was 

flawless, and our new neighbors 

have proven to be exceedingly 

warm and welcoming. It is not an 

overstatement to describe our new 

lifestyle as one of reduced stress and 

increased personal commitment.
For those considering a similar 

journey, a bit of advice: It is 

important to carve out time for rest 

and relaxation along the way. At 

the start of an adventure like this, 

the mountain of tasks can seem 

overwhelming, and one can be 

left to wonder where to start. And 

while it may seem counterintuitive 

to formally plan for a nap or other 

sorts of diversions in the midst 

of all that needs to be done, the 

value of setting aside time for rest 

cannot be overstated. For us, it was 

essential that we take on this project 

in small bites and, as we did so, to 

stay focused on the goal we had set 

for ourselves … a rightsized life.
Dan Carlson’s book Home Sweet 

Apartment: Getting Rightsized in 

Our Seventies discusses steps for 

comfortably relocating, strategies 

for letting go of stuff, managing 

the stress of a major lifestyle 

change, and making smart choices 

about what is important in life. 

It also provides a “Right-sizing 

Checklist” designed to assist with 

the process. This book is available 

on Amazon in both paperback and 

digital formats.

Getting Rightsized 

in Our Seventies

by Daniel Carlson