To get a handle on what right sizing means, I interviewed Marni Jameson, author of Rightsize-Today-Create-Your-Tomorrow. Marni's book is highly interactive and includes checklists and their analysis to determine how to achieve that perfect balance between the life of travel and the life you love at home. Her process takes this significant life change from an emotional issue to a logical decision-making process.

Key Takeaways:

• Personalization Over Standardization: Tailoring your living space to fit your travel lifestyle is more effective than conforming to traditional downsizing methods.
• Letting Go is Liberating: Releasing attachments to material possessions inherited items, can be challenging, but it opens doors to new experiences and freedoms.
• Designing for the Ageless Traveler: When it comes to home and hospitality design, catering to the needs and tastes of mature travelers ensures comfort without compromising style.

Personalizing Your Space for Global Adventures

The notion that one must significantly downsize and rid oneself of most belongings to live a life of travel is outdated. Instead, take a holistic approach to creating a home base compatible with a globetrotting lifestyle. As Marni Jameson states, "You need to get rid of those encumbrances and create a home base that affords you the lifestyle you want, whether it's freeing you up from the tasks of running a larger home or any home at all."

Designing a Launchpad for Travel

"Create a home that is the perfect physical, emotional, social, and financial fit for your life today and going forward," advises Jameson. This could mean trading a sprawling estate for a condominium with a garden balcony—maintaining the joy of puttering with plants but eliminating the maintenance burden. Design choices such as lever handles, high-performance fabrics, and strategic placement of outlets and lighting cater to aesthetics and practicality.

In my case, I moved across the country nearer to my children to a 2500-square-foot condominium in Palm Springs. I gave up four acres of beautiful grounds, a private view, and about one-half of my belongings. It wasn't easy. People who make this transition say they felt "it was time." The feeling of wanting to let go overtook inertia.

On the other hand, my children had moved across the country, and I wanted to see my grandkids. Further, it was COVID, and the financial time was right to sell a rural property. So, expect that there will be a variety of reasons and circumstances that will help you make the change.

Overcoming Emotional Attachment to Possessions

But if this does not happen to you, and yet you would like to travel more, there is an alternative to a complete move. See what is stopping you from traveling in your current environment. It could be pets, precious art you fear leaving unattended, or a garden that needs upkeep. For most people, it is simply their stuff. A wise man once told me that your possessions possess you, and so they do. The sentimental value of heirlooms can weigh heavily when right-sizing. Jameson suggests a poignant philosophy to navigate this emotional minefield: "Keep the pearls, not the piano." This metaphor encapsulates that memories are portable and precious, while most objects are not. As Jameson points out, the detachment process gets easier over time, paving the way to a more unencumbered life.

The Challenge and Liberation of Letting Go

Reducing one's belongings to facilitate travel is a liberating yet emotionally charged process filled with tough decisions and poignant goodbyes to cherished items. Yet, these choices are stepping stones towards a curated and intentional living space that resonates with one's current life phase. Yet, there are numerous avenues to get rid of stuff. Pets and plants are another matter. For folks with those responsibilities, I discovered that the answer is spending the money necessary to either travel with your furry friends or board them or have a caretaker come to the house and feed the fish, water the plants, or whatever is necessary. To afford these helpers, you'll economize more on the trip itself. To assist you, access our free eBook Luxury Travel for Less. The eBook guides you on savings as you travel so you can deploy more dollars to take care of your responsibilities at home while still traveling in luxury.

Embracing the Right Size Surprise

One of the struggles I see in my friends is that they believe that a planned over fifty-five community is the only way for them to free themselves of home ownership burdens. Retirement havens like Palm Springs, where I live, have many such developments  and are an excellent choice.

But, interestingly, as Jameson notes, only a small percentage of retirees opt for senior communities, with many either maintaining or upsizing their living spaces. This underscores the importance of shaping one's environment to reflect personal needs and aspirations, not societal expectations, or market trends. In redefining home, the objective is to sculpt a space that supports and empowers one's desired lifestyle, including the ability to travel on a whim without the anchor of a high-maintenance household.

Wrapping Up: Right-Sizing as the Pathway to Freedom

Right-sizing is not just about reducing the amount of space or even stuff; it's about reorienting life towards freedom, especially for those passionate about travel.

Understanding what matters most in one's current life stage, releasing attachments to physical items, and expecting the hospitality industry to meet the needs of ageless travelers are all critical narratives that have emerged from the discussion with Marni Jameson.

Her insights serve as a blueprint for those looking to transform their living arrangements to accommodate their wanderlust—because a vibrant life post-retirement should never be lived in the shadows of archaic possession and design traditions.