DOWNSIZING GUIDE: FROM A PASSED PORTLAND GENERATION

They didn’t have a downsizing guide when they decided to move.

All they knew was that 12,000 square feet over four floors was a little large for two people.

Their house was a museum of their lives together. Now all the books, dishes, and furniture, enough for three households, were moving.

It had been a home of celebration parties, from graduations to birthdays to marriages and memorials.

After the kids had left, it was time.

The West Hills of Portland offer some of the best urban views around. Some houses are perched on hillsides with sweeping views of downtown and beyond.

Mt. Hood in the big window was a real draw.

The founder of White Stag had an art filled home with a glass walled elevator running between floors.

More than a view and mobility, a West Hills address offers an elusive prestige, old Portland prestige. This huge house didn’t need a view.

It was the view.

Old Portland, Big Budget

New arrivals with the right bank behind them could show up, survey the housing scene, and plop money down on a dream house.

Go big enough and property out of town looks promising. From Military Road in Lake Oswego to Bull Mountain Road in Tigard, some areas have the Big Two: Big house on Big land.

But city people, those who can’t get enough of the hustle and hum of urban life, stay closer to the core. They make up the land mass difference with tricky walkways and intricate gardens to expand the imagination.

Portland may be a small NBA market city, not even the biggest player in the Pacific Northwest, but it pulls its weight in visibility.

The Portland Effect draws people starting their lives over. Some come alone, some with partners, and they all look forward to experiencing the beauties of the city they’d heard about.

The bus mall was a stroke of genius that landed the mayor at the time a job in the Carter Administration as Secretary of Transportation. The same man returned to run and win the race for Oregon governor.

The Portland shine survived those days and broke through to new horizons. Other cities polished their image until they became the Portland of the midwest, the Portland of the south, the Portland of Texas.

Minneapolis, Asheville, and Austin carry the mantle for their regions. But, they’re not Portland.

Downsizing Guide On The Westside

I didn’t have a downsizing guide when I showed up with a moving crew and a big truck.

Packing was part of the job, as well as taking the lady’s advice to not let her husband hurt himself helping.

Older people with something to prove are vulnerable. This old man was ready to tote and lift and carry everything. He was about the age I am now. I can relate so much better.

The wife supervised the move with clear instructions and sweetness on a bright Saturday.

After the early start we took a break around ten. In this house built for celebrations and parties, the six man crew gathered in the big two oven kitchen where we found six shot glasses arranged on a countertop.

The old man opened the fridge and pulled out one of six bottles of Russian vodka from the freezer and poured. Drinking on the job with the boss leading the way? Unusual, but the whole day was like that.

Shots on the first break, shots at lunch, shots in the afternoon. All while packing and moving a lifetime down the stairs and out the door.

One House Or Two

This couple didn’t need a downsizing guide because they weren’t downsizing. The big decisions on what to keep and what to let go didn’t happen.

That’s what you get when you move from one big house to two. Their new city place was a luxury penthouse in a Portland tower with commanding views. The second new place was a river mansion on the Columbia.

After enough vodka to float a boat, we called it and started the next day with the goal of finishing.

The old man was more fired up the second day than he was the first. His wife was steady and calm. You could do worse than following their lead.

Real downsizing takes sober vision and detachment. A downsizing party ignores that.

Instead of mini-storage and garage sales, this couple planned on keeping everything intact, just in a new location. It makes more sense with a household of quality objects and art than it does the rest of us.

My Downsizing Guide

How many TV trays are in the TV room? Ask yourself if you need that many. I’d ask if you need any at all, but that’s just me.

A rug the dog peed on for years, but it’s a nice rug? No, it’s not a nice rug, it’s a dog-pee rug that every other dog will find interesting enough to mark.

Table setting for twelve? What are you doing, serving state dinners? I’m not saying limit it to one plate and one bowl for each person, but why not start there?

Storage cabinets for all of eight tracks, cassettes, the VCR tapes and CD’s and DVR discs? It’s 2021, not 1985.

Row and rows and bookcase rows of National Geographic magazines? Do you have a friend who makes custom cards? Give them the magazines, but start slow. Don’t give them the feeling you’re dumping the whole load on them at once.

The best downsizing comes from imagining what you’d need if you lived in a tiny studio apartment on the third floor. A limited space is a great decision maker.

Build out from there. One pot, one pan, one fork, one knife. If there’s two of you, talk about sharing one plate, one bowl, one cup.

Follow me for more downsizing advice, packrats. Take a lesson from past Portland generations, because we’re never too far behind.