Colorado_mom - I think I am more intolerant of noise (maybe than others?) - in the small house I lived in growing up, I can remember being bugged by the loud local news programs when I was trying to study. Will have to keep that in mind to minimize friction in the future. 
sushiritto - haha thatās a pretty good idea! It has the advantage of being passive - the person watching TV doesnāt have to affirmative put in the headphones/ear buds/etc. I can see the postives re: that!
We have a friend who just got divorced at age 65. He moved into an apartment in a senior community and says itās terrible because all you can hear in the corridors is blaring televisions. He says he canāt hear his neighbors inside his apartment but sometimes he can hear his up/downstairs neighbors. It makes me reconsider our retirement situation, for sure!
My husband wears ear plugs at night. I donāt snore, he says. So Iām not sure what heās blocking out. We live on a cul de sac road in the woods. He is SO sensitive to sound!
We sleep with a white noise machine. I canāt sleep without it!
H has sleep apnea and his oxygen machine doubles as a āwhite noiseā machine for me.
Iām actually not that sensitive to noise. I can thank D for that. She had colic and screamed for 3 months and I learned that I can tune anything out!
Iāve adjusted to listening to my pulse for the past 7+ years. One night something weird happened in my head (felt like water had been spilled inside) and I didnāt hear it. That was incredibly spooky. I was actually glad when it resumed about 10 minutes later. I often use noise during the day to tune it out, but I donāt at night. Seems weird now as I type it out, but itās what Iāve gotten used to I suppose.
In college I Iearned to sleep through almost anything - at least until about 4am. After that noise will wake me up. Earlier I think Iād sleep through the smoke detectors TBH.
I was able to sleep through anything when I was young, including smoke detectors. Then I had babies. That was the end of being a sound sleeper. I still hear every blessed noise. Hence the sound machine ; )
One of the best things about our old house is all the distinct spaces, solid wood doors, and thick plaster walls. H can been the family room watching TV and I canāt hear a thing from anywhere else in the house.
Iām super sensitive to noise, so I always have some sort of earbuds on, especially at night. DH got me one of the headbands with the mini speakers in them. Itās great for sleeping; I can stream music, white noise or a boring movie to block out the snoring 
. We bought our 20 yr old house in 2020, we loved the open floor plan and all of the windows, but itās a ranch and our bedroom is in the middle. The hall bath shares a wall with our bedroom, and then the other bedrooms are after that. We hear everything from the family room or the other bedrooms/den; soundproofing and new doors are definitely on the list! D20 is rarely here, but my parents are living temporarily in the back. It was a fixer upper, so we started with the āneedsā first. Once D20 is out of school, gutting the baths and soundproofing is a top priority. Luckily we live pretty far out, up in the foothills, so we have very little noise at night except animals and the occasional distant train whistle.
Iām not sensitive to noise at all and I think much of it has to do with living in a small house. Both of our girls could sleep through anything when they were little. I never tiptoed around the house when they were babies and always made noise and let the toddler make noise when the baby was sleeping.
This can be a wants/need discussion. We have a 3000 sq ft house also with a 1400 sq ft unfinished basement. 2 kids. I have always felt we really live in only part of our house. Some rooms are rarely used and just house stuff. I compare it to when we bought our last SUV. My wife wanted 3rd row seating. That cost more. We maybe use that 3rd row 2-6 times a year. Hardly ever now.
So as you can imagine I canāt wait to downsize. I view downsizing as simplifying my life. We are 8-10 years away from doing it though.
I just canāt wait to get rid of all the junk in the house. Stuff we never use. Btw, does any need some china or crystal? I have 12 nice place settings.
@gpo613, in the pre-Covid era, we entertained all the time. Dinners usually for 4, 6 or 8, but much bigger for special occasions. Right now, we are generally entertaining no one (or very occasionally, we have someone test an hour before and then we eat). But, post-renovation, the new DR will have a accordioning glass door and can open into the LR so we can have 25 people for Thanksgiving or Passover.
We donāt have room for the china and crystal now, but otherwise who knows.
We did get rid of a lot of stuff in the preparation for the move to the new house and again a bit when we downsized to the in-law suite for the duration of the construction.
But, on the extra space, we donāt need it but are planning a house for extended stays by kids/grandkids (the latter donāt exist yet BTW). But, saltwater pool, kayaking, hiking, cycling, snowshoeing all easy from our house.
We have plain white porcelain dinnerware, service for 12. I insisted on that many because we can run the dishwasher once a week! I am all about making things easier as we get older!! At least they are lighter than the old Pfaltzgraff stoneware we used to have.
One thing I love in our house is an elevated dishwasher. The previous owners were in their mid 60s when they built it; it was really odd, but it has turned out to be one of my favorite things.
I have a friend who says she likes space but not stuff. The challenge for most people, I think, is not filling up all the space with stuff. People have the propensity to fill up whatever available storage space they have.
That is SO true. I lived in a 1 BR apt just fine for 5 years.
Then moved to a small house, and filled it up.
Then moved to a bigger house, and filled it up too.
Iām sure many of us can relate.
I hear you on the goal to have less stuff. I walk around my house lately contemplating taking some pictures of momentos then just getting rid of everything except a capsule wardrobe, a computer, coffee maker, hiking boots, and running shoes. LOL
Clothing is my Achilles Heel
Clothesā¦.and shoes and books are my (very excessive areas).
Especially books. They are like little beautifully wrapped treasures. (I like hard copy ones.)
My parents had friends that moved between countries every few years. They sold everything except personal essentials and got new each time. She said nothing ever fit the new place anyhow so it made no sense carting stuff all over the world. I do t think I could get to that point.
Singersmom07 - thatās interesting. Iām honestly not that attached to my house stuff - decor, etc. Even the stuff my husband and I spent months working on together creating. I am thinking I could let it go and just travel with a minimalist home base. I can appreciate your parentās friendsā outlook.
Hoggirl & 123mom123 - I used to be really into clothing. I have a large closetful of work stuff (some vintage, some others). I think maybe itās COVID WFH and contemplating a move - I donāt care that much anymore and just want a few good quality pieces in black and white (and some better grade hiking clothes) LOL.