My current obsession with downsizing is at its peak now, but this story started years ago.

When we moved into the two story house in the far reaches of the Austin suburbs 19 years ago, I told everyone, “I’m never leaving. Someday someone will have to clean out these closets and sell this place, because I’m going to die in this house.”

I loved my house and just knew it was our forever home.

In 2000 my husband and I decided to leave the San Francisco Bay area with our two-year-old toddler and settle in Austin. Tired of the frantic San Jose pace, the lack of elbow room, the high prices, taxes, and intense commutes; Austin was to be our new home base for the high tech research and development department my husband ran for a Silicon Valley company.

We sold our 1549 square foot starter home in San Jose and bought a 4000 square foot dream home on nearly 3 acres in Spicewood, Texas, close enough to Austin to enjoy its “weirdness” and culture, but far...