Downsizing Tips
May 18, 2020
Downsizing can be a challenge when your home is also home to countless treasured possessions with unique, special memories. Carefully chosen furniture and belongings over years spent perfecting your own home can be hard to part with. Luckily, with the following downsizing tips, downsizing to a smaller home can be seamless.
Downsizing Home Tips
There are certain steps that can be taken to make downsizing more achievable. If you need some simple downsizing tips to get you started ensure you do the following.
Plan Ahead
Planning ahead is one of the most important downsizing tips to be aware of early on. If you know you’ll be looking to downsize even a year or more from now, it’s not too late to start working towards that goal. Starting to declutter and get rid of things that are easy to part with now can make a surprising difference in the enormity of the task once you get closer to your move date. Slow and steady wins the race.
Categorize
Top downsizing tips include doing all you can to organize the downsizing process, including categorizing items to purge and declutter. Try listing items room by room that you will need to declutter in advance of your move. Don’t forget closets and linen baskets with items long forgotten, that can easily be sold or given away without fear of regret. You could also list items by type: clothing, media etc. Working your way through lists will help you check items off and appreciate the progress you make as you sort through and sell, to minimize the number of unwanted items you move to your new home. Bear in mind that moving unwanted items ultimately will cost unnecessary time and money.
Consider Lifestyle Changes and Needs
One of the best downsizing tips is to consider your lifestyle “now” and “then”. Downsizing often comes with a change in lifestyle. Perhaps you don’t require as much space now your kids have flown the nest. Maybe you are moving because you would prefer to live in a more central area where housing prices are higher but space is more limited. Maybe you’ve chosen to move because you’re ready to downsize for retirement. All of these changes signify a change in lifestyle and there are bound to be items that better fit the old you than the new.
Rent Storage
If you don’t manage to plan ahead or your move comes around quicker than expected, storage is always an option. Clean, safe, storage facilities can reduce moving stress and are perfect for storing items you hope to use again one day. Keep storage rental on your list of downsizing tips, and use if applicable.
Tips for Downsizing to a Smaller House
Downsizing to a smaller house rather than a home with a different layout or style means the process of decluttering is particularly intense.
If you’re downsizing to a smaller home, remember that just because you love it doesn’t mean it’ll work in your new home. This is particularly relevant for furniture that will be too big in your smaller home. You might also want to consider that if you’re moving to a different climate or to somewhere where design trends differ enormously, your beloved furniture might not match the style of your new home. If you’re moving from Illinois to Florida, for example, it’s likely that you’ll be choosing brighter shades and a different style of furniture altogether for your new home in a warmer climate year round.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to rehome your possessions, rather than resorting to landfill.
Have a Yard Sale
A yard sale is a great way to say good bye to your neighbors, and see your old possessions go to a new home. A yard sale is a great way to capture the attention of people that are not already shopping with a particular item in mine. Passersby not necessarily looking to shop may be tempted by the sight of a yard sale and find something they love. When it comes to downsizing tips, this is one we encourage you to enjoy and make the most of.
Sell Online
There are plenty of ways to sell items online, to help make decluttering (and therefore downsizing) easy. Think Craigslist for furniture and anything you’d prefer to sell to local buyers. Think eBay for items you can ship. Even possessions as large and valuable as cars can be sold on either of these sites. Nextdoor is a great app for selling to people within your own neighborhood or very local to you.
Give to Goodwill
The popularity of vintage items and thrifting means you might be surprised exactly which of your unwanted items are a special find to someone else. If you don’t have the time or inclination to sell clothing or other unwanted items, give them to Goodwill.
Contact Us For More Information on Downsizing
Looking for more downsizing tips, or for reliable moving or storage options? Contact Callan & Woodworth Moving & Storage today.
