Downsizing 101: 6 Steps To Take

You may have decided to downsize because you want to live a simpler life, wish to be closer to your family, or simply want to move to a new place. In all circumstances, downsizing saves you money since you are moving into a much cheaper property. Additionally, it gives you a fresh start with a new home.  

As you clear your home, you might come across things you never knew you had. This is an opportunity to recycle them as a centerpiece for your new home. However, in decorating your new place, minimalism is the best way to go. There would be less eyesore because there isn’t much clutter. 

Before you start packing, take photos. This will serve as a reminder of how your old home looked like. You can then use these photos as a reference in decorating your new place. With that said, here are the steps to take when you want to downsize:  

1. Get Everyone Involved

Before taking old stuff out of the house, ask your family first. Ask them what things they want to get rid of and which ones they wish to keep. Go through each item and put them in separate boxes or containers. You can label your boxes as:

• Keep: These are the items you want to bring to your new place. They are the essentials that can be repurposed or are still useful.
• Donate: These are the items that you don’t want to see in the dumpsters but instead would want other people to make use of. These should still be in a good condition.
• Sell: These can be large furniture or expensive items you never got to use and wish to sell to get some money back. You may consider organizing a garage sale or auctioning items you’ll no longer use.

Getting these sorted is the quickest and most convenient way to deal with clutter. Don’t forget toeach box or container; so that you can easily group items according to where they go. 

2. Clean And Make Things Shiny Again

After clearing out the room, prepare all your cleaning tools and equipment ready. You’ll have to do some deep cleaning. Don’t forget to include all the rooms, even the basement, and attic if you have one. You’ll need to do this to prepare your old home for selling. Set the boxes and containers to put your trash in. You may contact professionals to take your trash out if they’re too many. It’s best to check the contractors’ homepage to see what other services they offer. 

3. Move Forward And Let Go

There are some things that you might be unsure of; perhaps it holds sentimental value. Are you planning on passing it down to your kids or future children? If not, then get rid of it. You can take photographs. Scan old documents and photos and save the soft copies. Because if you keep holding on to these things, they might just pile up again and make more clutter.

4. Plan The Next Course Of Action

Are you going to do some renovations? Will you be repainting the rooms? Are you going to replace old pieces of furniture and fixtures? Will the new homeowner like this place? You need to have a comprehensive plan of what you will be doing; this will serve as your guide. Along with your planning, you should also be able to allocate your budget. Don’t forget to talk to your family; perhaps they can pitch in some ideas and know if they are on board with the plan.

5. Look For A New Place

Look for a place where you see yourself staying for a long time. A place where you can call home. Some other factors to consider when choosing a new place are the following: 

• Accessibility To Your Work Place – If possible, pick a place close to where you work; so that you won’t spend the majority of your time being stuck in traffic or commuting to work.
• Hospital Within The Vicinity – In case of medical emergencies, you can easily get to a hospital near your home.
• Access To The Grocery – If you run out of food and water, you can grab supplies in the nearby supermarket or mall.
• Within Close Proximity To Public Transportation – Should there be any problem with your car, whether it’s because of flat tires or the engine not working, you can just go to the nearest bus stop or any public transport to get anywhere.
• Think Of Your Future Neighborhood – Before moving, check if you’ll be staying in a loud neighborhood or perhaps have a nosy neighbor. You might be looking for a new place to have privacy and get as much rest as you need; thus, it is important to choose wisely.
• Consider The Lot Location – Where is it situated? If it’s near accident-prone areas or compromises your safety, then it’s not a good idea to stay there. Also, don’t forget to check if your property has access to water and electricity.

6. Reinvent Your New Home

You can decorate the same way you did to your old home minus the clutter, or you can start from scratch. You can start by switching or changing the light fixtures, redecorating and repainting the rooms, putting up wall decorations, and mixing and matching pieces of furniture. These are only some of the things you can do. However, as mentioned before it might be better to go the minimalistic route since you’re moving to a smaller house. Either way, you can decorate your home according to your preference and liking.

Conclusion: 

After doing all that, take one final look at your home and picture a new family moving in. And give yourself a pat on the back because you were able to finally free your home with clutter. These are only some things you can do before listing your home.

On the contrary, the things you kept may be the things you are most fond of; maybe you can’t picture yourself without them. If you purchased new items, make sure they are practical and useful.

Downsizing is the start of a new you, a new home, and a new place to make more memories with your loved ones. You can always take a trip down memory lane and revisit your saved soft copies or photographs of your old home through your phone or computer screen.