Top Ten Tips for Downsizing
There are many reasons why people decide to downsize. Maybe your youngest child has just left for college and you and your significant other realize that you don’t need as much space as you needed before. People heading into retirement might look to sell their home for something smaller in a more relaxed area and use that money towards other things like travel. Downsizing might also be a result of job loss or unexpected economic downturn that requires a change in lifestyle. Whatever the reason, people are choosing to downsize now more than ever.
The process of downsizing is challenging, by its very nature downsizing requires you to make some difficult decisions about what items you want to keep in your life and want you want to get rid of. For many, these are extremely difficult decisions to make, and the process can be quite overwhelming. This guide is meant to help you through the downsizing process and hopefully relieve some of the stress that comes with it.
1. Start Early
Downsizing can be daunting, so plan ahead and start the decluttering process early. Ideally, you want to start cleaning out clutter three months before you plan on moving. If you are selling your house, you will likely have to do this anyway for home staging.
Do not try and clean out everything all at once, you’ll get overwhelmed and discouraged, which could lead you to avoiding the cleaning until the last minute.
Work in stages, room by room, that will keep the process organized and manageable. You could set yourself the goal of clearing out a little bit of clutter everyday, that way you will get the satisfaction of completing a checkpoint each day, encouraging you to keep going.
2. Take Inventory of Everything you own
Making a list of every item that you own is a great way to get a better scope of what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of. Here are come questions to ask yourself when you are considering what to do with your stuff.
· Do I have duplicates of this item? Duplicate items can cause build up quickly
· When is the last time I used this? If it wasn’t in the last 6 months you should probably get rid of it
· Will I need this thing in the future? Be honest with yourself here, are you really going to start using that treadmill that’s been doubling as a clothing rack for the past 3 years?
· Is this thing important to me? Does it have sentimental value? If its an important family heirloom that you were planning on passing down give it to one of the younger generation in your family
· Do I know of anyone who would make better use of this thing than I would?
After asking yourself these questions go through the list item by item and decide whether you want to donate it, give it away, keep it. Do not keep a “maybe” bin, this will just lead to more indecision.
3. Stop Buying and Start Giving
When downsizing, there are going to be a lot of things that you will need to get rid of, but just throwing items in the garbage is not recommended. You could try and donate some items to your local Goodwill or Value Village. Alternatively, you could go to close family and friends and see if they would like any of these items or if they know anyone that would.
Another thing to keep in mind during this process is to slow down your accumulation of new stuff. If you are trying to cut down on clutter and get rid of things you don’t need buying new things that aren’t necessities will not do you any favours.
4. Selling your old items
When you decide which items you no longer want to keep, you might want to sell them. You can set up a garage sale or yard sale to sell your old items. You should also look toward online selling options like eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook.
Another good option is trying to sell some of your old furniture to the new owners of your home. If the new owners are moving from far away or are new homeowners, it’s likely that they will need some new furniture and appliances. You could offer to sell them the things you don’t want to keep. This would be a win-win situation as you would not need to worry about how you’re going to get the items to the buyers.
5. Measure Everything
Once you find you new home, make sure to measure the area to see what furniture can fit in the new space and how you want to arrange it. You can use this website to establish the dimensions of your new space and see how your furniture is going to fit.
Even if your old furniture fits in the new space you might find that the size of the furniture interferes with the flow of the room. In a larger space, large furniture seems appropriate but in a smaller space the same sized furniture can seem out of place. When moving into a smaller space buy new furniture that accentuates that areas strongpoints.
Also consider what your new lifestyle will be like. If you plan on hosting friends often keep that in mind when you are buying new furniture and deciding on a design aesthetic.
6. Digitize wherever possible
Books take up more space than just about anything else. If you have a house with a designated office room and bookshelves for your collection, then having a lot of books is not an issue. If you are downsizing to a small apartment or condo those books will be difficult to transport and will take up valuable storage space. Consider digitalizing your collection and buying e-books while donating or selling your physical books.
Old files can also take up tons of space. We all have boxes and boxes of old receipts, tax returns, bank statements, restaurant flyers, and other miscellaneous papers. Most of these files are no longer useful and should be shredded. The challenge is shifting through all those papers and deciding what is important and what isn’t. Just like the rest of your items, you should tackle your files a little bit at a time as to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
7. Make use of self storage
You should try and get rid of as much stuff as you possibly can, but undoubtedly there will be items that you don’t want to part with yet it’s also not practical to keep them in your new home. For these items, self storage can be a great solution. Right now, my clients have a special offer from Storwell Self Storage of 4 weeks of free storage. Storwell has locations in Scarborough, Mississauga, and Etobicoke with a variety of unit sizes that can accommodate any storage needs. You can call or visit a facility in person to demo a unit.
Storwell Self Storage
85 Executive Ct, Scarborough, ON M1S 5W9
Phone: (416) 534-5555
8. Keep in mind where you are moving
You must keep in mind the limitations of your new space. If you are moving to a condo or apartment without much direct sunlight during the day, realize that your plants might not thrive in this new environment. This is especially important to remember when you are moving. If your new apartment is on the fifth floor and you want to move several couches and large cabinets up there, realize that you will probably need the help of a moving service. You should also check the moving rules for your building, as some buildings have designated move in periods.
9. Get multiple quotes for moving companies
If you decide to make use of a full-service moving company, make sure that you shop around and get several quotes from different moving companies to make sure that you are getting the best deal.
An alternative option that might work better for some people is to use a portable storage container. The company will leave the storage container at your old home and you will fill it up with you stuff. They then drive it over to your new home and you can unload your things at your own pace. This option is best for people moving long distances as it is generally cheaper than hiring a full-service moving company.
10. Make the most of your new storage space
When you are downsizing to a smaller space, you must be more creative when it comes to storage solutions to make the most of the space that you have. Make sure you are using your vertical space effectively. Use the top shelve in your closet to store things that you do not use on a day-to-day basis. Store your items in clear plastic boxes that are all the same shape and size so that they can be stacked easily.