The Art of Downsizing for Your Next Move
How to downsize for your next move?
Downsizing and moving to a new home is not only an opportunity to start over but also a chance to put your belongings in order and organize them. People often downsize because they want to have less space or simply want to save money. Here are some of the most common reasons:
- Divorce
After a divorce, one or both spouses move out, and the house is sold. One or both spouses may decide to downsize their home due to budgetary concerns or because they don’t need as much space. - Home maintenance
Maintaining large homes, especially very spacious ones, can be quite a challenge. If you can’t or don’t want to spend time maintaining your home, it makes sense to downsize. - Minimalism
Over the past two decades, minimalism has become a popular trend. Many people have decided to downsize their homes because they realized they had too much space and stuff.
How to downsize your home before moving?
If you are planning to downsize your home, you have a lot of work to do, but with careful planning, it can be a manageable and rewarding experience. These tips will make the process much easier and less stressful:
Start as early as you can
Packing up all the things in your home takes time, and you can’t do it in one day. You’ll need enough time to sort through everything, decide what you’re going to do with it, and then put your plans into action. Spreading this massive task over several weeks is the best way to downsize when moving. Then, you can make informed decisions, take breaks, and be calm about the things you keep and the things you part with.
Take a full inventory
Make a complete inventory of all your belongings as you declutter your home. You can use a spreadsheet or list to decide what is important. This will help you avoid situations where you keep three things when you really only need one. When you move into a new home, an inventory can be very helpful. It will allow you to create a complete and accurate list of your belongings and find new homes for them. Finally, an inventory can be useful when you want to get rid of things you no longer need. Perhaps you are planning a garage sale to get rid of some things.
Decide on the essentials
Other downsizing tips for moving include getting rid of things you don’t really need. Make a list of the most important things to take with you when you move. List items that you use on a daily basis, such as furniture, appliances and linen. Also includes clothes, shoes, electronics, gadgets, etc. This list should be posted somewhere where you can easily add to it and review it, such as the fridge.
Take a close look at your sentimental items
You will be bringing many important things to your new home, such as furniture and crockery. You may also take sentimental items with you. For example, a photo album of your family or an heirloom that your grandmother left you. These things are important, even if they have no meaning in your daily life. You may decide not to keep all of your sentimental items. Some things you may have kept as gifts from family members or because your child made them in primary school. Only you can decide which items you want to keep, making these tips for downsizing before moving even more useful.
Take one room at a time
Understandably, the idea of downsizing and clearing out your entire home may seem overwhelming. Don’t think of it as downsizing the whole house. Take it one room at a time. Even if you only downsize your office, it may seem like an easier task than the whole house. When you arrive home, it will be easier to unpack room by room. You’ll be able to easily unpack the boxes in the right room because you’ve packed boxes separately for each room.
Digitize wherever possible
You probably have a lot of important documents and photos scattered around your home. These items can take up a lot of space, and they only add to the clutter in your home. Consider digitizing your assets in preparation for downsizing. You can preserve your memories and important information by storing them in the cloud or on your hard drive. You can scan important documents and photos into digital files which will save space. You can also digitize home movies on VHS tapes. However, this may require a little more work. If you’re not sure you’re up to the task, you can use a document digitization service.
Measure your furniture
Before you move your belongings, check whether they will fit in your new home. You should measure all the furniture you are going to bring to your new home to determine if and where it will fit. You will be glad you measured in advance if your furniture turns too big. You can sell this furniture before you move and then buy the ones that will fit in your new home.
Donate, sell or give away items
It’s time to let go of the items that won’t fit in your new home. However, this doesn’t mean you have to throw everything away. You may have many high-quality items that someone else would enjoy. Instead of letting these items go to waste, consider giving them as gifts to family or friends, donating them to charity, or selling them on Facebook Marketplace or at a garage sale.
Even more downsizing tips for homeowners
If you still need help deciding how to downsize when moving, there are several tips that can make the transition smoother.
Tip #1: Plan your new lifestyle
You want to make sure that your new lifestyle and space will work for you. Before you load the truck, measure your new home, including the furniture and appliances. Will it all fit in the way you imagined? If so, great! If not, you may have to give up some items and possibly buy smaller versions. It may seem like a hassle, but you don’t want to find out on moving days that a double mattress won’t fit in your small bedroom.
Tip #2: Don’t do it all alone
Undertaking downsizing can be a stressful task, especially when you do it alone. You may ask your family and friends for help as they are likely to be willing to assist you. You can assign them tasks based on their abilities and preferences such as sorting items into categories for your review, digitizing photos, videos and other documents, selling your items at a yard sale, hiring movers and getting help with the process, measuring your new home or large items, installing storage solutions in your home, packing your items for the trip and providing support and boosting your morale.
Tip #3: Avoid cluttering up your new home
Don’t buy anything you don’t need, even if you want to. Adding new things to your pile will only make the move more difficult. You should also limit the number of new purchases you make when you move into your new home. After you have cleaned your home, the last thing you want to do is let it get cluttered again. Make sure that everything you buy fits your new lifestyle, and use these moving and downsizing tips as best as you can.
