So, you have made the decision to move out of your home and downsize. The decision may not have been easy, but you know that it is the right thing to do. Whether you are moving to a bungalow, a smaller house, or even one of the many luxury senior apartments there are, it may seem at first to be a daunting task. However, there are ways to make the decluttering and downsizing task a little simpler and a lot less stressful. Here are some tips for downsizing your home.
Make an Inventory
It would help if you went around your house and made a list of all the items you have and mark them as need and nice to have. You clearly will not have as much space in the new place if you are downsizing, so this will help organize your mind as to space and what you actually own. Once you know what your needs are, then you can see if you can keep any of your nice to have’s. Remember downsizing is about making things easier and simpler, so you want to move with as little baggage as you can.
Double-Ups
Clearly, if you have a lot of doubles of things, you will have to choose between one item or the other. This actually makes it a little simpler, rather than choosing between two different kinds of items.
Storage
If you find it quite difficult to part with some items, you always have the option of storage. Go around your house with the thought of labeling items to either keep, throw away, or put in storage. If you have a lot of things for storage, once you have actually stored the items, after a while, you may discover that you can live without them. At that point, you have the option to sell them on or give them away. It is not easy parting with items you have had all your life, so if you need to store things, then do so. Whether this is a stepping stone to actually parting with an item or not, it makes no difference. You have achieved the required need of reducing the number of things going into the new house.
Make a Plan for Unwanted Items
There are many ways to get rid of your unwanted items. Obviously, you can make a trip to the dump, but that is not always the best and most environmentally friendly way. You could donate a lot of things to charity. Some charities will actually come to your home and take any unwanted large items away for you to boot, which makes your life a little bit easier. You could have a garage sale or sell items online. There are plenty of sites like Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree, where you can upload images and set a price and negotiate with any potential buyers. You also always have to chance to give the item away to a friend or family member who always liked that item. You can make their day and your own in one fell swoop. You can also hire a dumpster, but that should be seen as a last resort. You may even find downsizing to be a lot of fun.
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