Downsizing Your Home: Tips for a Smooth Transition
Life is full of changes and can throw some unexpected, or anticipated, twists and turns our way. Ideally, we all seek to upgrade the size of our home, but sometimes we want less or our circumstances may dictate the need for less. Whether positive or negative, downsizing happens and can turn to be a hectic process, involving a lot more steps than anticipated. With careful planning and thoughtful organization downsizing can be an easy transition that comes with half the headache.
Here are some tips to help make your downsizing process easy and seamless!
1. Start Early and Create a Timeline
Your plan should include as specific of timelines, or timeframes, as possible to help make the entire process seamless. Setting specific timeline milestones breaks the process down and makes it much more manageable. You can create this timeline by breaking the house in sections and plan out which section you want to move and when instead of trying to tackle everything all at one time.
Remember, since you’re downsizing there will likely be some things you’ll need to get rid of, so take the time it takes to donate or throw these items away into your schedule. What seems like a quick task can turn into an all-day affair that throws your schedule behind by a day which can turn into a few days and compound into weeks.
2. Assess Your New Space
If possible, access the new space you’re moving to and do a thorough assessment. Start putting together a plan of where you want to place items and also taking into account what you may not be able to bring with you.
Measuring rooms and the storage areas in the home will help you best determine the items you can bring with or part ways. This phase of downsizing can grow to be difficult for some, because you have to be realistic about what items you can keep and will honestly fit in your downsized home.
Prioritize multifunctional furniture to make the most out of your new space and donate the bulkier items you don’t use as often. Items with sentimental value will get priority as well, but sometimes these items are antiquities and don’t serve a daily function. A storage unit is a great solution to allow you to hang onto these items while saving room for more functional items in your new home.
3. Declutter Strategically
Everyone should declutter, but when it comes to downsizing, decluttering is non-negotiable. If you’re downsizing your living circumstances and your current home is filled with items, unfortunately there may not be enough room for everything to move with you.
The decluttering process often shows us how much stuff we have that we don’t actually need. Taking the time to be thorough about going through all of your belongings will make your move much easier than you initially anticipate.
Using the “Keep, Store, Donate, Discard” method, you can easily place all of your items into their respective categories. When evaluating an item ask yourself, “have I used this in the past year? Does this item have sentimental or practical value?” to help guide your decision. Creating a “Store” pile is great for sentimental items that can’t fit into your new home, but you don’t want to part ways with it.
Another tip for decluttering is to focus on decluttering any duplicates such as kitchen gadgets, linen sets that you never use, and especially furniture, since furniture takes up the most space.
4. Maximize Storage Solutions
Downsizing your living space will require you to get creative with your storage. Even if your new home doesn’t have an adequate amount of storage built-in, there are things you can do to get the most out of the space you do have available.
Vertical storage is always where you place more items in one area without taking up too much surface area. Using shelving units or stacking items is an easy and cohesive way to use a space fully. Additionally, since furniture naturally takes up a lot of space, you can invest in multi-purpose furniture like ottomans with hidden storage or couches that offer recliners instead of separate couches and chairs.
If you’ve tapped your creative storage potential then considering a storage unit is the next best idea. Storage units are a great way to maximize your storage space almost instantly without having to make extra concessions about what stays or goes.
5. Digitize Documents and Photos
6. Sell or Donate Unwanted Items
If you’re less concerned about making money, then donating items that are still in good or fair condition is the next best option. Donating ensures items see a full lifespan while giving other people opportunities to use them instead of taking up more space at a landfill.
A common, and highly successful, idea many people have while downsizing is to host a garage sale on the weekends. This is a great way to make the extra money and not have to deliver or lug the items around town, instead people come to you! You can spread the word about your garage sale on social media sites and in groups or threads along with some pictures to build interest along with posting signs and fliers around the neighborhood.
7. Organize as You Pack
Organization is key to a seamless transition into a new living space. Every step of your downsize should keep organization in mind so you can keep close track of everything and ensure the move runs smoothly. As you pack items clearly label boxes with content details and the room they belong to. You can treat this as another opportunity to consolidate items by combining items from multiple rooms that will go into one room in the new living space.
For items you intend on accessing frequently it may be worth the extra investment to get clear bins. This keeps it easy to find those items you use often without having to sift through each box, even clearly labeled, if it’s a smaller item you may still be unsure which box its in if the labels are the same.
Set aside a box or two for items that you will use on the first few nights. Since most of your items will still be spread throughout the new living space and packed, having a box ready full of immediate use items will save you time and stress.
8. Prepare Emotionally for the Transition
Then focus on the positive aspects of the move which include new experiences, a new opportunity to live somewhere else, and reduced upkeep of a downsized living space. If you’re downsizing due to financial hardships then remember the reason for the move is to put you in a healthier place that’s within your means.
9. Utilize Self-Storage for Flexibility
Additionally, a storage unit can be accessed at almost any point so if you need to retrieve an item later you can easily get to it. Climate-controlled storage units allow you to store even delicate items like antiques for long periods of time and maintain their quality. Self-storage is the ultimate solution to maximizing storage capacity because of its flexibility to fit your specific needs.
Embrace Downsizing
It’s always easier to buy more and take more, but to reduce and get rid of items is never an easy task. Embrace the process of downsizing as a step towards a simpler, more organized life that requires less constant upkeep. If you find your new living space doesn’t offer the storage capacity you need, consider contacting the Nova Storage team. Our team expert team can help you find the right type of storage unit and size to meet your specific needs.
