Thinking of Downsizing? These 6 Steps Will Help Make Downsizing Stress-Free!

Choosing to downsize can be a wonderful and emotional experience. There are so many benefits to downsizing, but it can come with the caveat that you will have to part ways with some of your belongings, which can be difficult. We’ve broken down 6 Steps that will help make downsizing your home a breeze so you can focus on moving on to the next exciting chapter in your life.

First, What Are The Benefits of Downsizing?

• Downsizing can be a very practical decision, particularly as your goals change through various stages in your life

• Downsizing can help you when you relocate to start fresh

• Downsizing is great for homeowners looking to capitalize on their previous investment

• Downsizing often means moving to a smaller space with less upkeep and maintenance

• Downsizing can feel so much lighter! On average, people tend to only use 20% of their possessions 80% of the time. That is a lot of unneeded clutter or space that weighs us down!

Step #1: Start With Your Vision

Take a few moments to really envision what the next step in your new home will look like. If you have already purchased a home, you may find it beneficial to look at photos of your next home, or if you are still on the hunt, you can write out a list. What do you want your new space to feel like? What is your ultimate goal when it comes to downsizing? Whether you are seniors looking for a more manageable home, empty nesters looking for a quieter space, or you are simply looking to be more minimal and simplify your space so you can get out and adventure more, your vision will surely vary.

Next, you can list any items off the top of your head that do not fit with your vision, and this can serve as a great starting point as you begin to de-clutter and downsize for your new home. This list can be long, or it can be short, but it will certainly get the ball rolling.

Step #2: Give yourself plenty of time

Decluttering your home for downsizing takes time. Plan to start in one room and work your way through the home, or split certain tasks over a period of weeks. If you can, try to give yourself breaks in between decluttering, or plan to do one room each day. Downsizing can be emotional, particularly if you have an emotional attachment to many of your belongings, so giving yourself as much time as you can to go through everything will make the experience less stressful overall.

Of course, life tends to happen so if you are in a time crunch, you may find recruiting helpers or hiring help to be beneficial. You may also appreciate having an impartial party helping you to let go of certain items.

Step #3: Take inventory of your items

Before you get started rifling through everything, take inventory of the items that you have, compared to the space that you will soon call home. Determine for yourself what criteria would determine bringing a particular item to the next home. You can find plenty of articles online telling you exactly what you should toss or what you should take, but at the end of the day, you know best. You know which items you use, which items give you joy, and which items would not serve your vision in your next home.

Step #4: Start With The Bigger Items First:

A great starting point is beginning with the larger items to downsize such as furniture, appliances, art or other bulky items. If you’ve already purchased your next home, you can determine exact measurements for which items can or cannot fit. These will make a big difference in your downsizing process, and it will give you enough time to arrange to have them removed or re-homed.

Step #5: Set up Piles, Stations or Boxes Dedicated to the Following Categories:

Now the real work begins! It’s time to bring your list and your vision that you started in step #1 and start to categorize items in your home. These categories are the tried-and-true categories that people find to be very useful:

Items to Keep:

You have likely played the game “what are the first 3 things you would grab in a fire”. This is a great starting point when deciding first and foremost, which items you would never part with under any circumstances. You can, of course, expand this to more than 3 items, and include which items would fit into your vision of your new home.

Items to Sell:

Is there anything lingering in your closet that still has tags on it, or other items in perfect condition that still hold monetary value? There are so many great options for selling online with Facebook Marketplace, VarageSale, Kijiji and more where people could be searching for those items looking to score a bargain on something like-new or gently used. You can use your earnings to invest in your new home or items that would better fit your new vision.

Items to Donate:

Similar to selling, you can also make a pile or box of items that can be donated. There are many local thrift stores, charities or shelters that could be looking for exactly what you have sitting in your home unused, from furniture to clothing, to décor, kitchenware, or tools. As difficult as it is to part with your items, you will likely feel better knowing that they are going to someone who needs them. If you have certain heirlooms or sentimental items, this might be the perfect time to gift or pass them along to a friend or family member as well.

Items to Toss:

Lastly, this pile will be for items that can neither be sold nor donated. This would include anything broken, no longer usable, or too dirty. Try to consider the environment as much as possible when parting with your items and avoid throwing away everything unless it’s necessary.

Step #6: Stay Flexible When You Arrive At Your New Space

You may discover once you do arrive at your home that you may want to de-clutter even more, and that’s okay! If you sold your previous home that was staged, you may find that you needed a lot less than you thought, so give yourself some time even after the move to continue to de-clutter as needed.

Extra Tips For Downsizing You May Find Helpful:

Going Digital as much as possible:

It may surprise you how litter paper and paper products we actually need to keep around. From handfuls of flyers arriving in the mail to paper bills, you will find that going paperless as much as possible will truly help you in the downsizing process!

Get rid of any duplicate items or “just in case” items:

This is another easy way to decrease the items that you have. Do you really need two spatulas? Or three can openers? We often get gifted many items that we already have but tend to gravitate to one time after time. Keep that one item and sell or donate the others. You’ll be happy you did!

Consider a trial removal:

If any items were a strong “maybe” when it comes to downsizing, you may want to consider packing them in a box and storing them elsewhere temporarily during the downsizing process. Give yourself a set period of time and, if you don’t miss those items, then you will feel better about parting ways with them for good!

You Are Not Alone!

Making the decision to sell your home and buy a new one can be an emotional experience and certainly a very big decision, so make sure that you choose a Real Estate team that will not only help you sell your home faster and for more value, but that will also help you find the next home that is perfect for the next chapter of your life.

When you work with Faris Team, you work with Professional, Loving, Local Realtors who will always go full out for you^®. Our team consists of experts in every field from negotiations to staging, photography and videography and marketing who deliver the results that you deserve, giving you the Best Real Estate Experience, Guaranteed.

Are You Ready To Start Your Best Real Estate Experience? We’re here to make your experience completely stress-free!

Call us today at 1.888.918.6570, send us an email or book an appointment.

There’s absolutely NO OBLIGATION. Consultations with our team of experts are FREE.