Downsizing isn’t just about moving to a smaller space—it’s a fresh start! Whether it’s due to changing finances, kids moving out, or simply reevaluating your lifestyle, downsizing offers a chance to simplify and enhance your life. Discover four essential steps to make the process smoother and more rewarding!
1. Lists, lists and more lists!
Lists are your best friend when it comes to downsizing your home. It is essential to plan for what you still need, what you want to get rid of, and how you’re going to get rid of it. As a first step, take inventory of all your major belongings. Doing so will make deciding what needs to stay and what needs to go, way easier. Along with this, try and figure out if there is anything that you need to buy before moving.
TIP: Ask yourself: Is this something I love? Is this something I need? Is this something I use?
If you answered “Yes” to 2 or more of these questions, then the item is probably good to stay!
2. Create a new budget
Reevaluating your budget before a big move is a great way to stay on top of things and ensure that everything goes smoothly. When downsizing your home, you may also find that your budget opens up a bit and you have more room for things you didn’t before! Don’t be afraid to put some of that extra money towards things that are important to you, like vacations or recreational activities.
3. Picture it
Go to the new space with a good tape measure and map out the furniture plan for each room. Many people forget that a smaller home calls for smaller furniture. If that’s the case, a few changes may be enough to fix this. For example, if your large TV has lots of wires an easy fix is to buy a mount and save some space! These small adjustments go a long way when trying to downsize.
4. Don’t procrastinate
Downsizing your home is a lengthy process! Putting off some of these steps will only result in more stress down the road. Split up this big task into small checklists for each day so that this feels more doable.