When your plan involves downsizing to a smaller home, you must know what you need to pack and what you don’t. We don’t blame you if you feel overwhelmed by the thought of downsizing your home. Unfortunately, this shift usually occurs after a drastic or sudden change in your life, which only makes a move manageable. But if you tackle the packing process early, you can make smarter downsizing decisions when you .
How To Move To A Smaller Home And Downsize In 5 Easy Steps
Packing for a smaller home isn’t as simple as taking what you need and throwing out the rest. While the space may be smaller, you don’t want to make rash decisions before moving. Let’s face it. When you move and want to create a more minimalistic space, it’s not always easy to sort through everything. But you can plan accordingly with a few simple steps to follow.
People downsize for a variety of reasons and at all ages. For example, downsizing comes in many forms: retirement, medical reasons, choosing a minimalistic lifestyle, opting for a new city, or empty nesters with kids off to college. Moreover, whatever the reason, it’s not always easy parting with things we love or moving to a smaller home.
Below, you’ll discover ways to optimize downsizing when moving to a smaller home and keep your focus.
1 – Make The Big Decisions First
It’s a good idea to start with the big decisions, as they’re typically the hardest and impact your move the most. Before removing more significant items, like appliances, cars, collections, and sentimental items, ask yourself if they are worth moving. Is there space? Are there hookups in the smaller home? Can I do without them? And if so, what can I do as a workaround when not available?
Of course, we have a plethora of questions like these when moving. That’s why planning and preparing months before the move is essential. Next, consider costs. Websites like can estimate the moving expenses of national moving solutions across the US, so you can easily find one for your budget. If shipping the item costs less than replacing it or it’s brand new or irreplaceable, hiring a moving company is worth it.
2 – Declutter Your Space Slowly And Start Early
The moment you know you’re going to move is the perfect time to start decluttering your space. You’ll want to go slow, as this can be emotional. Use a four-pile system that includes a giveaway, donation, sale items, and trash/dump pile that’s easy to move or store. Above all, make sure you have at least ready at hand to organize all of them.
Remember, you can change your mind before moving day. So if you need help with what to do with an item you don’t want to keep, place it in the giveaway pile. Sell items in the sell pile right away to attract more buyers. Also, research the , as you can benefit significantly from her tips and tricks. When moving to a smaller home, it’s essential to sort through every room slowly and methodically.
3 – Start With Smaller Nooks And Furniture
When downsizing, the best place to start is in small spaces, little nooks, and unused rooms that typically accumulate junk. Sheds, garages, basements, attics, spare rooms, closets, shelves, and cabinets are all fair game. Put anything you don’t want to keep in one of your four piles.
Once done, measure your new space and furniture to see what will fit. Be sure to account for , as you may be unable to maneuver your furniture past them. Don’t focus on what you have to eliminate; instead, pick out the things you want to keep first.
4 – Tackle Your Entire Kitchen With Confidence Moving Into Your Smaller Home
The kitchen contains items you’ll use daily or at least weekly. Moreover, this makes your kitchen the easiest part of your home to downsize unless you have an extensive collection of pans or specialty cookware. But even if you do, you can still store them on the wall or inside a cabinet. So when moving to your smaller home, measure the number of kitchen cabinets you will have and calculate if everything fits.
Consider looking up a few for your kitchen, as you may be able to keep more than you thought. If you know, you’ll have to get rid of something, pick out the items you often use, like your silverware, plates, bowls, glasses, and pans, and go from there. Complete the downsizing of your kitchen on the same day. This way, when it’s time to unpack, you’ll have everything you need and nothing more to take to your smaller home.
5 – Thoroughly Exam All Of Your Living Spaces
At this point, you’re at the home stretch. You’ve already decluttered portions of your home and pared down your furniture. Now, it’s time to comb through your bedroom, living room, and other living spaces for smaller possessions you want to keep. For some, this step can be difficult.
In addition, you can consider taking photos of all your rooms and items. Before you start downsizing, take good mental note of your decor and what you love about each room. This way, when you move into your smaller home, you can set things up using your photos as reminders. You can also use the photos as reminders of how you set up your computer and office equipment. Take pics of the back of your PC this way, and you can set it up correctly in your smaller home.
It’s easy to get stuck in nostalgia, but you can move past this by choosing one item from each collection or “feeling.” For example, if you have ten things that remind you of college, keep one of them. Or, you could give a sentimental item to your parents or other loved ones.
