Moving is not always as clear at is seems to be. All homes are different and so is the space available to fit all your belongings. Whether downsizing from a home to an apartment or from a condo to a studio, you may have to say goodbye to a few of your favorite things. Here are some tips for less painful down-sizing:
List the items definitely need to keep when downsizing
Before going into your closet and ridding yourself of everything in sight, keep in mind the things you can’t live without. Whether it’s electronics, appliances, furniture or objects with sentimental value, write them down and set them aside. When moving, lists are your best friend!
Trim down your possessions one step at a time
Remember to plan ahead when ridding yourself of your things. Knowing the space you will move into will help decide what stays and what goes, room by room. Oh! on that note, avoid tackling the whole house at once! Thinning out your possessions room by room will help you stay organized and compare the space in rooms between your old and new home.
Downsize the rooms you care the least about
Generally rooms in which you your most personal items will be the hardest to downsize. Rooms such as your kitchen and bathroom as opposed to your bedroom will have less personal items to rid yourself of. Compare your living situation before and after your move and eliminate the obvious. If you happen to be moving from a home with a large lawn to an apartment complex, you won’t need your treasured lawn gnomes!
Sell and Donate!
Although you may get in a groove when purging all your things, avoid throwing anything in the trash. If your items are in good condition donate them to some friends, family or shelters. If selling your items is the way you want to go, consider listing your items for sale a few weeks prior to moving.
During your purging you may encounter “maybe” items. These are the items you are somewhat attached to, but could get rid of if needed. We’ve got two options with these “maybe” items, get rid of them or place them in storage. If you consider your items valuable but can’t fit them in your new home do some research, some companies (like Fox Moving and Storage!) offer long term storage options at affordable rates. If you find that these items are not worth the storage fee, then we’ve answered the question…sayonara to them!
As time goes on we tend to collect a lot of stuff, some junk and some not so junk. If you’ve got 15 lobster pots and 50 spatulas in your cupboards it may be time to thin out your inventory when downsizing.