Essential Tips for Downsizing a Home

Moving can be a stressful time at any chapter of our life. When downsizing, your first instinct might be to bring everything and downsize once you get to your new home. BUT this can actually cause more stress and more labor (cost of moving). Rather than wait, we have some things you can do ahead of time to help. This will not only eliminate clutter, but you will also be able to enjoy your new home, your possessions, and the clarity and easy that downsizing can bring.

We LOVE a good list of tips. Not only does it help us stay organized, but it helps remind us of some key aspects when downsizing.

Set a Schedule

Working on downsizing about 2 to 3 days a week can make the process feel far more manageable. On top of that, doing the work in bursts while taking breaks in between is ESSENTIAL. Intervals help you to not get burnt out.

Assess Your Needs

We are all guilty of having doubles of appliances or of having that one thing that we are going to use “one day”. Odds are, if you haven’t used it already, you probably aren’t going to. Take the time to establish what you REALLY need moving forward, and use this as a guideline to what you keep and what you give away.

Sell

Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are all great places to sell some of your unwanted possessions. Both platforms make it easy and simple to post your furniture, appliances, and MORE!

Donate

Per the above bullet point, donate your items that you can’t or don’t wish to sell. You can donate to family, friends, or your local non-profit. The important thing to remember here is to give yourself a DEADLINE. This way you know when the remaining items will be out of your home and you can focus your attentions elsewhere!

Organize Your Things

Create sections in your packing. One for the bedrooms, one for kitchen, one bathroom, etc. Sorting things into smaller categories is even better. For example, you might section off the bedroom into clothing, bedding, furniture, etc. Seeing everything set out can give clarity to which pieces are the most important.

Photograph Meaningful Items

This may sound cliche, but photographing any meaningful items that you LOVE but don’t NEED can be a great way to hold onto the memories associated with our possessions.

Tips For Downsizing in Retirement

When planning for retirement, one of the biggest decisions is deciding to stay where you are currently living or make a change. Downsizing is an option many retirees choose.

There are many things to consider before downsizing; what are your future financial goals, what might your future space needs be? Here are some tips and questions to ask yourself to get the ball rolling…

1. Choosing a Real Estate Agent

Choosing a real estate agent is an important decision in downsizing, one that matters to your overall experience. Make sure you choose one who cares about your future, your needs, concerns, wants, and goals. This is an exciting new time in your life!

2. Deciding on Where to Live

Every decision to downsize is different, and the decision of what to do with your time during retirement has even more possibilities! You need to decide where you want to live after retirement based on your wants and needs. Are there children you have that you want to move closer to? Is there a place closer to more community activities than your current home?

3. Downsize

Downsize. Of course! After deciding the “where” it is time to “do” the downsizing. What does this mean? Downsizing is the process of decreasing the number of possessions a person has so they are able to live in a smaller or simpler space.

See some of our other blogs in the 50+ and Seller Tips Categories on how to do the nest downsizing job BEFORE you get to your new home!

4. Pack Everything Up and Label Boxes

After combing through all of your possessions, getting rid of what you no longer wanted or needed, and selling what you could, it is time to pack up the remaining things! But what is the best way to pack? Some people do it by item category, but a more efficient way is to pack up your home by room. Assign a label to each room in the house, label the corresponding boxes, AND label the rooms in your new home! See number 6 for more on this!

5. Hire Movers

This is one expense that is worth it. While forking out extra cash to hire movers sounds unappealing initially, it is important to remember that movers can alleviate the physical labor and a significant amount of stress from the overall move. Packing everything into boxes can be exhausting as it is!

6. Label Rooms for Moving Day

Moving day is stressful and crazy enough, so a little helpful thing to do to aid in organization is labeling the rooms. Some movers are less concerned about putting the boxes in the right room, so labeling the doors and boxes can create a form of direction and get you one step closer to getting settled into your new home!

Have you downsized before? Have any other tips?

Helpful Reminders for Moving

Moving can be a chaotic time for any homeowner. Whether it is your first move or if moving is something you are more experienced with, there can be many “To Do’s” that are easily forgotten. We made a list below with different helpful tips and great reminders to keep in mind while you have everything swirling around you!

Utilities Basics:

While this can feel like common sense, you would be surprised how many people forget to take care of utilities. Remembering to transfer services (internet, electric, gas bills) and making a change of address can save money and make sure you are all set to move in to your new home.

Address Changes:

As mentioned in our last category, you will need to make sure you change your address as it is currently listed in all of your contacts, accounts, and files. The list we have below gives you a good place to start.

Change of address form with US Post Service
Update contact info for work, friends, family
DMV – drivers license
Forwarding address form
Notify your bank – billing address on credit and debit cards

Spare Keys:

Creating a spare set of keys for during the moving process can be a big help with all of the “in and out” you will be doing at new home. Getting an extra set will help you know you always have your keys on hand when you need to get into the house.

Unpacking Things:

Remember, while it is easy to get caught up in packing all of your things away, you will still need to unpack them when you get to your new home! Don’t pack all of your tools away into the depths of the boxes.

Make up an “unpacking kit” with scissors, an extra set of keys, tools for furniture construction… Extra command strips, nails, Clorox wipes, and fresh batteries for the carbon monoxide detectors. All of these

things will be a huge help!

House Professionally Cleaned:

Having either house professionally cleaned during moving can be the fastest, most efficient way to ensure that you leave your home in the condition it should be, and/or ensure that your new home is all prepared for you to move into. One less thing one your to-do list!

Real Estate Agent’s Contact List:

One last good resource to remember for moving homeowners, is your realtor! Many real estate agents have a list of contacts for plumbers, electricians, insurance providers, etc. should you need them! If you have any questions, your realtor is the BEST go to!