Tips for Downsizing Your Home
The cost and effort involved in maintaining a large family home can become a burden, even more so when you have children who have now grown up and moved out. Moving to a smaller space can offer both financial relief and peace of mind as well as accommodate healthy lifestyle changes.
We know it can seem daunting to downsize so here are some tips for downsizing your home.
Set Your Intention
Understanding your main reasons for downsizing can help you stick to your plan or goal and make you more excited about the process. Ask yourself, why are you really doing this? Do you want to travel more? Do you want to help your children with a deposit for their own homes? Do you want to spend less time cleaning and more time enjoying life, family and friends? Are you hoping to embrace a new hobby or lifestyle? Knowing the “why” will not only help you choose the most appropriate new home but also help you during the downsizing process.
Take Inventory of Your Belongings
Downsizing means that you will likely have less space for all the items you have in your big family home. Go through each room, one by one, and sort through everything, taking stock of what you need versus any nice to have items. The purpose of downsizing is to reduce the amount of living space, so it is likely that you won’t need as much furniture in your new home.
Measure Out the New Space
Reducing the amount of living space can mean not just physical rooms but the size of the rooms as well. Chances are your furniture may be too large for your new living space. Therefor it is essential to measure your furniture to see if and how it will fit into your new space. It is much easier to work this out ahead of time rather than trying to move a couch into a space that will not fit.
Consider Your New Lifestyle
Are you moving to the city with public transportation? Are you moving into an apartment with a gym? Are you swapping the beach for the country? Where you move and the new lifestyle it provides will ultimately affect the items and space you require. Your treadmill, pushbike or kayak might not be needed in your new space.
Declutter
The main purpose for downsizing is to simplify your life, so be sure only to take what you need with you. Once you have worked out what items aren’t coming with you, get rid of them by selling them or donating them. Decluttering gives you a head start on the moving process, prompting you to pack up excess personal belongings and toss away unnecessary items, as well as helping you to emotionally detach from the property ahead of moving day.
Make It a Family Affair
Invite your kids or grandkids to help you sort through your items. Tell your stories and encourage them to ask questions. They might want to keep some items you no longer have use for, or you may decide to pass down family heirlooms sooner than expected.
Shred or Digitise
Get your shredder and scanner out and get ready to thin out your files. Paper items can build up over the years so it’s a great idea to get rid of documents you have online access to and any old tax related paperwork you no longer need. Other documents can be scanned and organised in digital files.
Make The Most of Storage Spaces
When moving from a large home to a smaller home, chances are you will have more items than space. When downsizing to a smaller house, it is important to maximise any storage space. Make use of wall storage such as hanging shelves, add built-in storage units to you home. A garage is a great place to do this. Take advantage of hidden storage spaces like the roof/attics or basements or hire an off-premise storage unite for your valuables, sentimental items and bulky items that you want o keep but use infrequently.
Wait to Buy New Things
It’s a good idea to hold off buying new furniture, artwork or décor until you are in the new space. It is easy to get excited and go on a shopping spree for a whole new look, however, it is best to wait and get a feel for your new home first.
As you have just read, preparation is a critical part of downsizing your home. The best form of preparation is a qualified real estate agent. An experienced and knowledgeable agent can provide you with a detached unbiased eye and expert advice on what you need to do to optimise the selling potential of your home and make the moving process as stress free as possible.
Contact us today to discuss tips on downsizing your home in more detail.
