The Wheaton Blog
The Upsides of Downsizing and How to Prepare
Are you considering downsizing to a new home? Sometimes downsizing comes by choice, sometimes by constraint. No matter the reason, downsizing has some serious upsides.
The Upsides
- A Simpler Life: Downsizing means you can sort through your things and decide what you really do or do not need. This will make life easier, since you’ll only be living with the things that you actually use or that truly make you happy. You won’t be constantly wading through needless items.
- Cash: You probably won’t have room for everything when you move into your new home. Many downsizers hold yard sales prior to their move. You can also sell your extra items on the internet. For any antique items, consider contacting a professional dealer to help you assign value and sell your items. This can mean extra cash for you and fewer things to pack and move.
- Easier Maintenance: Having a smaller (and less cluttered) home means that cleaning and maintenance becomes so much easier–vacuuming the house is no longer an all-day chore, and you don’t have to wade through a sea of litter just to scrub the kitchen counters.
How to Prepare and Pack
Downsizing’s main benefits come from de-cluttering your home and your life. This will require preparation before you move in order to decide what you’re taking with you and what you’ll be giving away, selling, or throwing out. As you sort through your things room by room, put items in separate piles. These piles can be given labels like keep, sell, donate, trash.
Deciding which pile each item belongs to can be difficult. When you look at a pile of your belongings, you may not see clutter, but a lifetime of memories. And even for practical, household items, you may not realize what you really need and what you’re just storing needlessly. For help determining what you do and don’t need, ask yourself these questions:
- What is the purpose of this item?
- Do I have another item that serves the same purpose?
- When was the last time I used it?
- How often do I use it?
- Do I love this item?
- Does it have sentimental value that is irreplaceable?
- Is it in good shape?
- Is there someone else I know who would benefit from this more than I would?
- Is there a place or need for it in my new home?
When you’ve decided what to do with each item, take action as soon as possible. Donate your donation items. Sell the items you want to sell. Getting rid of your items quickly means you won’t end up deciding unnecessarily to keep them later and will make it that much easier when moving day arrives.
For more helpful tips or questions about downsizing or moving, contact us.