Downsizing Your Home: The Ups, Downs, and How To

At StaxUP Storage we know that downsizing your home can be both exciting and daunting. Whether you're relocating to an area with smaller homes, retiring, becoming an empty nester, or simply adopting a more minimalist lifestyle, downsizing is a significant life transition that can require some adjustment.

Fortunately, with proper preparation and a convenient storage solution, you can streamline the process, make it faster, and more rewarding. Here are our top tips on how to downsize your home when you're ready to embrace a simpler lifestyle.

Compare Spaces

The first step in downsizing your home is to determine precisely how much space you'll have to work within your new residence. While this may seem obvious, it's essential to note that even homes of equal size may not be created equal. Therefore, when downsizing, it's crucial to understand precisely what you're working with.

For instance, if you're downsizing from a home with multiple bedrooms to a single bedroom, you may want to begin by disposing of bed frames, dressers, bedside tables, and other similar items.

If you're losing space such as an office area, garage, or dining room, consider the possessions you currently have that can serve double duty, and visualize which items will be out of place or in the way once you no longer have those specialized areas.

Your Lifestyle Guides the Way

If downsizing your home means a shift in lifestyle, consider the way you'll be living as a useful guide for determining what you need to get rid of.

If you're relocating to a region with year-round sunshine, it may be time to bid farewell to winter coats and snow boots. If you're retiring and eager to spend more time on travel and hobbies, prioritize the things you'll need for your new passions. Naturally, if parting with certain items is emotionally challenging (such as when sending a child to college and not yet willing to let go of sentimental childhood possessions), downsizing can still be done effectively by considering a storage unit for things that are not needed immediately but are not yet ready to be donated.

Get the Whole Family Involved

No matter what life change you are going through, whether you are downsizing to save money, transitioning to van life, or entering retirement, the downsizing process can become much faster and less painful if you have a crew to assist you.

Creating a downsizing plan with the family is an excellent way to involve everyone in the process and ensure that everyone's goals are met. This can help to reduce any potential conflicts and make the downsizing process smoother.

One approach is to go through each room together, identifying items that can be donated, sold, or thrown away. It's a good idea to assign tasks to each family member, so everyone knows what they are responsible for and can stay on track.

Another option is to use a color-coded system to identify items that will be kept, donated, sold, or thrown away. For example, use red stickers for items to be thrown away, yellow for items to be sold, green for items to be donated, and blue for items to keep. This approach can help to make the sorting process more efficient and less overwhelming.

Whatever approach is used, it's important to communicate clearly with the family and set realistic goals and deadlines. This will help to keep everyone motivated and focused on the end goal of downsizing to a more manageable home

Think Before Buying

Moving to a new place can be a chance for many to purchase new items and give the home a fresh feel. However, downsizing is not the appropriate moment for a shopping spree. Before buying something, find out if you already own an equivalent item and consider the advantages of purchasing something new. Remember, downsizing is not the time to end up with duplicates of everything. Although your smaller home may require new items, such as a smaller couch or storage system, it's advisable to sell, gift, or store the corresponding items you already possess to make room for new ones without adding to the clutter.

Downsize Early On In The Process

When it comes to downsizing, it's important to avoid procrastination and start the process early. Taking it one step at a time and pacing yourself can prevent feeling overwhelmed. Effective organization is all about planning and taking consistent action toward achieving your goals.

When you start organizing your possessions, it's best to group similar items together. This way, you can identify duplicates or unnecessary items and begin to decide what to keep and what to let go of. For instance, you can group all the pens together, all the craft supplies together, and all the exercise equipment together to make the process more efficient. By sorting through items in this manner, you can have more time to devote to sentimental belongings that may be more difficult to part with.

We hope these tips will help reduce the stress and intimidation of downsizing and moving! Choose StaxUP Storage as your storage solution once you start your downsizing process.