{"id":319,"date":"2019-09-12T23:27:16","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T06:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/?p=319"},"modified":"2022-07-21T22:12:36","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T05:12:36","slug":"7-easy-steps-to-downsizing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/7-easy-steps-to-downsizing\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Easy Steps to Downsizing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reasons for downsizing vary, from empty nesters deciding to move into smaller, easier to maintain homes, to young people pursuing job opportunities in cities where housing is a hot commodity. Whatever your motives, downsizing is definitely a handful.<\/p>\n

Tackle the issue as early as possible – ideally, you should have about three months to deal with all your possessions. Go strategically, starting with the largest items, like furniture and appliances, then moving to the smaller things such as clothes, books, and trinkets. Here are the steps you should follow for a smooth downsizing:<\/p>\n

<\/span>1. Downsize the big stuff first<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Most people focus on sorting through clothes, books and kitchenware when downsizing, but are having trouble giving up on furniture for various reasons: they\u2019re sentimentally attached to it, or they own good quality, expensive items. However, large pieces of furniture and big kitchen appliances are less than ideal in a smaller home<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Use tape on the floor and\/or big boxes to visualize exactly how your existent furniture fits inside the new house. If it fills the rooms to the brim, you\u2019re better off selling the massive pieces. Keep only the pieces that go with the new space, that you love and that are truly useful. It is a brutal process, but, once this part of the downsizing is completed, you\u2019re halfway there.<\/p>\n

<\/span>2. Start the purge from the outside in<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The old \u201cout of sight, out of mind\u201d saying applies pretty well to most homes. You probably have, in your attic, basement or garage, stuff you haven\u2019t touch in years, or even decades. You weren\u2019t bothered by them because they were out of sight. Unless, of course, you\u2019re a particularly tidy and well-organized individual, in which case your auxiliary spaces are in perfect order.<\/p>\n

The rest of us, however, have dozens of \u201cmystery\u201d boxes in our garages, the attic filled with old pieces of furniture, and let\u2019s not even discuss the shed. Start with those spaces and dispose of all the junk before moving to the actual living areas.<\/p>\n

<\/span>3. Plan your storage<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Sometimes, no matter how drastically you sort through your possessions, there simply isn\u2019t enough room at the new house for the items you do need to keep. That\u2019s why downsizing goes hand in hand with self-storage. Estimate how much extra space you need and rent a storage unit near you<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Old<\/p>\n

<\/span>4. Digitize Ever<\/strong>ything You Can<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

You probably own boxes upon boxes of memories: your kids\u2019 school projects and drawings, hundreds of family photos, newspapers clips that have a special meaning for you, and so on. Instead of keeping the physical items, you can scan everything and store them on a memory unit or online. You\u2019ll have access to your special memories anytime, anywhere, and you can print them out, should you want to. It\u2019s also a safer way to hold on to these items \u2013 paper deteriorates over time, but scans will always have the same quality.<\/p>\n

<\/span>5. Use the things that you love<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s in the human nature to delay gratification, to \u201csave\u201d the things that we love until an undetermined moment sometimes in the future. You probably have a nice set of sheets, or towels, or maybe pots and pans that you love but you didn\u2019t bring yourself to use. Well, stop doing that and start using and enjoying the things that you love \u2013 otherwise, you\u2019ll just have more stuff to pack and store.<\/p>\n

<\/span>6. Follow the one-year rule<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a very simple, yet effective rule \u2013 ditch the items you didn\u2019t use in the past 12 months! One year coves all the seasons, so, if you didn\u2019t need a jacket, or a pair if shoes, or any other object, for that matter, during all the time, chances are you\u2019re probably done with it.<\/p>\n

There are some exceptions, of course: sporting equipment that you didn\u2019t get the chance to use for different reasons, but you\u2019ll be using in the future, or an outfit you wear only at very special occasions. But, apart from that, it\u2019s safe to say you won\u2019t miss any item you haven\u2019t used in a while.<\/p>\n

<\/span>7. Give now the things you want to give<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

You want to give something to your children, grandchildren, other family members or friends? Do it now, don\u2019t delay the moment! They will certainly appreciate it, and you\u2019ll have less stuff to pack and to worry about.<\/p>\n

Downsizing involves a lot of work, so do it smartly and strategically. Keep in mind that, at the end of the process, good things are in store for you: a house that\u2019s easier to maintain, lower bills, thus more opportunities to travel, or a new and exciting job.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reasons for downsizing vary, from empty nesters deciding to move into smaller, easier to maintain homes, to young people pursuing job opportunities in cities where housing is a hot commodity. Whatever your motives, downsizing is definitely a handful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-moving"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n7 Easy Steps to Downsizing Your Home | StorageCafe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Downsizing involves a lot of work but, at the end of the process, good things are in store for you: less cleaning, lower bills, free time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/7-easy-steps-to-downsizing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 Easy Steps to Downsizing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Downsizing involves a lot of work but, at the end of the process, good things are in store for you: less cleaning, lower bills, free time.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.storagecafe.com\/blog\/7-easy-steps-to-downsizing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"StorageCafe Blog - 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