7 Helpful tips to Downsize Your Own Home

Getting ready to downsize? We’re here to help. As real estate agents, not only do we chat about downsizing, but we’ve experienced it before with many of our clients. And after 35 years of real estate transactions, that’s a lot of downsizing.

The biggest thing I can say about downsizing is that attitude counts – that’s positive by the way. Whether you are doing your own home, or assisting an elderly relative, having a positive attitude that you’re starting a new adventure, or saving a few bucks so you can travel more – will make the job a whole lot easier.

There’s a lot of information and tips on downsizing, including my recent post: 4 Tips: Make Downsizing Someone’s Home Easier, for people who are downsizing their parent’s home.

For this post I asked my real estate team “If you had to downsize your home tomorrow what are the top 5 things that you would do first” – we came up with 7.

Just like David Letterman – here’s our top 7 downsizing list:

#1: Take stock.

Before you do anything—even before you know how much space you are moving into, take an inventory of ALL your belongings. As you start to list the items, ask yourself, “if this was lost in a fire, would you replace it?”

At the end of this exercise, you’ll not only have a list but a sense of what is actually important to you – what are the things that you simply couldn’t live without, and what could be replaced as you downsize to your new living space.

#2: There is no good time.

Trust me. Don’t wait for a good time to begin. Certainly don’t wait for family members to offer assistance.

Don’t’ plan, organize or worry – just jump in. Try not to measure the progress or set time limits – all change is an improvement.

‘Thinning out’ is a great place to start. One morning a week tackle a closet or overflowing filing cabinet, your photos or books.

#3: Get some experience with non-emotional rooms.

Books, photos and paintings are emotional. Steak knives and mixing bowls aren’t.

The kitchen is a great room to start, no one needs 10 mixing bowls. Having a creative strategy is really helpful. One client of mine created kitchen-starter kits for all her grandchildren and neighbours children that were moving to their own new digs.

If downsizing to a condo, working through the garage should be the virtually the same. No one sheds tears for having to get rid of their snow blower, lawn mowers or ladders. And these are items that sell well on classified websites or community Buy and Sell Facebook pages.

And the person who comes to purchase your snow blower, might also be interested in other garage items. There may enough tools and extra gardening equipment to add to the kitchen-starter kits for the youngsters.

#4: Size matters.

Very few people can truly picture what a 13’X13’ room looks like.

With the measurements for the new place – take the next step to really get a feel for the new room. That means walking into rooms in your present home with similar dimensions and imaging whether or not two sofas will actually fit in that room.

Yes, you can block it out on a furniture map, but there’s nothing like seeing it for real yourself.

I’ve even recommended to empty a room and fill the same space with the furniture intended for the new location. It’s often a reality check – that something has to go.

#5: Use garbage as the last resort.

Beyond recycling, reusing, selling, donating or gifting items to relatives, this is your time to really become creative in disposing of your treasures. I thought these ideas were pretty inventive.

• Most charities don’t want non-working Christmas lights and old TVs. Having said that, there are Repair Cafes, or community teaching organizations that are eager to repair your broken items and resell them.
• Every dry cleaner will accept your hangers with glee. Small amounts of cleaning supplies can be donated your cleaning lady who is definitely going to use them.
• Some local libraries will accept used books for their foundation fundraising efforts.
• In some communities, setting items on the curb with a sign that says “Free! Help yourself!” will make items miraculously disappear. I’ve even picked up some curb-side treasures.

#6: Banish the ‘Maybe’ pile

Label three bins To Keep, To Sell and Charity. Don’t even think of starting a maybe pile. If you haven’t decided where it fits, that’s one thing, but to put it in a maybe pile just postpones the decision.

Not allowing yourself the option of storage at a relatives, or even a locker really helps force decisions.

#7: Just be nice.

And finally, if you are downsizing for two, be nice to each other. Downsizing is an emotional experience and two people don’t always agree – that’s just natural.

If your partner is having difficulty, start with your own stuff and lead by example.

Another suggestion I often make is that each person make a list of items they love and simply can’t live without. You may be pleasantly surprised how many items overlap and that very little horse trading is required.

You can’t take it all with you, so having a list helps objectify things.  Hiring a professional company can also be helpful. Not only will they provide an objective opinion but will save you from moving that 1970s sewing machine!

We would be thrilled to work with you and help you downsize your home. Contact us Today!

Our team of real estate sales professionals is committed to finding you, your dream home. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, the Karen Paul team is here to help with any questions.