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Downsizing your Home

What to Do When Downsizing Your Home

Downsizing your home can be an overwhelming and emotionally-charged experience. Whether you’re moving to a smaller home or just want to clear out your closets, it’s hard to know where to start. The following tips can help you part with possessions and look forward to a clutter-free home.

Define Your Lifestyle Goals

Downsizing does not have to mean giving up things you like to do. With a little planning, you can define what’s most important for your lifestyle. Do you like to have friends over for dinner? Make your dining and living areas a priority when deciding what furniture to keep. Parting with possessions can be less painful when you’re looking forward to your favorite activities.

Keep Only What You Need

Take an honest look at your possessions and keep only the items you really need. A good method is the one-year rule: if you haven’t used it in the past year, you don’t need it. You forgot about that kitchen gadget that’s been buried in the drawer all year and will probably not need it next year.

You may experience pangs of sadness as you decide to part with possessions. Give yourself permission to grieve, but remember that you are taking a positive step by downsizing and decluttering.

Donate or Sell

Items that you decide not to keep may still have plenty of use left in them. After you’ve sorted through your possessions, decide if you can donate or sell some of the things you don’t need. Donating that outdated radio or camera to a charity thrift store may give years of enjoyment to someone who really needs it.

Newer, more valuable items can put cash in your pocket if you decide to sell them. Whether it’s at a yard sale or an online market, that unopened set of dishes or that sweater with the price tag still on it may be just what someone is looking for.

Downsizing your Home

Think Multifunctional

If you’re buying new furniture, think multifunctional. For example, a trunk can double as a coffee table. Look for ottomans and other furniture pieces that have room inside for blankets. With the right furniture, an entire room can be multifunctional. For example, a convertible sofa and end tables that have storage space can turn a TV room into a guest bedroom.

Digitize

Even after decluttering, you’ll probably still have plenty of documents and photographs. You can keep all that paperwork and all those memories without taking up space. Thanks to digital technology, you can scan documents and photos and store them in the cloud. Shred and recycle what you don’t keep. You can even convert your entire video and music collection to digital files. Think of what a relief it will be to get rid of all those boxes that have been taking up space in your closet!

Expert Help for Downsizing

When it’s time to downsize, our organizing experts can make the process more manageable and less stressful. Contact ClutterBGone today for a free consultation, and let’s get started!