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A Guide to Downsizing Your Home

Downsizing is popular in households that have kids moving out and going to college. Sometimes it’s to sell space to fund other real estate plans. If you have other reasons for reducing your home’s area, these are the tips you need for before and during the downsizing process.

What Are Some Reasons to Downsize Your House?

1. Your property is too big

You’ve probably bought the house when your kids were still living with you and as they move out you realize how empty your home has become.

2. Reduce day-to-day costs

Maintenance, repairs, electricity, and water consumption eat up a lot of your monthly budget. The less stuff and space you have, the less cost you pay.

3. Funding

Sell a part of the property to fund your kids’ education at university, save up for retirement, or pay off debts. Whichever it is, that extra property space will cover the costs if sold.

4. Lessen environmental impact

A small property has a smaller carbon footprint and as mentioned in #2, you get to reduce energy usage as well. That free space can be used to grow trees and plants.

5. To live a simpler life

The fewer things you own and the lesser property space you manage, the easier and more relaxed your life will be.

Things to Do Before You Downsize

1. Take a photo of your house

In the future, you’ll want to look back on how your home used to be and relive the memories before it was downsized. Take pictures of every place in your house inside and outside.

2. Keep the things you want, use, need or like to look at

If you have pieces of art in your home that you love, keep them. The same goes for appliances and gadgets that you use every day.

3. Give out the extra stuff generously

Put books you have already finished reading, clothes none any of you need, and unnecessary home decor in boxes. Then, donate them to charity or give them to people close to you.

4. Stop acquiring things

The reason for downsizing your home is probably because you want to live a more simplistic life. Don’t buy new things especially if you recently downsized. I know that’s hard to do. You can at least follow the “In and Out” rule: For a new thing you buy, one object in your house must go.

5. Don’t move anything that has no new space

If there’s no free place to store your needed stuff, leave them there. If you plan to move necessary items, make a plan where to put them first. Otherwise, leave them in a box.

Tips to Effectively Downsize Your Home

1. Declutter 90 days before the move

Put the things you intend to move in categorized boxes as early as possible before moving them so they’ll be easy to transfer during the downsizing process.

2. Prioritize multifunctional furniture

When the downsizing process has been done, invest in furniture that can hold a lot of objects yet won’t need a lot of space.

3. Shred some paper

Review all the papers in your house, especially the home office that you don’t need such as receipts or files that are more than 7 years old. Take them to the shredder or call a mobile shredding service.

4. Digitize whatever you can

Save your console games and movies in digital forms like external hard drives or SSDs. For photos, unless you open your photo album pretty often, have them saved in a flash drive as well.

5. Start now and do it slowly

If you’re planning to downsize your home soon, might as well start putting things in boxes and giving out stuff you don’t need. Don’t do it in one day as circumstances and your decisions might change.

Before you start downsizing your home, review the cost first and consult with your family and friends to see if your decision is good. If your decision provides you with better advantages and profits, make plans and start packing up.