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Trying to downsize your square footage can feel like an impossible feat if your current home is packed with belongings. Downsizing doesn’t have to mean getting rid of all your prized possessions and memories. Feeling like your stuff is closing in on you as you try to make a move? Look no further for our expert advice on how to downsize your home while keeping what you love.
Downsizing your home is not only tricky when getting rid of belongings, but it also means getting your current home ready to sell. Learn what fixes you should be making before listing. Does your current home have fire damage? There are helpful tips and tricks to sell your damaged property.
Slow and steady
Our first tip for downsizing your home while keeping what you love is to pace yourself during the process. You’ve likely accumulated years’ worth of belongings, so you can’t expect to downsize overnight. Consider breaking down the project into more manageable chunks. Some options for this include:
- Let go of one item per day
- Take on clutter by category and tackle one per day (clothing, home décor, books, etc.)
- Declutter room-by-room (if this is overwhelming, try tackling a single closet or a single bookshelf)
- For clothing, do the hanger technique (once you’ve worn an item flip the hanger backward after six months see what you’ve worn, and discard the rest)
Know your limits
Next in our tips for downsizing your home is to know the limitations of your new home. Measure your new humble abode and be sure that you are downsizing accordingly.
If your large bedroom furniture set won’t fit in the new house, downsize it for a fresh, more space-conscious design. If there’s something you absolutely love that you don’t think will fit in the space, try coming up with a creative place for the item. If it simply doesn’t fit in your new home, consider giving it to someone you love.
Think about your future lifestyle
Downsizing your belongings and your home is not an easy task. Sometimes it helps if you keep in the back of your mind the future downsized lifestyle you’re chasing. Some good things to remember as you’re decluttering are:
- Downsizing will likely save you money each month
- More money in your pocket will allow you to make memories with loved ones
- A smaller space will be more manageable for daily maintenance
- Downsizing will allow you to spend time more easily with your partner
- Think about what you’ll miss from your old home and try to bring those elements into the new house
- Remember why you were excited to downsize in the first place
Thinking about the end goal of your new lifestyle will make decluttering your belongings easier in the long run.
Set ground rules
It’s important that in the downsizing process you keep the items that you love. You should try to categorize each item into one of four categories:
- Keep it (because you love it!)
- Donate or sell
- Trash or recycle
- Pass it on or memorialize it (by taking a photo)
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