Downsizing your home can be a stressful process as you need to decide what you’re going to keep and what you’re going to donate, store, or get rid of. The longer you’ve lived in your current home, the more difficult that may be as you’ve had more time to collect things. While the prospect of downsizing may feel overwhelming, it will feel amazing when you’re finished. You’ll have fewer things to clean, care for, and weigh you down as you settle into your new home.
Whether you’re moving into a tiny new home or a smaller house in another state, budgeting for your relocation move can be stressful. From finding the right storage unit for the belongings you aren’t taking with you at the moment to figuring out how much money it’s going to take to pay the movers to take your mattresses and other belongings to your new home, downsizing can be tough. In this article, you’ll find a few tips to help you determine what to keep and what to trash during your move to your new home.
Determine how much you need to downsize.
Before renting a dumpster or planning a garage sale, you need to determine how much you are actually downsizing. For example, moving from a four-bedroom house to a three-bedroom house will look different from moving from a four-bedroom house to a two-bedroom apartment with no extra storage space. Based on your specific plans, start thinking about what you want your new place to look like once you’ve moved in. Are you okay with some clutter, or do you want it neat and clean? Are you planning to rent a storage unit, or do you want everything you own to fit into your new space? Answering these questions honestly will help as you move forward.
Start with the big items.
While many people want to jump right to sorting their clothes when they think about downsizing, you need to start with larger items like furniture. Figure out what furniture you can’t get rid of for personal reasons and what furniture you feel you need. Once you determine what furniture you’re keeping, you can start the process of selling, throwing out, or giving away the furniture you aren’t keeping. Take this time to consider any other large items like wall art, home decor, outdoor equipment or toys, and vehicles.
It’s also important to determine what you’re going to do with your bedroom furniture. For example, if you’re coming from a large house with a large bedroom and master bath, it could be hard to fit your bedroom furniture into a room that’s half the size. Determine whether you’re going to be able to keep that California king bed with the king-size mattress or if you instead need to downsize with a mattress Sealy product that is smaller, such as a queen or full-size mattress. Sealy also has bed frames, Posturepedic technology, and memory foam mattresses that will certainly catch your eye when searching for a bedroom suite to downgrade to but be able to be comfortable when you sleep at night.
Move to the medium-sized items.
Once you’re finished figuring out what you’re going to do with the large items, start looking at the medium items and seasonal stuff. This round of sorting will include small appliances, serving dishes, holiday decorations, hobby equipment, and small furniture items like decorative shelves or bathroom free-standing towel stands. Decide what stuff you’re going to take with you to your new home, pack them up, put those boxes aside for the movers, and then rent a storage unit for the rest.
Sort the small stuff.
The small stuff will include things like toys, books, and clothes. This is where you can really make a difference in your downsizing. Get rid of clothes that are out-of-date and not fit to wear. Take books and toys to Goodwill or if you can’t bear to part with them, put them in the storage facility. Make sure to label the boxes of belongings that go in each room before the moving company comes to load and move your belongings to your new home.
These are just a few of the ways that you can decide what to keep and what to get rid of when you’re downsizing. Moving is tough enough. These tips will help you decide with as little stress as possible.
