It’s 2022, your kids are grown, your house no longer meets your needs, and you are ready for a fresh start. It’s time to downsize to a smaller house, a retirement community, or something that better fits your current lifestyle. Of course, this means you will have to downsize your stuff.
Downsizing your things is a difficult task. You don’t want to lose the memories – photos, children’s artwork, awards, and all the things near and dear to your heart. As you move forward, you simply no longer have space for these items and you aren’t sure where to start. Our Founder, Ted Gottlieb is a Certified Downsizing Coach and can help you with all of your moving needs. Here are a few quick tips to help you get rid of the stuff, but keep the memories.
Start with one room at a time.
Where to start? This is a question many people find themselves asking when it comes to downsizing. A good rule of thumb is to start small. We recommend starting with a room that is easy. For example, a spare room or other room that isn’t used as much is a better place to start than say, a kitchen. When downsizing these rooms, sort them by categories such as donate, toss, and sell. Sorting these rooms by categories can help you get a better sense of what you need and also what to do with the items that need to go. Once you knock out the smaller rooms, move on to rooms that require a little more time and thought.
Utilize digital services for photos and artwork.
Polaroid photos, albums, scrapbooks, and the like take up a lot of space. However, we are living in digital times, which allows for safe storage of countless photos that takes up practically no space at all. We recommend digitizing old photos either by scanning them yourself or by having a professional service do so. Doing this not only saves your space, but it keeps your photos from fading and makes accessing them easy.
Have a sale.
Remember that “sell” pile we mentioned? Now is the time to tackle it. Selling your unwanted items can help you free up some space and also put cash in your pocket. We recommend selling items by having a yard sale (ask a friend or family member to help you), having an estate sale, or selling on online places. Facebook Marketplace can be a useful tool, but there are many online selling sites that may be more suited to your needs. Just be sure to do your research and exercise safety precautions.
Consult with a professional downsizing coach.
If you are overwhelmed and not sure where to start, you are not alone. If you would like some help during the process, consider consulting with a Professional Downsizing Coach is an excellent option. These coaches can help you downsize in an organized manner, coordinate estate sales, find the best solutions for downsizing, and so much more. Ted has been helping the senior community downsize for many years and is a Certified Senior Downsizing Coach through the Seniors Real Estate Institute. He combines his experience and senior expertise to create a plan that works for you. Connect with Ted by giving him a call at (314) 400-8102.