May, 2022
People downsize for many reasons, with the most common reason being when their kids leave home and they no longer need the bigger space.
We have created a guide to help you learn how to downsize your home efficiently and live clutter-free.
You should start the downsizing process as soon as possible to give yourself time to properly sort through your house without feeling overwhelmed.
Give yourself at least 3 months to plan. This also gives you the opportunity to declutter your home and get rid of things you no longer need.
The thought of sorting out your entire home is daunting. Break your home down into bite size pieces and remember to take it one step at a time. You’re more likely to complete the whole process if you break it into multiple, more manageable projects so you do not get overwhelmed.
In order to properly downsize, you have to understand the size of your new home. Ideally, you’ll know the square footage and shape of each room by using the floor plans from the agent selling. If you do not have these available, as the selling agent if you can go to the house to measure these rooms yourself. This will help you figure out which furniture you need get rid of before the move.
What do you want from your new space? Downsizing is a great opportunity to redesign, so take advantage of that!
Understanding your core reasoning and goals can help you stick to your plan and make you more excited about the process.
Think about:
Once you start decluttering, it could become easy to make exceptions here and there. Before you know it, all you’ve done is taken items from one place and moved them to another. The best way to avoid this is by sticking to a strong set of ground rules. Often getting a friend or family member to help with this process often helps.
There are bound to be some sentimental items that won’t fit into your new space. Try reaching out to your family and friends to give any items you are reluctant to get rid of, a new home. Do this early on to allow plenty of time for collection.
If there are items that your friends and family members don’t want, try selling them and putting the money you made in savings.
If you know you’re going to miss the item, but it has no place in your new home, take a photo of it and add any relevant details (where it came from, what it signifies). Create your own photo book of your possessions and memories
For those nonsentimental items you don’t plan on bringing to your new home, try selling them to pay for moving costs or items for your new home. There are plenty of online marketplaces that make selling online easy, like eBay, Facebook Market Place, Gumtree etc.
If you would prefer to donate, there are plenty of charities that will accept certain gifts and will also come and collect them too. Talk to your local charity shops to see what items they will or will not accept.
Organise smaller items in your drawers by using trays and boxes – these will transfer easily from your current home to moving boxes to their new place in your home.
Papers and files can really build up over the years so get your shredder out and get ready to thin out your filing cabinet. Get rid of statements or documents that you have online access to and any tax-related paperwork past seven years old.
Other documents can be scanned and organized in neat digital files. Make sure you back up those files on a separate drive and if it’s something you couldn’t bear to lose (birth certificate, etc.) make sure you have a safe space to keep your physical copies in your new home.
If you feel any steps of the downsizing and moving processes are above your ability or you don’t have the time, bring in some help. You could first ask your friends and family but try to not make it feel like an obligation. If not, there are organisations which can help you with your moving process. Speak to your Estate Agent for help with this.
HS Homes of Solihull is a small independent estate agent based in Shirley, Solihull. If you are interested to know what your home is worth, call us on 0121 430 4448. Alternatively, click here to book a free market appraisal.
