10 Tips for Downsizing

1. Pace Yourself

 The first step to the downsizing process is sorting out your current home. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed as you are moving to a smaller house and are bound to have a lot of clutter, especially in a family home. A rule of thumb is to start 3 months before you move, but depending on how busy your schedule is, you may want to start sooner.

Decluttering is an important part of the downsizing process. There are different popular methods to get organised that have gained popularity in recent years. Here are some examples:

• KonMari Method: Take on clutter by category (clothes, paper/books, miscellaneous items and then sentimental items). If an item no longer “sparks joy” then it’s time to get rid of it.
• One-A-Day Method: Let go of one item a day or let go of the number of items that corresponds with the date (i.e., giving away 8 items on the 8th of a given month).
• Four-Box Method: Restrict your options for what to do with a particular item by giving yourself the four options of ‘keep, donate, throw away/recycle, or sell’. Keeping an item does not mean keep it in storage. Be brutal
• Closet-Hanger Method: Face all closet hanger hooks away from you. Once you wear an item, turn the hanger hook toward you. After 6 months, donate any clothes that are still facing away.

2. Focus on One Room at a Time

Moving out and organising your whole house can be seen as a daunting task, especially if the reason you’re downsizing is because your current home is too large. Take it one step at a time and it will be easier to complete the process once you’ve broken it down into smaller, manageable tasks. Breaking your plan down to one room at a time will ensure that you stay on track and don’t get overwhelmed. Things that could help include:

• Donate clothes in your closet
• Go through any old CDs, video games, books
• Tackle the ‘junk drawer’
• Match up containers, pots, and pans with their lids

3. Measure your New Space

When taking a look at your new home, you should ideally measure the square footage and take note of the shape of each room so that you have an idea of what furniture to bring with you and what to get rid of. Your current furniture may not fit so rather than having an overcrowded space, it could be a good idea to take the opportunity to redesign your home.

4. Consider your New Lifestyle

After considering the measurements of your home, start to consider what you are looking to gain from downsizing. Once you've figured out what physically fits, you must decide what will fit in with your new plan. Take advantage of your chance to redecorate while downsizing. 

If downsizing is something you're doing by choice, think about your core reasoning and goals for the move. Ask yourself "why"- do you want to travel more, or set money aside for family, or just have more free time in general? Ask yourself the following questions:

• What are your top reasons for wanting to downsize?
• What opportunities will downsizing create?
• What will you miss the most about your old home?
• What are you most excited about in this downsizing process?
• What are you most nervous about in this process? How can you ease your nerves?
• What is the first thing you want to do when you’re settled into your new home?

By setting your intentions ahead of time, your vision will be much clearer of what items will fit into your new space.

5. Set Decluttering Ground Rules

Once you start decluttering and combing through items, 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, instead of determining where they actually belong.

The first thing is not to make any exceptions. If you keep an item here and there 'just in case', you'll end up getting rid of barely anything. The best way to avoid this is by sticking to a set of rules for decluttering. Use the organisational methods mentioned in tip #1. Avoid placing items in a 'maybe' pile.

6. Offer up Sentimental Items

Although you may not want to hear it, not all your sentimental items will fit in your new home. Any larger items could be donated to friends or passed on to a family member. Do this early and schedule pick-up times.

If there are items that your family members don’t want or are too young to take right now, you could sell them and open up a savings account for them. You can pass on that gift and they can purchase something they need, with you in mind.

If an item has no physical value to you anymore but still holds sentimental value, take a photo of it and add any relevant details. Create a memory box or photo album with the images to keep forever. 

7. Sell/Donate Unimportant Items

For the nonsentimental items, you can sell them or donate them. Selling will help with some of the costs of moving house. Use online marketplaces such as eBay and Depop or you could get the appraised and sold at an auction. If you're considering donating, there is sure to be many donation centres and charity shops in your area.

8. Organise and Digitise as you go

While decluttering and packing, keep your space organised and tidy as you go. This well help day-to-day before you move and it will make packing easier. You will thank yourself when packing if you use trays and boxes for items in your drawers as it will be easier to transfer them.

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.

Thin out your filing cabinet by shredding any files and papers you don't need. You could go so far as to scan the ones you do need, putting them into neat digital files and shred everything. Back up those files on a drive and get rid of any online paperwork that you no longer need while you're at it.

9. Repurpose or Memorialize  

There will still be items that you cannot bear to get rid off but that don't fit in your new home. Another idea would be to upcycle or repurpose an item and incorporate it into your space. Examples include:

• Turn your t-shirt collection into a quilt 
• Convert any prized pieces into wall art
• Convert your old toy chest into seating and storage

10. Bring In Help If Needed

Buying and selling at the same time can be overwhelming, and then put moving house on top of that! If you feel like the process is a lot to handle, bring in some help. Many friends and family members will be more than happy to help, if they have the time.

Know your strengths and weaknesses– if you're a strong organizer, you may only need help moving boxes on moving day. Alternatively, you could hire help for your most difficult room and then see if you can apply what you learned to your other rooms by yourself. If you have a hard time with being organised or letting go of items, a professional organizer could be worth looking into.