De-Cluttering Tips And Advice When Downsizing Your Home
De-cluttering is one of the first and most important steps to take when downsizing your home. Think of it as an opportunity to organize and simplify your life. It’s also an excellent time to rid yourself of unused or outdated possessions and oversized furnishings and embark on a completely fresh, new decor for your next home. To set you up for success, here are our top tips.
1. Start The Process Early And Stay Focused
Depending on your situation, this process can take several weeks to several months to complete, so starting well in advance will manage or eliminate time pressure as your moving date approaches.
2. Make A Commitment To A Firm Start Date And A Consistent, Ongoing Schedule
Commit to a date to begin and mark it on your calendar. Schedule some time each day or, if you have the luxury of time, one morning each week. Experts agree that scheduling no more than three hours at a time is the most effective approach and will keep you coming back on a regular basis to follow through to the end.
3. Take Inventory
The first thing to do is to take inventory of your belongings. Take note of the things that are actually important to you, and the things that you could live without, or would replace or downsize along with your living space.
4. Categorize Your Belongings
Ideally, you should make three lists:
1) “Must Haves”: Your “must haves” are obviously the items that will move with you
2) “No Longer Needed Or Used”: These are the things that are no longer necessary that you could sell, donate, giveaway or toss as you move through the de-cluttering process.
3) “Things To Replace”: This list should be reserved for items that you will replace with smaller versions to accommodate your smaller living space, such as a smaller TV or space-saving furniture to replace the massive TV and huge sectional couch and recliners that you currently own today.
5. Use The Concentric Circle Rule
When we acquire objects, we place them in our home relative to their emotional value to us. Generally, objects that are in the heart of the home, in the family room, rec room, and kitchen are those we value and use the most, so they are keepers. Those objects farthest away from these rooms, in the attic, garage, or basement, may have lost their importance to us. That’s where to start the purging process. Then move to other rooms farthest from your home’s prime living areas, like bedrooms. Continue the purging process in ever-smaller circles until complete.
6. Keep, Sell, Donate, Giveaway or Toss
Designate a room in your home to begin the sorting process and label five containers – one marked “Keep”; one marked “Sell”; and one marked “Donate”; one marked “Giveaway” and one marked “Toss”.
Keep
The “Keep” box is for items that you intend to take with you to your new home, but can be packed away now in preparation for the move.
Sell
In the “Sell” box, put those things that are in good condition that you no longer need and sell them. A garage sale is an easy way to dispose of your items and earn extra cash. If you require help in organizing a garage sale, ask a family member or friend for help in return for part of the proceeds.
For high-end items, try an auction, a reputable antique dealer or a secondhand dealer. Also, check with local consignment stores in your area. They will pay you a percentage of any item sold on your behalf. They may also be willing to pick the items up, saving you the time and effort of delivering it yourself.
The goal here is to try to make as much money as possible from the things you won’t take with you. The more money you make, the more you’ll have to buy new and size appropriate furnishings for your new home, or simply save the money and enjoy your new life in your smaller space.
Donate
If you can’t sell it, don’t hesitate to donate it to a local charity or shelter. If it’s in good condition, someone else will be able to put it to good use and will appreciate having it.
Giveaway
Give your friends and family a “heads-up” that you are de-cluttering. There might be pieces that have little meaning or value to you but have sentimental value for them.
Toss
In the “Toss” box, throw out anything that is broken or not worth fixing. When cleaning out paper files and discarding old bills, invoices or documents with personal information, be sure to shred them to protect yourself against identity theft.
7. Consider Leasing A Storage Space Only As A Final, Last Resort
When you lease a storage unit, you are essentially paying rent to someone to store items that you not using. When you do the math and determine the annual cost of storage versus the actual value of the items, it may become apparent that storage fees will quickly outstrip the value of your stored items, thereby costing you more in storage fees than the items are worth.
You should also consider that once your items are in storage, they are far less accessible to you if you should choose to sell them in the future and are becoming less and less valuable from a resale perspective as they continue to age in storage. It is a much more practical and lucrative strategy to sell these items prior to your move and pocket the money when you can sell them for the highest price possible now and avoid the future costs of storage altogether.
8. If It All Seems Too Much, Hire A Professional
If the idea of de-cluttering and sorting all seems to be too much, consider hiring a professional organizer or a downsizing specialist to do the job for you. There are a host of businesses available to you that specialize in downsizing. Their mission is to take these tasks off your hands and do the heavy lifting for you, allowing you to focus on what’s most important to you.
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