Believe it or not, about one in every seven, or 14.5%, of the population is an older American. Many of these Americans decide to downsize their homes at some point. In theory, this sounds great. They’ll have less to take care of, be in a space where they can get care quickly if needed, and many other benefits. In practice, however, downsizing a home also comes with many challenges. A few tips can help make this easier.
One Room at a Time
Instead of tackling decades’ worth of accumulated items all at once, go one room at a time. Set a reasonable goal of one room per week. This will keep you from getting overwhelmed and make it easy to track progress.
Work on your Mindset
As you begin downsizing, cherish the memories you come across while also viewing this transition as an exciting new season of life. Yes, you are letting go of items and a home that have sentimental value, but you are also entering a season of more freedom, less possessions, and creating new memories.
Family Heirlooms
If there are furniture or other items you plan to bequeath to family, give them away now. This saves you space in your new home and gives you a chance to see your family enjoying the items now.
Go Digital
Photo albums take up loads of space. But they also contain a lot of memories. So get help converting your photo albums and scrapbooks into digital format. This way, you can take your memories with you without wasting valuable space in a smaller place.
No Maybes
As you’re sorting through all your items and deciding what to keep, don’t allow “maybe” to be an option. Creating a maybe pile does more work since you’ll have to go through it again to sort into yes and no later. Save yourself the time and agony of going through things twice and go with only yes or no right from the start.
Get Help
Packing up to downsize can be overwhelming, no matter how organized you are. Working with a personal assistant can be a huge help. We’ll help you decide what to keep, what to store, and what to get rid of. And we’ll assist with organizing and doing the heavy lifting involved in preparing to downsize.
