Downsizing - 3 Easy Steps

One thing certain during the COVID-19 pandemic – we all became intimately familiar with our homes. Being cooped up in them all day made this unavoidable.

From the extra room that does nothing but gather dust to having lower utility bills and maintenance costs, there's a lot to be said for downsizing.

So, let's get you started on your downsizing project.

1. DECIDE NOT TO STRESS OVER IT

While it's good to have a downsizing plan, give yourself permission to take it slow if you need to. Do one room at a time or even decide to tackle half of each room during a session. Or, start with paperwork, photos, collections or kitchen utensils.  If the thought of sorting through your belongings and getting rid of the excess makes you anxious, start the process in a "neutral" room, such as the office or kitchen.

2. COME UP WITH A SYSTEM

One of the most brilliantly simple systems we've heard about involves using different colored-sticky notes.  For example, slap green sticky notes on items you're keeping, yellow on items you're giving away and pink on those you haven't made a final decision about yet.  Another system involves "The Rule of One Thing In, Two Things Out." For every platter, book or other item in a collection that you decide to take with you, choose two that you'll give away.

3. WHAT GOES WITH YOU AND WHAT STAYS?

"Keep things you want, use, need, or like to look at," is the key to successfully downsizing, according to Laura McCamy at BusinessInsider.com.

Then, consider the size of the new home. If it's half the size of your current home, you'll need to get rid of half of your "stuff."  Focusing on furniture is typically the best place to start the decision-making project. Oversized sofas, tables and the like may need to go to make way for something more to scale with the size of your new home's room.