Six Simple Tips to Help With Downsizing For a Move
Do you feel like you have way too much stuff? Join the club! About one quarter of Americans feel they have too much clutter in their homes. Moving is a great time to whittle away at the amount of your belongings to make sure you don’t bring anything with you that you don’t actually want in your new home; you definitely don’t want to start off life in your new place with piles of miscellaneous things! In fact, clutter can cause anxiety, which is definitely not the vibe you want to create when you set up your house. Plus, moving with extra stuff just costs you money and time in added boxes and packing hours. You may even be moving to a smaller place in order to downsize. Downsizing can be a daunting activity, but also a rewarding one. Read on for some tips on downsizing for a move to help you get through the process in an organized and stress-free fashion.
1. Bring Furniture That Fits
Just because your furniture fits in your current home doesn’t mean it will fit well in your new home. Measure the spaces in your new home and have a plan for where each piece of furniture will go. If you don’t need to bring all your furniture pieces, don’t! If your couch is suddenly too bulky for your new living room or family room, replace it with one that properly fits your space. It will make your home look better, and gives you a concrete plan on which furniture you can sell or give away.
2. Digitally Backup Paper Clutter
Paper tends to pile up without our noticing it until it’s a mountain of “to be looked at later”s or “just in cases”s. There’s no need to hold on to all those documents, bills, statements, and so on. You can scan them all into folders on your computer (backed up by an external hard drive!) and shred all the physical papers, freeing up a surprising amount of countertop, drawer, and moving box space.
3. Get Rid of Duplicates
Do you have duplicate or near-duplicate items that you collected over time? You may not even realize you have these things until you start going through them. You likely don’t need three navy sweaters (unless you do – it’s up to you!), two tea kettles, or exact duplicates of the same toy or book that you acquired by accident. This is an easy category to tackle when you downsize for a move.
4. Outgrown Toys
When you go through your children’s toys, take note of the ones your kids never play with or have completely outgrown. There are likely other neighborhood kids who would love those toys, and your kids likely won’t even notice they’re gone! You can also make this a joint effort with your kids and involve them in passing on their old toys to others.
5. Unused Kitchen Items
If your kitchen is bursting at the seams with appliances, gadgets, mugs, and so forth, it’s a good idea to give thorough consideration to everything and not bring along those kitchen items that are really just taking up space. Are you really going to use that food processor that has been sitting collecting dust in a cabinet for 5+ years? Do you need every cute mug you’ve collected over time?
6. Give Yourself Permission To Let Go
Sometimes, we hold onto things because we feel we should, or because we “might need it” at some undefined future time for an entirely hypothetical reason. Give yourself permission to let these things go. This is the most important step in downsizing for a move. Old textbooks, recipe books, vases, and so on that you never look at or use anymore would do better in someone else’s possession who will actually give these items life.
Downsizing For A Move Has Many Benefits
The benefits of downsizing for a move are substantial. Movers tend to charge per box or per hour, so the less you bring with you, the less you will end up paying. You will also save yourself time and stress when unpacking because you will know that everything you brought has a place in your new home. At Big John’s Moving, we can help with packing and do all we can to ensure your move is successful and as free of stress as possible.
