What to Know Before Downsizing Your Home

Many people today are considering downsizing their homes for a variety of reasons.

Whether their purposes are for retirement, divorce, kids moving out, or financial goals; it can be a great choice. Downsizing your home can be meticulous work, and it may require proper strategy and procedure to get it done right.

Here are some pointers you should know before downsizing your home.

Before Downsizing, Take Photos of Your Home

Before downsizing, take photos of your home and belongings first. It may be fun to look at after you finish your project. It can also be helpful as a tool to help you sort things that you should keep or discard. These photos may also serve as your reference on what you misplaced that takes up space in your home.

Sort Your Things Out

This is the time where you should choose the things that you need and use and those you keep for aesthetics. Sorting your belongings will dictate what makes your house a home.

This procedure will help you identify the things that are valuable to you, which is essential, so you know what to bring with you to create your new home.

Sorting things out also gives you the chance to throw away items that are worn out and in bad shape already. You should take only usable objects with you and throw away the junk.

Going through this process may also lead you to find precious items that you had misplaced or forgotten about. If you haven't thought about an object for a long time, do you really need it?


The Next Generation Will Take Care of Themselves

Most families tend to save their possessions with the idea of passing them to their next generations. Teach your children to value heirlooms, but also understand that they have no obligation to hold onto these items.

The memories these items hold can live on in other ways, from photo albums to new owners.

Ultimately, it's up the "kids" on what they decide to give away and keep as they downsize.

Most Gen X-ers and Millennials would rather collect memories and experiences than buy expensive items just to display in their homes. Downsizing homes is a continually growing trend for these two generations, so expect them to be picky about what they keep. And that's ok.

Give Wholeheartedly

Downsizing your home will lead you to give away some belongings you don't need. This is one way of getting rid of all the extra things in the house.

Consider charities and other organizations where you can donate your belongings so that you can help others as well.

Stop Purchasing

Before downsizing your home, it would be appropriate for you to stop purchasing or acquiring more things. Create a rule that when you buy something new, you need to discard one thing in your house that you don't need.

Besides, you also have to set aside a budget for your tiny home.

Select Your Favorites

If you are an avid collector of teacups, there could be dozens of different types and designs in your cupboards that you collected. Select the ones that you like most and try to give away the not so important ones.

Again, you can donate it to charities and other organizations.

While in your new tiny home, you can tailor space around what you most love, like teacups, but this does take valuable space away from something.

Keep in mind; downsizing is more about curating your home and life than it is about sacrifice. There's no one "right" amount of stuff, but living in clutter can have severe effects on your wellbeing.

Plan on Where to Move Your Things

Make a plan for where you are going to put the things that you are going to move into your new tiny home. Temporarily storing items at a family member's house or in a storage unit can help you with a final sorting of your belongings.

Also, you may find that some of your things won't actually fit your new home.

Do Repair Works

If you are planning to sell your home as you begin to transition into your new tiny home, you should make sure that your old home is free from any issues.

It might be a good idea to have every nook and cranny checked by a professional, especially those items that can require significant repairs, such as plumbing. It would be best to have reliable contractors like Leaside Plumbing and Heating check them before putting your house on the market.

This will help you get the best price for your home, which will help with paying off your new tiny home.

Begin Now

Downsizing your home will take a lot of time, especially when sorting all your things out. It will stress you out if you overthink and worry about not finishing your project.

You can begin immediately by starting with small things like choosing one drawer to sort.

There are so many different ways of achieving a downsized home. Once you do the work, you can realize the benefits of living a simple life.  For more tips, check out our blog.

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  • Discover different types of tiny houses from liveaboard boats to Alaskan yurts, converted school buses to high wall tents.
  • Try recipes from a tiny house kitchen. Each month we feature a recipe from the Tiny House Foodie. Learn to make it work and still cook like a pro.
  • Hear from those living with kids in a tiny house. What happens when you build for two but end up with four? Can it really be done?
  • Read excerpts from books on tiny houses, downsizing, and a host of other related topics.
  • Each month brings new topics and new, exciting articles!

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