How do you downsize with less stress? Doing so will lead ultimately to a better place for you to live, where you don’t need as much space and your bills would be naturally lower too. This is an important step in your life and it deserves some extra attention.
How do you end up with house that may be too big for you? Well, sometimes it is because you simply can, or you just have many kids. So, you start accumulating things over the years. We know, sometimes they buy stuff just because you have the room and may not necessarily need it… simply to fill up space… Well, your kids will grow up and in most cases (we hope :)) they will move out of your home and then you may feel you’ve got a little too much space.
Tip #1 – The “One Year” Rule
This is something you’ve probably heard of – if you have not used something in a year, you probably don’t need it. Think about it, if you have a shirt that you have not worn in a year, going through all the seasons, then probably you do not need it and you won’t need it… Decluttering is a great rule to follow. We know there is also wisdom in the idea of “spring cleaning”, only we realize you can do one for every season, not just the spring. This of course applies to everything you have – tools, music/CDs (if you still have those things), clothes, etc. Believe us, if you really put your mind up to it, you can find something you don’t really need in every corner of your house.
Tip #2 – Repurpose And Give
One great way to think about why you may want to do a thorough an frequent cleanings is the thought to give to others. Wouldn’t it make you feel good to gift some things to a church, charity or friends, especially if you have not used this item in a long time? We don’t know about you, but we always get a kick out of this. One other way is to repurpose things for other uses. Shuffling things around keeps your house and your mind fresh. And while you are thinking to repurpose something, you can always find some things to give away to others. Helping others if one of the best gifts of life for us.
Tip #3 – Look Through All The Boxes
We know you may have items that have sentimental value. Keep them! Of course, if you have some comics or collectibles from 50-100 yrs ago, this could be pretty valuable. As for the rest, the more you look the more you will find that you need to dispose of somehow. Make it a habit to do this every quarter, you will probably not regret it at all!
Tip #4 – Assess Your Furniture
This get much easier if you decide to downsize and you will do it in the near future. So, if you do have an idea of the size of place you will get next, it makes it much easier to decide what furniture and items to keep and what to sell or give away now. That huge coffee table you have? Will it serve you well in a smaller place? Probably now. So, you could post it up for sale as soon as you are ready.
Tip #5 – Digitize Where It Makes Sense
This may sound intuitive to some people, but you know that most printers today can scan, so can your phone too! Scan your important papers and digitize them – store them into files, instead of keeping piles of paper over the years. Of course, some docs must be kept on paper as originals.
Tip #6 – Organize Everything
Organization is everything – both in business and in personal life. We know… we also understand not every person is well-versed in this. If you are not, hire a Pro! You will not regret it. The principles you can learn with this will be invaluable!
Tip #8 – Options To Sell Your House for Downsizing
What about your house? When the time comes, if you are not really up to the tasks above, what can you do? If you go with a real estate agent, you will need to do cleaning, fixing up, staging, showings, etc., and also pay agent commissions. What if you want to skip all that? What if you have too much stuff? What if significant repairs of the house are needed? What if you don’t have the time, money, health, or even the desire to do all this organizing, cleaning, and fixing? If you don’t want to go through all that hassle, then you can call us, we can make you a cash offer and buy your house “as is”, any condition, with everything left as is, no need to clean up of fix anything!