How to Downsize and Organize in 4 Easy Steps

Published On: May 16, 2020|Categories: Buyers, Home Buying Tips|Tags: downsize, Downsizing, Downsizing Your Home|

People most often downsize to a different home simply because they don’t need as much space as they currently occupy. It doesn’t make sense to put up with all the tasks that come with owning a large home when you no longer need one.

Downsizing to a smaller home, though, is likely to come with the need to do some streamlining. If you’ve lived in a larger house, you’ve probably accumulated a lot of “stuff.” When downsizing, some organizing of that stuff is in order.

Here’s how to downsize and organize in four easy steps.

1. Ditch the Junk

The popular trend for decluttering these days involves pulling various belongings out and asking “Does this bring me joy?” But when it comes to home organization, joy might not be your first consideration.

If you pull out something from your closet organizer that you haven’t even seen for five years, the mere of it might bring you some joy. It can be nostalgic. But if you haven’t gazed upon it for half a decade, how important a piece of your life could it possibly be?

In your preparation for a move, if you come across things you haven’t used or even seen in years, ditch them.

2. Donate the Stuff

One of the impediments to purging is the usefulness of items you’ve accumulated over the years. When you come across something that you haven’t used in forever and find yourself saying: “Well, SOMEONE could use this,” donate it. That’s often the best way to get it into the hands of someone who can use something you won’t.

3. Deploy Organization Strategies

Your downsized home will probably need some tweaks so that it can accommodate you and your stuff. With a smaller home, you will likely need to optimize the space you have available. So deploy strategies that allow you to maximize your new, smaller space.

Those strategies include closet accessories, garage organization, a pantry organizer, and other forms of custom organization. Remember, better organization of your existing stuff can help overcome a newfound lack of space.

4. Dictate New Rules

When you move into a new home, the previous homeowners have left some directives for you to follow. Things such as entertainment centers occupied certain walls. Small dressers were in spots that could accommodate large dressers. Maybe the junk drawer is larger than it needs to be.

Those are the previous owner’s rules. When you downsize, you should be able to dictate new ones. Just because someone else used space a certain way doesn’t mean you must.

Downsizing to a new home doesn’t mean you have to make major life sacrifices. Following a few simple steps can make it an easier transition. It’s up to you how easy to make it.

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