Collaborative Post
Even though you may be leaving a home that you hold fond memories of, or that has maybe even been your longstanding family home for many years, downsizing can be a positive move.
Downsizing to a smaller home that requires less maintenance and upkeep should help to reduce your stress levels. You will also benefit from saving money thanks to lower bills. If you are a parent whose children have grown up and now you have an empty nest, why not take the time in your new smaller home to take up new hobbies and do all the things you enjoy? Life is too short.
Continue reading to learn more about how to prepare yourself for downsizing.
Look at a floor plan of your new home to help you arrange furniture
Looking through a detailed floor plan with measurements will allow you to work out whether or not your current furniture will fit in your new downsized property. If there’s not enough room for your furniture, you may have to look to buy new furniture that is more space-saving. For example, getting in a two-person sofa for a six-person one that would perhaps take up too much space and not fit within the dimensions of your new home.
Replace double beds with singles
It is important to be realistic about the amount of space you have to play with when downsizing, you may need to make sacrifices. Do you have large double beds at your current place that will not fit in the bedrooms at the smaller home you are moving into? In that case, try replacing your double beds with single beds, you will quickly realise how much more floor space it gives you in your new bedrooms.
Take items you no longer need to charity shops
Using charity shops is great for avoiding waste when you are sorting out all your things when downsizing. Think about those clothes you want to get rid of that you will no longer have space for, if they are in good condition, why not take them to the charity shop for someone else to enjoy? What’s more, you will be helping to support a valuable cause in doing so.
Have a well-thought-out keep or chuck session
It sounds brutal, but before you move house and downsize you may need to decide to get rid of some items, by going to a charity shop, giving items to friends or family, or visiting a skip. You can’t keep everything since you most likely will struggle to have enough storage in your new smaller place.
Of course, you need to remember to consult others before you decide to chuck away or donate anyone else’s things to a charity shop. Inevitably, there will be photos and memories that you just don’t want to get rid of, and that is fine, as long as you find somewhere to store them in the smaller home you are moving to.
Embrace the digital age and try to go paperless as much as possible
Having folders and important documents sprawled everywhere will clutter up your smaller home in no time. So, why not try to go digital or use cloud storage with some of your paperwork records such as tax bills, energy bills, and so on? The digital age is upon us, and it is not going away anytime soon. One of the benefits of digital storage is that it could help to free up space in your home after downsizing.
Hire a self storage unit from a reputable provider
Renting a self storage unit from a trusted reputable provider is useful for –
Temporary storage for when you are moving house to downsize (everyone knows just how long drawn and stop-start the process of moving house can be
Short or long-term additional storage for your possessions that simply won’t fit into your new downsized home
Moving into your home gradually when downsizing is wise because it enables you to really think more about how you can work with the space you have got and what to put where. Hiring a self storage unit will help you move in gradually, and avoid rushing things. Currie Easy Self Storage is a self storage facility provider you can rely on to keep your belongings nice and secure as you are downsizing at settling in.
As humans, we hold strong memories of the places we have lived and the memories connected with them. Home is home, and moving house will always be a big moment in anyone’s life. Thanks to these little tips, you now ought to know a fair bit more about how to prepare yourself for downsizing.
