The Details on Downsizing

Here are some things to consider to make this transition a positive experience:

• Start thinking about downsizing as soon as you have made the decision to move from your house to an apartment. It’s the perfect time to go through absolutely everything in your home.
• Start small. Don’t let the task be daunting.
• A popular way to sort through belongings is to take three totes and label them “keep,” “sell,” and “charity.” Pledge to be honest with yourself as you do this. It can be life-changing!
• Are you moving from a home with a lot of storage to one with no storage? Be realistic about the amount of space you will have.
• Study the layout of your new apartment and pencil in how you can arrange your furniture. Don’t worry about having it totally to scale. This will help you decide which furniture you can keep and what you can’t.
• How is the laundry handled? Consider where you can have a cart with laundry bags – one for delicates, for permanent press, jeans, and one for towels. Where will the best place be for this?
• As your moving date approaches, pay attention to what you actually use and what you don’t. If you haven’t used that blender sitting on your kitchen counter since Thanksgiving a year ago, do you really need it? Or would it be better stored in your apartment rather than taking up valuable counter space?
• If you can’t recall the story behind that family heirloom, neither will your kids. Decide if your keepsakes are really worth keeping.
• When you go through your clothes, decide whether you are really ever going to wear that orange dress, or really fit into those jeans again. If you have time before the transition to the apartment, one trick is to hang all of your clothes so the hangers are backwards on the closet rod. Then as you wear something, rehang it the usual way. At the end of a certain period of time of your choice, you can easily see what you wear and what you don’t.
• Do the same with your coat closet. Will you ever use all of those pairs of gloves or wear that knit hat your well-meaning friend crocheted? Don’t be afraid to let it go.

Once you get started going through your home, and making those decisions about what to keep, it will get easier. By the time you move to that new apartment, you’ll be prepared and organized, and ready for a fresh start.

Written By Melanie Olsen