Downsizing your home can be an overwhelming and exciting experience, but it can also be a great opportunity to save money and enjoy the capital freed up from the sale of your home. It's important to consider all of your options when reducing the size of your home, as it could mean a big lifestyle change. Before you start packing, make an inventory of your belongings and decide which items are worth keeping and which should be donated, sold, or thrown away. If you're moving everything yourself, avoid hassles and the risk of injury by donating or selling heavy items like porcelain cabinets.
If you pay for a full service, know that items that are so heavy increase the price. When you move to a smaller home, you naturally won't have as much space for all the items you've accumulated over the years. Consider renting a storage unit if you need to keep some items, but remember to multiply the cost by a year or two and decide if sentimental items are worth keeping. Things get a little more complicated when you reduce space, but not the rooms, for example, when you move from a 1,800-square-foot three-bedroom house to a 1,200-square-foot three-bedroom house.
Look carefully at the floor plan of your new space or take a tour with a measuring tape to get a real idea of where you can place your tables, chairs and sofas. You may realize that you can keep your dining table, but you need to sell your breakfast table. Or you may discover that you can keep your sofa and a chair, but it's time to give away your two-seater sofa. There are many places where you can donate your used furniture.
Nobody rents a storage unit thinking “I plan to continue paying this rent for the next 10 years” - however, that often happens. There shouldn't be a fifth stack to store - if you don't move it to your new home, you should sell it, donate it, or throw it away. For sentimental possessions that you no longer use but can't bear the thought of leaving them, consider giving them to a friend or family member. For example, that jumpsuit that your 11-year-old son used to wear when he was a baby can be for his niece or nephew to keep him in the family and keep wearing it. You can also take (digital) photos to remember them as follows. Use intelligent storage solutions in your smallest space.
For example, a tablecloth can reuse an old table and give you a way to hide things from view. Or use a piece from your porcelain collection that looks too big to store as a pen holder in your home office or to store makeup in your bathroom. Reducing staff is moving from a larger house or space to a smaller one - it usually involves getting rid of possessions that are no longer needed or that don't fit in the new home and can mean a big lifestyle change. The most common examples of staff reduction include a couple moving to a smaller home after their children have moved or a family moving from a larger house in a rural or suburban area to a smaller house in a large city. It's worth doing some research on where you want to live, what type of property you'd be satisfied with, and being realistic about how much you own before downsizing your home. Many people experience negative feelings when downsizing their home due to sadness and fear - so it's best to reduce the size as soon as possible when it's easier to adapt to the new environment. Downsizing can be difficult for those who don't want to change or have become accustomed to their home - but there are many advantages and opportunities.
There's no real need to downsize if you're opposed to the idea - but it can often offer better quality of life with the money earned from selling.
