Streamlining Your Home to Move: Tips to Downsize

Plan ahead when you are downsizing. Long before moving day, take a look around and make note of what you truly want to take to your new home and what can be left behind. Walk carefully through each room, and make notes about the important furniture and accessories you want to take with you and what will fit into your new home.

Get the family involved, and have them do the same to their personal spaces, like bedrooms. Have them take a look around the house and decide which items are important to them and which they can either sell or give away.

Start packing up belongings now, even before you close on your new home, as it will relieve stress and prevent you from rushing to pack in the last few days or weeks before the actual move.

2. Decide Which Furniture to Move

Determine how much smaller your new home is from your current one. Will all your bedroom furniture fit into your new space? Or do you need to take only the most important pieces and either sell or give away the rest?

Do you have oversized furniture like chairs or a couch? Do you have large bookcases that are practically empty? Measure out the pieces you really want to take to see if they will fit into the new space, and make your decisions from there.

If possible, do a specific walkthrough of your new home to get a feel for its size and where your furniture can go. If you can’t walk through your new home, keep in mind the dimensions of the new space while you downsize your furniture and belongings.

3. Determine Important Smaller Items

Downsizing means getting rid of items and belongings you either don’t need or don’t want anymore. While this is a good time to get rid of those items packed away in boxes or in closets you haven’t seen for a while, don’t give away or sell anything without going through the items carefully.

Go through each room, and look through each drawer and closet. Take an inventory of what is there. Have you used it recently? Do you think you will use it in the future? Is it sentimental? Start separating everything into boxes of items you want to keep and items you want to give away. You will come back to those later.

Once you have separated everything, go through them once more to determine whether you really want to give away those items or not. Go through your keep box too to see if you have duplicates of items and if you really need them.

4. Consider Sentimental Items

Consider your sentimental items such as childhood dolls and toys, gifts from grandparents, or photographs and books. You most likely will want these items, so don’t give them away or sell them when you downsize.

If you really don’t have the space for them, consider giving them to family members or close friends so you know they are going to someone special to you. If you have valuables you really can’t take with you and no one to give them to, donate them to a charity that sells items to raise funds. You could also donate clothing to shelters.

If you are planning a move in the near future, contact us at Christofferson Moving & Storage today. We can help.

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