Things to consider when downsizing for retirement

Things to consider when downsizing for retirement

How to downsize the smart way

Downsizing is a new term which is generally used when people switch their current home to a smaller one. Of course, downsizing can also mean minimizing the amount of things you have at home and all in all, it’s a process that equals decluttering your home and start anew, no matter it’s in your old home or in a new one. Downsizing is also a regular term to be used, when it comes to retired people moving to a retirement home or in a retirement community where they will start the next chapter of their lives and therefore they can only take a limited amount of furniture and other belongings with them. There are several ways of decluttering. This time around we would like to share 5 key tips on how to downsize the smart way.

  • 1.) Make a list of the things you absolutely want to keep

    There is a good method for this. Imagine if all were gone, what would you feel the most sorry for losing? Write a list of these things and start separating them slowly but surely to a place where they are all kept together, ready for packaging. Do your best to close out any collections which you don’t even look at or which you haven’t seen for years, especially if they occupy plenty of space.

  • 2.) Make a list of the things you absolutely want to be gone

    It’s not only useful to have a list of the things you want to keep but it’s also a great start to have a list of the things you don’t want to keep. This, most importantly should include furniture, things you wanted to throw away for a while now but didn’t have the energy to do so. This way, you will know where exactly to start up with the decluttering process.

  • 3.) Call a friend or ask a caregiver to help you

    If you are over a certain age, or have problems with moving, packing and other physical activity, then don’t do this alone but call for the help of friends, family members or even your caregiver for a little bit of money. Not only they can help a great deal with trashing or packing stuff, but they can also stop you from keeping things which you don’t really need any longer. There are many people who for instance are keen to keep the garments they used to wear 30-40 years ago.

  • 4.) Arrange the moving of things well on time

    It’s not just about the moving of the things to your new place, it’s also about moving the furniture you want to keep to a secure storage place and the cleaning up of all the decluttered stuff from your home. There are specific companies which are specialized on decluttering processes. So there won’t be any problem finding one who can do this for you.

    We hope this article can help you when it comes to moving due to home fast sale or to a retirement home and wanting to leave most unwanted things behind.