Downsizing your home, while exciting, can be a bit overwhelming. Follow these 4 tips to help make the process more bearable:
Take Inventory
Purge - Must Haves, Sell, Donate or Trash
Keep Measurements In Mind If Moving To A New Home
Storage Is Key
The very first thing you should do is go through your entire home, room to room, and take an inventory of all your belongings. If you live alone, you’ll probably have to complete this task yourself, but if you live with family or roommates, get them to help by assigning everyone rooms to go through. Right now, you are just compiling a list of everything you have, so don’t start getting rid of stuff yet.
Start with the rooms or areas that get less use, such as closets, storage areas, attics, etc. The amount of stuff you can accumulate over time can be quite surprising. You may even come across boxes that have still not been unpacked since your last move.
After you are done taking inventory of your home, choose an area, that’s out of the way, to set up some boxes for donation, sale or garbage. Think of this as kind of a staging area.
Now that you have a detailed list of everything in your home, sit down with the other members of the household and discuss all of the items. Some items may have a debate, but make sure to keep an open mind as you can’t fit all of your items into a new downsized home.
When going through your home, it is good to have 3 lists ready. One for must haves, one for sell/donation/trash and one for items to be replaced. These would be items that you still need, but your current ones may be too large for your new smaller space, such as a couch or entertainment furniture.
Try to be realistic of what you are keeping. Do you actually use it or if it were gone, would you replace it? If the answers to these questions is no, you may want to consider getting rid of it.
When moving to a new home, getting measurements is key. This will help you by knowing whether certain pieces will actually fit in your new home. Draw up a floorplan and make sure to mark where the windows and doors are located. If you figure out before hand where everything is going, it will make moving day much easier.
When going through your home and deciding on furniture that may get replaced because of its size, think of purchasing new items like coffee tables and ottomans with hidden storage. Also consider picking up some under the bed storage totes and space saving bags.
Always take advantage of the vertical space in your new home. You can gain a lot of space by installing shelving or hooks. This also gets more items off of your floor.
For anything that you plan on keeping but may not have space for in your new home, a storage unit is the perfect storage solution. They are great for storing seasonal items, heirlooms, seasonal clothing and many more. Renting yourself a storage unit will give you access to your items whenever needed while keeping your new home clutter free. Renting a self storage unit is a cost-effective way to gain extra space and a great alternative to having to give up items that mean a lot to you.
For extra storage in St Albert, check out Riel Park RV & Self Storage. We offer climate controlled storage units and unheated drive-up storage units with no long-term commitments, in a variety of sizes. With a clean and secure storage facility in St Albert, you can rest assured that your belongings will be safe. Give one of our storage rental experts a call at 780-459-6435 to discuss your storage needs.
