It’s time to downsize. Maybe you don’t want a big house anymore. Could be you’ve chosen a senior community for socialization? Or your doctor just said you can’t live alone anymore. Regardless, you walk through your home of many years, look around and panic. Where do you even begin?
Most people think they need to sift through everything they own, room by room, drawer by drawer to declutter, sort and pack. Here’s a stack of boxes for donation; here’s one for the kids; this stack will move with you. In the meantime, you’re living in a prison of boxes and chaos.
Want to simplify the process? Match your possessions to the size of your new home. You’ll automatically choose the things you use or love the most. If your bedroom closet has less closet space, you’ll choose the clothes that you wear most and feel great in. By limiting your possessions to the “container” that will hold them, you’ll automatically select the things that matter.
Wait a minute — how can I just turn my back on (30, 40, 50) years of memories?
Relax, breathe and keep reading for this to make sense.
After you’ve selected the items you love the most, you may realize you’ve been keeping a lot of stuff that you really don’t like or use that much. For example, that bread maker you haven’t used in 20 years can go to someone who will actually use it.
Use this time to give your family what you want them to have after you’re gone. Watch them enjoy it while you’re alive.
Packing only what you have room for means you’ll have far fewer boxes prior to the move and thus far less chaos.
Choose a date for the move that is reasonable but imminent. Having less time to pack keeps you on schedule.
Once you’re settled in your new home, you can reevaluate what you took and what you left behind. You may swap a few items, secure in the knowledge that they WILL fit and you WILL use them.
Clearing out your house and getting it ready for sale will go more quickly when you’re settled in your new place. You will realize you didn’t need what was left and be relieved it didn’t come along.
Settling in at your new home first is the best way to start this new chapter of your life. But don’t do it alone; professionals are here to help you.
Gwen Tombergs is owner of Fresh Start Living QC, a professional packing, moving and decluttering company (freshstartlivingqc.com, gwen@freshstartliving.com, (563) 343-2058).
