For many people, changing life circumstances may mean it makes sense to downsize their home. Sometimes family dynamics change, and there’s no need to have four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a huge backyard. Sometimes, it’s all a matter of finances and affordability. At the same time, stuff accumulates over time to fill the available space. Here’s our guide on how to downsize your home for an easier move to your new, smaller place. We asked experts for insights to help our readers learn how to downsize your home as quickly and painlessly as possible. You’ll want to begin downsizing as soon as you know you’re moving. The sooner you begin, the lower the chances of being completely overwhelmed by the seemingly monumental task ahead of you. This can also be a great process to help with your home sale, since it’s important to declutter anyway. With that said, don’t feel like you have to tackle every room and whittle your possessions to the bare minimum in one day. Instead, we recommend starting one room at a time so that you can go through things at your own pace and carefully consider what you’re going through. To downsize appropriately, you need to know how much space you’ll have in your new home. It’s helpful to know the square footage and shape of the rooms in the house because it’ll help you figure out which pieces of furniture you can bring with you. Suzanne Herron, a top agent who has sold 166 single-family homes in the Toledo, Ohio area, says: “Typically, I recommend that they make pieces that they like and what would fit in the new home. I always tell them to keep what they want or love, but other than that, make it a whole new experience. You’re in a different time in your life and moving on to something different. So, you should probably get new things to go with your new house.” There are many reasons to downsize, and it’s a chance to take advantage of this new moment in life. So when you’re trying to downsize your home, think about the new lifestyle this change will bring. For example, if you’re moving to a suburban or urban area and no longer have easy access to nature, you may want to cull some of the outdoor sporting equipment you’ve accumulated over the years. Or maybe you’ll want to sell your car because you have easy access to a robust public transportation system. Every situation is different, so take time to imagine how life in your new home will be different from life in your old home. The real estate agent you ultimately hire should have an extensive list of resources for people who can help when you need to downsize your home quickly. “I like to provide clients with many options. I have an auctioneer for those who live on a farm, and they need to get rid of equipment. I recommend clients to either have a yard sale or an estate sale, and I have people who will come to mark and price everything for the client. I have a list of contractors that have dumpsters.” Herron adds. When you’re downsizing, taking inventory of what you have is helpful. By doing this, you can sort through and separate the things you need and the things you think you’ll need. With the items you think you need, consider when the last time you used the item was. You probably don’t need to keep it if it’s been more than six months to a year. “The hardest part, depending on how long they’ve been somewhere, is figuring out what they’re going to get rid of, what they’re going to keep, and so on. I have a cleaning and organization lady that I recommend to help people clean things out and help them sort things. It can be overwhelming to do on their own.” Herron says. There are several ways you can get rid of these unwanted items: Downsizing can be made much easier if you hire an estate firm to price items you’d like to sell and handle the sales transactions. The downside to hiring an estate firm is that it’s recommended to book their services weeks in advance, but that can be challenging if you have to downsize quickly. However, Ali Van Westenberg, a top agent in Denver, Colorado, points out that a seasoned real estate agent should be able to call on their connections to help you find an estate firm that can accommodate your speedy timeline. If you prefer to do things yourself, here are a few tips for making the most from selling your stuff. When moving into a smaller home, you’ll want to maximize any storage space you have. For example, you can use multi-functional furniture like storage ottomans, platform beds, and entertainment centers to organize clutter and give things a “home.” You can hang shelves to display knick knacks and collectibles, but you can use shelves in the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom for additional storage. Depending on the layout of your new home, you may be able to utilize the extra space in some areas of your home. The space under the stairs, closets and even the crawlspace are great places to store seasonal items. You can use over-the-door hooks for towels and bathrobes, bins under the counter for storing smaller items, and so on. You can learn more about organizing small rooms here. If you have an extensive library of movies, music, and photo albums, you might want to take the time to digitize them. Of course, you can also digitize essential documents and shred the hard copies. By digitizing whatever you can, you’re reducing how much you have to pack, not to mention saving a lot of space in your new home. Note: If you are going to digitize important documents, we strongly recommend researching how to protect your digital documents. You can invest in encryption services and an external hard drive. There are bound to be items you don’t want to get rid of or sell but won’t have space for in your new home. For those items, you can repurpose them and turn them into something usable. For example, if you have a collection of band t-shirts you don’t want to part with, turn them into a usable quilt or even put them in frames and turn them into wall art. Figuring out where to start when you have to downsize your home quickly shouldn’t be stressful, and it doesn’t have to be when you’re working with a top agent. “It’s very important to interview who you work with and what agent you choose. Having the right agent on your side will simplify the whole process more than you may believe,” Herron advises. “It’s our job as Realtors to make it as easy as possible for our clients.”
Typically, I recommend that they make pieces that they like and what would fit in the new home. I always tell them to keep what they want or love, but other than that, make it a whole new experience. You’re in a different time in your life and moving on to something different. So, you should probably get new things to go with your new house.
How to downsize your home quickly with these 10 tips
1. Begin downsizing as soon as possible
2. Determine how much space you’ll have in the new home
3. Consider your new lifestyle
4. Consult your real estate agent for resources
5. Take inventory of your belongings
6. Decide what to donate or toss
7. Decide if you want to hire an estate firm or DIY
8. Make the most of storage spaces
9. Digitize what you can to reduce space
10. Repurpose or memorialize sentimental items
Keep calm and downsize in peace.
