Are you thinking about downsizing to move to a smaller home? You can downsize even if you don’t plan to move. Reducing the amount of possessions on a regular basis will help avoid the physical exertion and emotional trauma of doing it all at once. Are you living in a home that has become too large and it is harder to go up and down the stairs? Are you afraid of getting rid of things because you are afraid you’ll be getting rid of your memories?
Clearing the clutter from a house you’ve lived in for years can seem like an impossible or overwhelming task.
Sometimes it is the adult children that interfere with moving plans as they don’t want their parents to leave the home where they have fond memories of growing up. Or it could be that they want you to move but are afraid of suggesting it.
If any of this sounds familiar and you do want to clear clutter, here are six easy-to-follow tips to make downsizing easier.
• Evaluate each room one at a time and decide what you plan to keep and what you want to give away.
• Discuss with your family that you are clearing clutter to prepare for a move. Have them come to your home and give them colored stickers. Have them walk around and put a sticker on items they want. If there are duplicates on an item they can negotiate as to who gets it.
• Make a plan to get rid of what you don’t use, love or that you no longer want to keep.
• Take photos of things you want to get rid of but are having a hard time parting with and put them in a photo album.
• If you are storing your adult children’s possessions give them a date they need to have them removed. If they don’t come and get their things donate them.
•Remember what you put in storage is just delaying making a decision.
Consider the wonderful opportunities that will be opening up after moving from a house that you have outgrown….comfortable condominiums, gated communities, retirement centers, assisted care centers or perhaps a “mother-in-law apartment”. Clearing the clutter that has accumulated over the years gives you a sense of freedom and fewer things to dust.
Contact Interiors Refined by Paula to help you declutter, organize your move and then redesign the rooms in your new home using the precious items you decided to keep.
