How to Downsize Your Home When Relocating: Steps for Downsizing

Decluttering your life is never simple, but once you have the guts to do it, you'll be glad you did. So, what is the optimal method for downsizing your home?

Follow these steps while moving to downsize your home:

1. Recognize the advantages of shrinking

Numerous undeniable benefits of downsizing to a smaller home are too great to ignore. Want to enjoy greater financial independence and more time to accomplish the things you enjoy?

• Financial autonomy. Reducing the square footage of your home will allow you to save significantly more money over time. A smaller residence typically entails a lesser mortgage payment or monthly rent, allowing you to save money each month. Property taxes should also be reduced.
• Reduce utility costs. A smaller home will be easier and less expensive to heat and cool throughout the winter and summer months, respectively. And this instantly results in lower energy costs for you.
• More leisure time. How can you free up more time when you downsize your home? It's simple; you simply spend less time maintaining the property, both inside and out, as well as regularly cleaning it.

2. Evaluate the timing for downsizing your home

Before deciding to move to a smaller house, you must be certain that downsizing is the best decision given your circumstances. In other words, you must ensure that you do not make a mistake that you will later come to regret.

3. Utilize a moving checklist to effectively manage your time.

One of the finest pieces of advice for downsizing when moving is to begin working on the necessary activities as soon as possible because it will be a mad dash with limited time. As soon as your decision to relocate to a smaller home has become irreversible, allocate the necessary time.

4. Develop a floor plan for the new location

Before moving out, it is essential to determine which major objects will fit in the new residence. Keep in mind that your new home or apartment will have less space than your current one, so you cannot possibly carry all of your belongings with you.

5. Sort your items into five categories

A floor plan will merely confirm what you already know - that you will not be able to relocate everything from your current home to the new one due to the lack of space. Therefore, the only logical approach is to organize your belongings in advance and get rid of whatever you don't need or are never particularly loved.

6. Use the 12-month rule for decluttering

You have already decided to reduce your home, and there is no turning back. During the necessary task of decluttering, you're bound to be unsure of what to do with certain items – you'll want to keep them because you might need them in the future, but on the other hand, you know that moving them will increase the moving costs and you'll have trouble finding enough space to store them after the move.