More people are opting to downsize their homes, happily saying goodbye to a large house where maintenance is costly, the cleaning never ends and physical items seem to accrue magically in every corner and closet. Moving can be a great thing; however, it’s not always simple to get from your large home to a modest one. Say you were moving to Phoenix. You’d want to learn everything about the area as well as use these four tips for moving into a smaller house that still meets your needs.
Alter Your Mindset
If downsizing wasn’t your first choice, it can be easy to feel sad about the process. Focus on the positives of a smaller home: easier upkeep, less pressure to host, and decreased maintenance costs are all benefits of a home with less square footage. If you’re relocating to an area that allows you to travel on foot or by bike, you can rely less on your vehicle so you’ll save money on gas and have greater access to nature. Find the silver lining of downsizing and keep the reasons why it is a good thing in the forefront of your mind as you sort, sell or donate your belongings.
Decide What to Ditch
Think about which possessions would make you most heartbroken to lose. Those are the possessions you definitely need to take with you. Ones that are replaceable are just that – things that aren’t necessary that you can always buy later if you need them. One way you can move on a budget is to whittle down the things you need to move. Identify the must-haves from the get go and the rest of the process should be fairly easy.
Say Goodbye to the ‘Just in Case’ Items
When you live in a large home with a lot of storage, it’s easy to accumulate and hoard things just in case you need them someday. When you have a smaller space, you have to have the mindset of use it or lose it. Someday you may find that you really need something you don’t own and you can go out and buy it then. Cut out duplicates of things too, from numerous sets of dishes and glasses to several serving spoons. While duplicates may be convenient in a larger home, these extras simply won’t fit in a smaller space.
Form New Habits
A smaller home doesn’t offer the vast storage options of a bigger home, which can be a benefit in some ways. Less places to stash things means you don’t have to go searching through a dark crawl space or digging through mountains of bins to find books or old pictures. In a smaller space, nearly all of your belongings will have a clearly defined home and be at your fingertips. In order to keep things organized, you may need to adopt a policy of one thing in, one thing out to keep your house clutter-free.
Downsizing by choice or necessity means you have to compromise on some things, but you don’t have to give up everything you want and need. There are times when downsizing simply makes sense, so get organized and donate or purge the things you no longer need.
Brian Myers owns Low Budget Movers, a moving company in Phoenix, Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa and surrounding areas in Arizona. Low Budget Movers is also a proud member of the American Moving & Storage Association.
