Start Months in Advance
Downsizing takes time. If you try to downsize quickly, you might end up missing opportunities to get rid of unneeded things. Start months in advance of moving to ensure that you’ll have enough time to downsize effectively.
When you begin your downsizing project, make a timeline to ensure that you’ll have enough time to get through everything. Your timeline should show when you’ll sort through items in each room of your house, by which date you will sell items that need to be sold, and on which days you’ll bring donations to charities.
Sort Into Piles
As you go through each room, sort items according to what you plan to do with them. Make a pile for discards, recyclables, donations, items you plan to sell, and items you plan to keep. Get rid of items as you go, rather than building up a big pile to be discarded at the end.
As you’re getting rid of things, talk to friends and relatives to let them know that you’re getting rid of unneeded items. Provide them with the opportunity to sort through any useful items you plan to discard. They may appreciate the opportunity to take some of these items for themselves.
Charity organizations will often take things like dishes, sheets, artwork, vases, and functioning electronics. Check with local charity organizations in your area to find out what they will and won’t take. Donating items and giving them away will save you money on sanitation fees and may prevent you from spending money on a dumpster.
Hold a Garage Sale
A garage sale is a good way to make a little extra money in the weeks before you move. To ensure that your garage sale helps you with the goal of downsizing, advertise for your sale days in advance.
Put up flyers on bulletin boards for local community organizations. Alert your HOA, and ask them to send an email communication to the other homeowners in your neighborhood. Advertise in online classified ads and in your local paper.
If possible, partner with your neighbors to make your garage sale as large as possible. This will draw more people to your sale, which can help you to be more successful.
Make a Rule About What to Keep
As you’re sorting through everything that you own, make a rule that will help you decide what needs to be thrown away and what needs to be kept. Typically, people will decide to throw away or get rid of everything that they haven’t used in a certain period of time.
For example, get rid of everything that you haven’t needed in more than two years. This will help ensure that the only things you bring with you are relevant, useful items.
Consider Your New Home
You probably have items that you use in your current home but which will be far less useful in your new home. Curtains and blinds are an excellent example. It’s rare for homeowners to move from one house to another and to have use for old blinds in their new home. These items can be discarded.
Sometimes, homeowners will leave their curtains and blinds in their old home, to be used or discarded by the new homeowners.
If you’re leaving an apartment, ask your landlord before leaving anything in your apartment. Leaving items behind after moving out could result in a fine.
Another thing you should consider when trying to decide what to bring with you is how much furniture that you currently own will fit in your new home. You may find that much of your furniture is too large or will take up too much space when you move.
Once you know where you’ll be moving, measure the rooms of your new home, and compare the measurements to rooms in your old home. Use these measurements to decide which pieces of furniture will fit in your new home and which pieces of furniture must be sold. Make arrangements to get rid of furniture before your moving day.
Work With Your Movers
When the movers first come to your home to bid on the cost of your upcoming relocation, communicate with them to let them know you’re downsizing. If you’re still planning to get rid of things when the movers come, let the movers know what will go and what will stay. This will help ensure that the bid is accurate.
For more information about moving when downsizing, contact Wheaton World Wide moving. We’ll be happy to answer your questions about your upcoming relocation.
