Top 10 Tips for Downsizing Before Your Move

Top 10 Tips for Downsizing Before Your Move to Laguna Woods

People downsize to smaller homes for a variety of reasons. Whether you’re downsizing to save money or just to live a simpler life, the process of downsizing can be a bit overwhelming. You’ll have to get rid of loads of items to fit into a smaller space, and it can be difficult to know where to begin. So before you call the best Laguna Woods moving company to handle the actual moving process, take these ten tips for downsizing on your stuff first.

1. Begin with the big stuff

When you’re downsizing, you likely won’t have room for all your furniture. And you may need to replace some of the items you have now. For instance, your large, oversized couch may not fit in your new living room. This is why it’s so important to measure your new home, and then to measure your furniture. Make a sketch, and try to figure out where each piece of furniture goes. Sell everything you can’t fit in your new home, so that you aren’t paying to have it moved unnecessarily.

2. Pack as you go

As you’re sorting through your belongings, it’s a good idea to go ahead and pack up all the items that you really want to keep. You may not be able to pack absolute essentials – like kitchen items you use on a daily basis. But packing as much as you can as you’re moving along can help you see how far you’ve come and how many items you have left to sort through.

3. Start with sorting out storage areas

When you’re ready to start offloading, begin with the areas where you store your extra “junk.” Attics, spare rooms, and garages tend to hold lots of items that you use very rarely – or that you haven’t even seen for years. If this is the case in your home, start by sorting out these areas. This gives you some momentum, since you can often cut the items stored in these areas by half or more, giving you a good start.

4. Get rid of clutter

Even if your current home doesn’t look cluttered, your decorative items will likely be too much for your smaller, new home. So start by sorting through your clutter. Try to keep decorative items, books, and other “shelf” type items to just a couple of boxes to start. You can always buy new decor for your new home, too.

5. Clean out your closets

Chances are that your new, smaller home has less closet space. That’s to be expected, but you’ll want to be prepared for this issue. To get ready for smaller closets, take time to clean out your current clothing and shoes collection. Downsize to a small wardrobe full of items that you absolutely love.

6. Look into a storage unit

Often times, it’s hard to know exactly what you’ll need and want in your new home until you’re actually living there. If you’re dealing with this issue, consider renting a personal storage unit. Some Laguna Woods movers even offer portable units, which are even more convenient. Basically, you can keep your extra stuff in a unit for a few months. If you still haven’t found a place for an item in your new home after a few months, get rid of it.

7. Offer items to family members

Sometimes it’s hard to deal with sentimental items – especially larger items like furniture – that you don’t have room for but that you don’t want to sell to strangers. In this case, chat with family members. Chances are someone will love the piece and have room for it, so you can offload it without feeling guilty.

8. Have a whole house sale

If you’re doing a huge downsize – like cutting your square footage in half or more – consider having a whole house sale. Rather than moving items to the garage and pricing them out, just leave everything you want to sell in the house – up on the walls, even – and have people make an offer. It’s a more efficient option for getting rid of items while making a bit of extra cash.

9. Arrange for donation pickup

A few days before your whole house sale, call the Salvation Army or another local secondhand ministry. They’ll often do pickups for free, especially if you’re donating some larger items. This can take some of the work off your hands, and even net you a tax deduction for items that you donate.

10. Call in the pros

Getting through the process of just downsizing your stuff can be exhausting and takes loads of time. So now that you’re down to the things you really want to keep and are ready to move, call in the professionals to take care of the rest of the move. The best Laguna Woods movers can pack, move, and unpack you into your new home within just a couple of days.