Senior Living November 25, 2021

Tips to help you downsize

You make the call and I am here to sell your home so that you can move to a smaller house close to family. I’ve got the knowledge, tools, and resources necessary to help make your move a smooth one.

When I get to your house to help you with staging, there is an overwhelming amount of items cluttering your home. Just like that, what you thought would be a smooth process has now become a lot more difficult. You start thinking, “Where is all this stuff going to go? This will never fit in a smaller home or condo.”

This scenario is very familiar. This is my job to help my clients with downsizing. I chose this article because it gives useful tips on getting ready to downsize.

I also include some helpful local Cincinnati links at the bottom of the post that are great resources to help you, consign, donate and/or eliminate the “stuff.”

Now your house is cleared out and ready for the market, you are in the best position to sell your home.

Tips to help downsize

Don’t give up yet! Helping downsize and get rid of some bigger items can be a lot easier than you think. Here are some tips to help simplify the process.

Stay on task and on schedule

When you begin to think about downsizing, it’s important to stay on task and adhere to a specific time-line or check list. It’s easy to procrastinate and wait until the last minute to worry about where all that stuff is going to go once moving day comes. However, the longer you put it off, the more stressful things can get.

Plan for the new space

To begin, plan ahead by figuring out how much space will be available in your new home. It is helpful if you have a floorplan available that you can take a look at. An idea of how much space you will have can help narrow down which items will make the move with them.

Use a tagging system to categorize items

From there, work to separate and tag the items that will stay behind into different categories. What items can be donated? What items will be sold? What items can go to children or other family members? Creating a tagged system like this can streamline the downsizing process and will help keep you organized.

While figuring out which items will go where, try to be objective. Many people attach memories to their belongings, making it hard for them to say goodbye. What may look like a piece of junk to some, may have sentimental value to you. Keep what is important and eliminate what you no longer need or use. Sentimental items can be stored in a special container or space if they are too difficult to eliminate.

Help get belongings where they need to go

Once you have finished deciding on where everything will go, it’s time to get everything to its respective place or new owner. You may have family members or friends nearby that will be willing to assist with getting these items where they need to go, but in the case that they do not, you can hire a downsizing professionals or a moving company to take on the burden of transporting everything.

As space clears up in your home, and moving day approaches, you’ll be thankful that you had an SRES® agent like myself to help them navigate through the downsizing process.  I am here every step of the way.

Helpful links in Cincinnati Ohio for downsizing

https://nlfurniture.org/

https://www.ebth.com/

This article originally appeared on the National Association of REALTORS® website. As a REALTOR® with the Seniors Real Estate Specialist® Designation, I find their blog full of helpful information and you can see more here.  

A short bio and link to About Me page.

I have not verified any of the information contained in those documents that were prepared by other people.