Moving can be difficult, there are a lot of moving parts, pardon the pun. We’ve moved 7 times as a family, sometimes the move was for a job and some by choice. Recently, my husband and I decided it was time to downsize. In all honesty, I used to think the word downsize had a negative connotation, but now I think it's the best financial and most liberating idea ever. Don’t get me wrong, I did not come to this realization easily. However, shedding the large house with all the extra rooms, extra expenses, and extra non stop chores, leaves so much more time for relaxing, having fun and enjoying the life we have been waiting for. Simply put, there is a real upside to downsizing.
So many of us are paralyzed by the impossible task of cleaning out our beloved home. When I first began, I could not imagine a world where I would be without all my “things”. What about the furniture? What to do with everything?! As it turned out, I learned that I didn’t need all these many things and I am perfectly content without them. Fortunately, there are many places that you can donate to or platforms to sell, and perhaps maybe offset the expense of buying some new items to give you a fresh look.
The hardest part is just getting started. Where to begin? This is where being organized and patient will be very helpful. Don’t stress if you are neither of these, you can still make this work. My first bit of advice is to give yourself plenty of time. Once you get the idea that you might move, even if it's not for a year or so, start right away. The time has come to start weeding out all the extra belongings that you have been collecting all these years. Make it feel less daunting by focusing on one room at a time. Let’s start in your hall closet first. Take everything out of the closet and wipe it all down. Look at all the coats and decide which ones you are planning to keep and put the ones you are not in a donation bag. If you find any coats hiding in the back that are not good enough for donating, get a separate bag for textile recycling. Make sure all the hats and scarves still get worn and all the gloves have a matching pair. Again, the items you have not used in a while (or years), put in the donation bag. Put the scarves, hats and gloves you plan to keep in a basket. This one chore shouldn’t take too long and when you are finished, you now have one closet done and dusted!
If you concentrate on one room or area per week, you will have all your belongings that made it to the “keep” list put away nicely. Within a few months, you will feel more organized, and it will be way easier to pack and move. Why go through the hassle of packing your belongings to only get rid of them after the move? That would be a huge waste of time and money. If you are not ready to part with something, keep it and decide later. No one is forcing you to give everything away. The purpose of this exercise is to make sure you only bring into your next, smaller home the belongings that you really need and love. Believe me, once you get started, it’s sometimes hard to stop and you will find that there are many items you will not want to keep.
Let’s chat about what to definitely NOT keep. How about the shoes you haven’t worn in years and probably will never again? I know they’re in there, because I too have some. What about the dresses or maybe even suits that you either do not fit into or they are out of style? I know they represent you at a different time, but today is the day to embrace what represents you now. This also goes for blouses, dress pants, jeans, sweaters - anything that you have not put on your body in a few years. How about all that clunky jewelry that was so in style about 10 years ago? No need to hold space for 2015 accessories. Are you in the habit of keeping well dated magazines? If so, they go. Fill up that recycling bin! Also, what about books you may ask? I love books, but I know that there are most likely a few you can part with. New Rochelle library will take used books if you don’t know what to do with them. Let someone else have a chance to read them. I am sure that while you are looking around, you will find some old textbooks. These cannot be donated, but they can be recycled.
Next up? The kitchen. Take out all your leftover containers - make sure they all have lids. Toss the containers that do not. Look at your pots and pans - do you use them all? If not, put them in the donate pile. Where do you keep your reusable water bottles? Take them all out and see if some need to be thrown out. I bet you find a few that haven’t been used in a while because we all have our favorite to go cups, and it most likely is not stored in the back of the cabinet.
This small list is a great place to start and will get you to think about how doable all this could be. You might even start to get excited about seeing the difference you can make by decluttering your home. Less things and more space! If you give yourself the ample time to go through each room, each drawer, each closet, you will not get overwhelmed. This is the time to be totally honest with yourself - do I really use that enough times to keep it? Does this really fit and will I wear it again?
Also, remember that downsizing is a passage. It’s a transition into the next phase of your life. This is a time to do some serious thinking and planning on how you want to spend your time. With a smaller home and with less belongings, there is less to do around the house and more time to experience some new adventures outside the house. Instead of raking leaves, you can decide what museum you want to visit. Take this opportunity to hit the reset button and start fresh. By being organized and doing some careful planning, this can be a very smooth and positive transition for you and your family.
At Living Simple, we are here to help make this process even easier for you. Contact Maureen Fallon at www.livingsimple.info to schedule a consultation.
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