Living in a large home can be a great choice for many families. However, there are also many people for whom the cost and effort of maintenance associated with a large home becomes a burden. This is especially true after kids have grown up and moved out. In such a situation, moving to a new, smaller home would be a good idea. While companies like Safe Ship Moving Services can help manage the logistics of the move, one also needs to make an effort to downsize before moving to the new home.
Safe Ship Moving Services mentions the approach to follow when downsizing before a move
If one is downsizing to a smaller home, they would not have enough space for all the items they accumulated throughout the years. Hence, prior to starting to pack, it is better to take an inventory of the belongings and start to declutter. While sorting through all the stuff, people can separate aspirational items from the things they actually need. In case they come across something that has not been used in the last year, it would be smart to get rid of it. The goal of downsizing is to simplify the life of a person, so that they only take things that they need to their new home.
A proper system has to be set up to stay organized while going through all the belongings. Using the three-box system would especially be a good idea when planning to declutter. This method forces people to make a decision item-by-item, after gathering three boxes and labelling them as “keep,” “get rid of,” and “put in storage.” The items that are useful in daily life should be put in the “keep” box. Once this keep box is filled for each room, people should try to pack it up and label it to make the moving and unpacking process easier.
The team of Safe Ship Moving Services mentions that one should try their best to eliminate items that are no longer useful to them prior to a move. Once they have determined which things to part with in each room, it is important to further categorize them by deciding what can be donated or given to family members and what is too worn or broken and should be discarded. Items with sentimental value or those used seasonally should be set aside for storage. After finishing each room, one should try to transfer the contents of the “put in storage” box into clearly labelled storage bins for easy organization.
The items that one wants to get rid of can be donated to local charities that accept clothing, shoes and other household items that are in good condition. If one has a long list of items to get rid of that are in good condition, having a yard sale would be a good idea. This will help people to make some extra cash as well. Furniture, toys, books, kids’ clothes, power tools and lawn equipment are among the most popular items for a yard sale.
