Thinking About Downsizing Your Home?  

Here are 8 Easy Steps to Get You Started 

As a Realtor®, I run into senior citizens and others who would like to sell their large home and move to smaller quarters – but they just can’t face the prospect of dealing with their “stuff.” I also deal with adult children who are helping their parents get ready for a senior living facility.

Many of these folks have lived in their homes for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years or more. They have often raised a family, and the kids are now gone. But the kids’ “stuff” is still there. Childhood collections, sporting equipment, prom dresses, school textbooks…the list is endless. The adult children don’t want the “stuff” thrown away, but they refuse to come and get it either.

So here are some strategies to make the downsizing process easier. And once you get started, you’ll discover that it is easier than you imagined – and very liberating.

1)      Begin by collecting all your important documents: birth and marriage certificates, divorce degrees, naturalization records, insurance policies, passports, wills and health-proxy documents, deeds to homes, cars, boats, military discharge papers, adoption records, Social security and pension-plan papers. Also include your tax returns for the last 7 years – and place all these together in a file drawer so you’ll know just where they are in case of an emergency like a fire or hurricane.

 Next, gather all the warranty information and instruction manuals for your appliances and electronic equipment. You might be surprised how many booklets you have for gadgets you long since discarded. Sort through everything, throw out papers that no longer apply and place the rest into another file drawer.

Now go through your entire home and gather all the remaining papers in one location: junk mail, catalogs, supermarket coupons, restaurant menus, magazines, old bills and receipts…everything! Separate the stuff into two piles: one for shredding and the other for recycling. You’ll want to shred old bank statements, credit card and ATM receipts, old checks, etc.

2)      Organize your family photos next. This can be more difficult because of the memories they hold. Encourage your children and other family members to help you. They might find pictures they’d like. As you go through the photos, ask yourself these questions: Do you even know the people in the picture? Is the photo flattering to the subject? Was it an event you enjoyed? Is there more than one copy? Is the picture well composed and in focus?

Once you have edited your collection, you can place the pictures you are keeping in new photo albums. Or have them digitally scanned onto CDs and throw out the paper versions. You can also store them digitally online at photo sites like kodakgallery.com, smugmug.com or snapfish.com.

3)      It sometimes helps to get ready of some big things first. It makes you feel like you are really making progress. So have someone haul away the old refrigerator in your basement or garage or the discarded furniture in the basement or attic, the outdated TVs and computer equipment. Same goes for sporting equipment – rackets, balls, bats, golf clubs, shoes, uniforms, etc.

4)      Tackle your closets and drawers. Make a pile of everything that is too big, too small or you haven’t worn in ages. Make a separate pile of things that need to be cleaned or repaired. Then either take it to the cleaners and/or repair it or throw it out or donate it to the Salvation Army. If you take one big bag of unwanted stuff out of your house every single week, you’ll soon be amazed at how much progress you are making.

5)      Pick the room in your home that needs the least attention. For now, forget about the attic that is crammed full of stuff or the garage that is so packed you can’t get your car into it. Start with the bedroom of an adult child who no longer lives at home or the guest bedroom. If your adult child refuses to come and get his stuff – and he won’t give you permission to throw or give it away – pack it up and ship it to him. That might sound extreme, but it works! Once you have dealt with the stuff, give the room a fresh coat of paint and a deep cleaning. Then move on to the next room.

6)      Declutter your kitchen. Go through your junk drawers. Get rid of small appliances that you rarely or never use. Throw out everything that is broken, unfinished, untidy or disorganized. If you have two or more of something, pick the best and get rid of the rest.

7)      If you have a lot of books, take a day and go through you bookshelves. Keep only the books you really love or that you might need for reference. Look carefully at your cookbooks. If you have some you haven’t used in years, get rid of them. Box up the books you don’t use or need and donate them to your local senior center, library, church or used book store.

8)      Try this – for every bag of new stuff you bring into your house, take a bag of old, unwanted stuff out. That will at least keep you even. To make progress, take two bags of stuff out for every new bag you bring in.

Although it might at first seem like you are trying to empty the ocean using a tea cup, before you know it you’ll have made a lot of progress and you’ll be motivated to complete the process.