You often see us talking about moving your home here on our blog, but what about downsizing your home?
Downsizing can seem like a daunting task with a negative connotation attached to it, but it can be an extremely rewarding and beneficial experience as you move to a smaller, more manageable home or you free up space around your current living situation. This is an especially effective plan for older or senior citizens who are looking to make a few life adjustments and transition into a smaller living space with less responsibility.
For those preparing to downsize, a few key things to consider include only taking what you need to your new living arrangement while ensuring you’ve planned ahead and organized in preparation for the move.
“The more organized you are, the faster your move will go and it will help you save money,” said Emily Sham, marketing manager for the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® Gulf Coast franchise. “If you have everything ready to go and labeled correctly, it will help the overall move go quicker. A key tip we give to customers includes having their boxes stacked in threes with the heaviest at the bottom. If you move all your boxes to a centralized location, that will help immensely, as will having all furniture disassembled and broken down.”
If you’re looking to tackle any form of downsizing this fall, be sure to follow these four tips below to help you through the process!
Plan ahead
If part of your downsizing plan involves moving to a smaller space, be sure to plan ahead! If you’re utilizing the help of professional movers like TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, you’ll want to contact the office in your area well ahead of your desired moving date to ensure you can get on their schedule with your preferred date.
Planning ahead is also important for packing, as you want to give yourself time to pack up belongings you need in preparation for moving day so you aren’t scrambling at the last second to get it done.
Evaluate your items and decide what’s staying and what’s going
One of the more difficult aspects of downsizing is making the tough decisions on what you no longer need. It can be an emotional process to part ways with old belongings, but it’s a crucial step to effectively downsizing and freeing up the space you desire.
Sort through your belongings and decide what you need and what you don’t need. For items you’re parting with, try donating them to people in need to make sure they’re not going to waste. Another good alternative is having a garage sale to make a little extra money back on what you have already purchased.
Consider using storage options
If you’re only temporarily downsizing and need a place to keep your belongings while attending to other projects, purchasing storage place is a great plan of action. This allows you to keep your items in a safe, secure location for however long you need, giving you peace of mind that your belongings are safely out of the way.
Select TWO MEN AND A TRUCK locations offer storage plans for customers – click here to see if the franchise in your area can offer storage solutions!
Be flexible
There’s no step-by-step moving or downsizing plan you can follow– there is always the possibility for changes in your schedule or the plan you have in place. Being flexible and giving yourself time by planning ahead will help you adjust to these changes and help keep your stress levels down while you work to downsize your life.
Not sure where to start with your downsizing move? Click here to see how TWO MEN AND A TRUCK can help!