[From the Fall 2023 Showcase of Homes Magazine]
Qritten by Jordana Turcotte of Simply You
Downsizing your living space can be a forced or planned event. Sometimes life issues like health force the decision. For others, it is a planned move to a smaller space with less upkeep and a more amenable layout for the future.
Moving in general is extremely emotional and stressful. Suddenly everything you own is in question. Do I need this? Do I love it? Will it fit? How do I get rid of it? For even the most organized and “together” people, moving is messy.
Depending on how long you’ve been in your current space and if you are a lover of “things” or not – there can be a lot that needs to be culled. We buy things we need and want. We establish new interests. We grow our families. We change jobs. All of these increase our stuff. If you aren’t constantly purging, you’ll fill your space more and more as time passes. If your downsizing has to happen quickly, you’ll be forced to crunch all these put off decisions in quick succession.
Prepare yourself for the fact that the younger generations are minimalists, and not really interested much in antiques. You may “want” to pass down items to certain people but they may state they don’t want or need them. Believe them. They don’t value stuff and items related to memories as much as you do. Your attachment to things is not their attachment. Come to terms that you’ll have to be ok with donating or selling most items instead. In the end though, you will be the owner of less stuff and have a successful downsize.
Another valid and tangible point of the process is moving costs. Moving costs are high. Making smart decisions on the big items before will help. Bringing an item what won’t actually fit will be a nightmare. If you know exactly where you’ll be moving to, make a list of all the rooms, their functions and their dimensions. This will give you an idea of what will fit into the new space. That big piece you want to bring may not fit the same way you had before but may be able to go somewhere else – knowing this in advance is helpful.
If your new space is unknown, make the hard decisions now rather than later. That large desk that never really worked, or the lamp from Aunt Mary that you never liked; get rid of them now and save the money of moving them. Conversely, create a list of all the items you do love and can't live without. Knowing what you will definitely keep makes it easier to let go of the stuff that isn’t your favorite.
There are two really big troublesome areas that tend to hang most people up – sentimental items and paper. Not only are these categories hard to do, they take the longest to process. If you are in control of the timing of your move, it is definitely worth it to do a session weekly on these categories. If quicker and you have a few boxes of each, it isn’t worth your time doing prior to moving. The rest of the home's stuff is where you should focus.
Sentimental items - we all have something (or many things for that matter) that serve no purpose other than to remind us of someone, some place, or an event – good or bad. How do we decide what is truly worth keeping and what isn’t? Is the memory good or bad? If good, are you honoring the memory? If bad, how does it really feel to still have it? Do I have anything else that is a better representation of the event/time period/ person? Is it useful? Beautiful? Do I LOVE it? What has more value to me… this object, or having less possessions in general? If it’s just in a box and you plan to keep it there – are you sure you really want it? Answer these questions truthfully. Maybe just remembering while going through to purge is all you need. And if someone ELSE wants an item, give it to them now!
Paper – it never stops coming. Whether it’s mail, work, financial institutions, doctor’s appointments; there is just no way to ever eliminate getting it completely. This won’t change anytime soon. But, let me give you the stat that 80% of what you file you will NEVER look at or need again! Seriously. Consult your financial advisor and accountant on how long to keep things. Then, attack those archives of paper! Boxes of paper are heavy and take up space.
Besides these difficult areas, here are some typical items you have TOO much of that can be a bit easier to downsize: sheets, bedding, towels, containers, drinking glasses, mugs, cleaning products, books, office supplies, vases, socks, hangers, tools, spices and condiments, craft supplies, holiday decorations, magazines, formal dining items such as platters and bowls, cords and chargers for items you no longer have and anything in off-site storage. Remember the stat I listed for paper – guess what – it is for everything else too! You use 20% of your things, 80% of the time.
Lastly, purging via the right avenues throughout the entire process helps greatly when the actual move comes. Storing in the garage to deal with again doesn’t help. Recycle, reuse, sell and donate right away. (If you plan to have a garage sale, store sellable items in one spot but have a charity lined up to get all unsold items right after.)
Be true to your future self and future needs; how much cooking will you really be doing? Crafting? Entertaining? Less really is more. Keep your vision handy and/or new space criterion - it is your go-to when evaluating it all. And most importantly, savor the process of sound decisions and starting fresh.
