When the large home you’ve built a life in stops serving your lifestyle, you may decide to switch to a smaller home. 

You may decide to downsize after mortgage payments become too high or once you realize you have more space than you need. Whatever the case, it’s a challenging project.

Moving out of the house you’ve spent several years or decades living in can feel painful and exhausting. But despite its difficulties, a downsizing move is a rewarding decision. 

This article offers a list of downsizing tips to help you turn an overwhelming task into a manageable experience. 

What Does Downsizing Entail?

Downsizing your home means moving from your current house to a new, smaller one. Your new home can be a house with less square footage, an apartment, a condo—or something more adventurous, like an RV. You might also downsize by moving into a less-expensive home that is not significantly smaller. 

The downsizing process usually involves decluttering your home by removing items you don’t need or finding smaller replacements. How much you need to remove depends on how much you’re downsizing.

Why Do People Downsize? 

People downsize for different reasons. Life-altering needs, milestones, and realizations can call for a significant change like downsizing. 

Here are some reasons why you might decide to move to a smaller home:

  • Your children are moving out: Whether your kids are going to college or are moving away for work, there will likely be more space than you need in your current home. 
  • You’re no longer working from: You or other household members may have been using a home office for remote work, but if they no longer need the space, you might be stuck with a spare room you also don’t need. 
  • You’ve gotten older: You may desire a smaller house that’s easier to maintain and navigate as you age and after retirement. 
  • You want to save money: If your current home’s mortgage payments and upkeep costs don’t align with your financial goals, you may choose to move to a smaller space. 
  • You have less need for more space: Whether or not you’ve experienced a life change, you may have simply realized over the years that you and your family don’t need the extra room. 
  • You’re going through a divorce: Ending your marriage usually means you, your ex-spouse, or both of you will move out and restart in a smaller space.

Benefits of Downsizing

You’ll find that there are many benefits of downsizing at the appropriate time in your life, including:

  • Saving money on lower mortgage payments, maintenance costs, utility bills, and property taxes.
  • Reducing clutter by having to get rid of unnecessary belongings.
  • Making extra money by selling possessions.
  • Living in a safer and more suitable home in your older years.
  • Reducing maintenance and freeing more time for hobbies, personal projects, and family and friends.

11 Tips for Downsizing

Let’s get into the downsizing advice that will guide you as you embark on a challenging but rewarding journey to your new home.  

1. Get a Head Start

Overall, downsizing can be stressful if you wait until the last minute to start making moves. It’s also time-consuming. The best way to downsize your home is to start as soon as you decide to move.

You’ll have more time to review your possessions and make thoughtful decisions gradually. You will also have more time to change your mind about any items you feel should stay or go. 

2. Make a Checklist and an Inventory

Two lists will serve you well as you prepare for moving and comb through your home’s possessions: a checklist and a complete item inventory.

A checklist of all your tasks (including sorting, packing, and preparing your home for sale) will help you stay organized and let you see your progress as you go through the steps to downsize your home.

A full-item inventory lets you view everything you need to sort through in one spot. You can set goals for how many items you’d like to take and cross out items to indicate you’ve gotten rid of them. 

Bonus benefit: Your full-item inventory can help you determine how much contents insurance you need under your home insurance to be fully covered for all your belongings. 

3. Sort by Item Category or by Room

Once you decide to sort through your items, you can start by dividing your home’s contents by item type or room. 

Categorizing your items by type can help you make better decisions about what you do and don’t need based on what you have. For example, you can combine household tools, blankets, or electronics from around the house to see if you have duplicates and compare their conditions. 

You can also go room by room to sort your belongings and determine what should go. Focusing on a single room at a time is much more manageable than attempting to sort the entire house with no direction. 

4. Save Sentimental Items for Last

Possessions with sentimental value you haven’t seen in years are bound to slow you down as they bring memories, past ambitions, and old friends to mind.

If you start early, you can address things like souvenirs, handmade gifts, and photo albums toward the end of your downsizing. 

5. Determine What You Love and Need

The most difficult and time-consuming portion of downsizing is figuring out what stays and what goes. 

A good method is quickly separating what you like, love, hate, and need. What you love and need will automatically go with you, what you like will be for review, and what you hate will be for giving away.

Another handy rule of thumb is to create a pile of items you haven’t used in a year or more, as you likely won’t find these items necessary moving forward.

6. Assess Your Duplicates

Some items, like trash bins or blankets, deserve duplicates in your home. But if you find yourself constantly using just one of the items, it’s time to give away that second can opener or printer. 

You can also get rid of repeating items that are obsolete, worn, broken, or expired.

7. Get Rid of Paper 

If you’ve let stacks of years-old receipts, magazines, and important mail take up areas of your house, it’s time for a cleanse. You can throw out large piles of documents you haven’t touched or needed in years or create digital copies of the ones you still need. 

While it’s smart to keep physical copies of some documents, hoarding every pamphlet, receipt, and notice that comes your way can become a pain to store when it’s time to move.

8. Give Away, Donate, Sell, or Throw Out

Once you’ve decided what items to keep, it’s time to strategize how you’ll get rid of the rest. 

One of the most fulfilling ways to give away usable items is to try friends, family, and mutual connections first. Next, find charities or thrift stores like Goodwill to donate your other usable items.

You may want to sell more valuable items you don’t need anymore. Try asking people you know, hosting a garage sale, or using an online store like Facebook Marketplace. 

For items that are not in usable condition, try recycling them. Anything left, you can throw away. 

9. Take Measurements

Measure furniture and appliances before you move to ensure all the larger items you want to take to your new home fit. 

If you have an idea of where to place these items in your new home, make sure you also measure these spaces. 

10. Plan for Extra Storage 

If your new home still doesn’t have enough room for all your must-haves after your decluttering efforts, consider a long-term self storage solution. Eventually, you’ll need to make room in your new home for these items because self storage will become expensive. 

In the meantime, consider the following factors when looking for a self storage company:

  • How long you’re willing to keep your items in the unit
  • The storage unit’s payment plan and your budget
  • Access to your storage and hours of operation
  • Whether the unit is climate-controlled
  • How much security the company provides
  • The storage company’s insurance options

11. Ask for Help

There’s no shame in asking family or friends for help with downsizing. Moving several heavy boxes on your own can be tiresome and even dangerous. 

If you’re older, have back problems, or just don’t have the time, consider hiring professional movers. 

Mistakes to Avoid When Downsizing

Here are some things to consider when downsizing to minimize the possibility of making a wrong move:

  • Don’t mistake want for need: If you’re low on space, it’s time to let go of items you truly don’t need.
  • Don’t forget about the costs of downsizing: While plenty of savings are associated with downsizing, the costs of buying a new home can quickly add up. Consider costs like your new mortgage, your realtor’s commission, preparing your house for sale, and a moving service. 
  • Don’t plan to host large gatherings: You may not be able to host the same large groups in a smaller home, so plan for events at someone else’s house or a venue. 

Reducing Physical Space Opens Up Mental Space

Downsizing helps you focus on what’s important. With less maintenance, more savings, and fewer items to worry about, you can spend more time with family and friends. 

It’s difficult to downsize and start over—physically, because of heavy boxes and weeks of sifting through a lifetime of belongings, and mentally, because you may be leaving your family home. Saying goodbye to years of memories is never easy, but you’ll always hold them in your heart. 

While the entire task may seem overwhelming, we hope that this downsizing guide helps you manage the stress of this transition and reinforces your decision.