What to Do When It’s Time to Downsize
Not every move in Florida is to a bigger house. Major life changes can also call for a smaller abode. Whether it be for financial or personal reasons, the need to downsize your home can be a challenge, especially if your possessions have grown to fit the one you’re in now.
There can be an upside to downsizing if you look at the right way. This is your chance to start fresh, and rid yourself of items that are no longer an essential part of your life.
Stay Positive About Downsizing
Even if the circumstances behind your move are not ideal, don’t allow negatively to ruin the experience. Try your best to stay positive and approach downsizing like an adventure. Purging your home of unnecessary stuff can be rewarding, even if you are unable to see that side of things now. This is a time for self-honesty and reflection. Use it wisely and a year from now, you’ll hardly remember having most of the items that you forced yourself to give up.
Start By Comparing Spaces
A smaller home or apartment in Florida can still have more storage space than you imagined. Before you begin tossing your belongings in the trash, evaluate the space you have now against the home you are moving into. The new kitchen may not have the same sized counter tops, but there could be room inside of the pantry for some of your small appliances.
Measure your larger pieces of furniture to help you determine what you are going to have space for. Looks can be deceiving, but a tape measure will give you exact information on what can stay with you and what has to go.
Get Rid of Your What If’s…
Downsizing is a time for taking a realistic look at your possessions. Resist the urge to hold onto items you hope to have use for someday… like that treadmill gathering dust in the basement.
Be Thorough in Your Search
When packing for your move, start ahead of time in those spaces you rarely look in, like under beds and in spare room closets. You’ll be amazed at what “treasures” you’ll find carefully hidden away. If it’s something that you haven’t thought about in a couple of years, consider now the best time to say goodbye for good.
Consider Storage
For those items that you don’t really want to part with, but don’t really need, consider a small storage unit. These are perfect keeping heirlooms and collectibles safe when you no longer have the space for them. Climate controlled storage units are actually better at preserving many items you consider valuable, such as musical instruments and documents.
What started out as a troublesome event could turn out to be a big blessing. Plenty of people find that once they are forced to purge themselves of unused and unwanted items, space opens up for things they really love.
