Getting your home ready to sell requires some work, but it can be a very rewarding way to move on with your life and find a new location you like better. When selling your home, you may wonder what is downsizing and how you can do it effectively. While downsizing will change how much you have and the size of the space you live in, it doesn’t always have that much effect on your daily life. It’s all in how you downsize, and what your expectations are before you get started.
What does downsizing really mean?
People downsize in two ways. They get rid of some of their things, or they move to a smaller space. Many people do both at the same time, and that’s a common way to make a quick change that will provide you with a lot of benefit for the future. With that in mind, downsizing really means what you want it to mean. Whether you decide to donate your home library to charity, or you sell your big house and buy a smaller one, you’ve still downsized. There’s no real right or wrong, as long as you’re reducing what you have in some way that works for you.
Should you keep all those knick knacks?
You don’t have to get rid of cherished keepsakes when you downsize, but you will need to choose what is most important to you. There are a lot of things to consider when you list your home for sale, and the first impression that buyers will have is one of the issues you want to think about very carefully. You don’t want buyers to see a cluttered space, or one that’s crowded with your personal items. The more of those you remove, the better. Getting rid of all of them isn’t necessary, though. You can simply pack the ones you want to keep away for the next house, and donate or sell the others. That way you declutter, downsize, and start staging your home for sale, all at the same time.
How long should you save old paperwork?
When it comes to keeping paperwork, how long you need to keep it can really vary. Tax returns and related types of paperwork are usually kept seven to 10 years, although some people keep them even longer. If you have marriages licenses or divorce papers, they should be kept forever. A lot of the paperwork you keep probably isn’t needed, though, and can be shredded or simply thrown away. That can really help you downsize, because you can go from a file cabinet to a box or two. That will help you find anything you need much more easily, because there won’t be so much to look through. You’ll also have more space, so you can decorate or adjust the way you live accordingly.
Why are you making the downsizing choice?
Why you’re downsizing can have a bit affect on how you feel about the process. For example, if you’re moving to a new place because you’ve retired and want to live where it’s warm, in a condo on the beach, you’re probably pretty happy about downsizing. People who are divorcing and are forced to sell the house they lived in, though, may not be as cheerful about getting rid of so many of their accumulated things. No matter why you make the choice to downsize, you should always do it with care and thought. You don’t want to get rid of things that really matter to you, and then end up regretting your decision later on. That is often painful, and many of the items you have rid yourself of can’t be recovered.
Is it time to live on less?
Downsizing can be an extremely liberating way to make a change to a smaller space. If you’re ready to sell your home and get something smaller, your daily life can really be improved by downsizing. Some people opt for a more minimalist lifestyle, because it is easier to see what they have and find what they need. If that sounds good to you, then you may be ready to downsize as a lifestyle choice. Moving to a new home that is smaller can feel great, even though most people generally assume that you would want to buy larger houses and “move up.” That’s not always the case, and not always the best choice.
Living on less means a smaller mortgage, or maybe no mortgage at all. It also means less space to clean and maintain, and often lower taxes and insurance, all of which can mean more money for daily living expenses and for enjoyment of all the things you might want to do. It’s important to have enough space to be comfortable, but that amount of space is often less than most people think they might need.
Where should you start when making the decision to downsize?
The easiest way to start downsizing is often the room-by-room approach. Go through everything you own, and decide whether it’s something that you really need to keep. If not, sell or donate it, or throw it away if it’s not likely to be useful to someone else. You don’t want to buy a smaller house and then try to see what will fit. Trim down what you have, and then look for a home that will fit the amount of stuff you kept. That will help you downsize without feeling like you’re making too big of a sacrifice.
2 Point Highlight
Downsizing can be an extremely liberating way to make a change to a smaller space.
You don’t have to get rid of cherished keepsakes when you downsize, but you will need to choose what is most important to you.
