Tuesday, November 10, 2015

A Guide to Downsizing Your Home in Retirement

Whether you’re moving from a palace to a bungalow, or a luxury apartment in with your significant other, sometimes the task of moving items from home to another can be daunting. The key in all of this is knowing how to downsize and, how not to lose your mind whilst you’re doing it.

Of course there are other reasons for wishing to downsize, primarily life choices that one makes. These can either be financial (it can be cheaper to run a smaller home), or the family has left the roost and you are now in a house too big for what you originally had it for.

Whatever the reason, there are tricks to downsizing your home which can come in handy for the day you need to make the decision to sell your home; here are just some of our top tips. 

The Good Old Garage Sale


Well, it’s old in some parts in the world, but the garage sale is a guaranteed way to get rid of items that you really no longer need. How do you organise yourself for a garage sale? 

Well, the big mental hook here is, create piles and split into things you no longer use, no longer need and don’t have a requirement for; yes, we see the irony that they are the same thing but sometimes by labeling it a bit differently, it will allow you to make the decision.

Ultimately does the 3am tv shop purchase serve a purpose in your house? You should ask, when was the last time I used it and then then think, will I ever use it? If the answers are, “about four months ago” and “no”, then they shouldn’t be in your house. 

Sell, sell, sell. Get some money in your back pocket and create a list of everything you sell, just in case you accidentally sell something you actually needed. 


Create an Inventory


An inventory is going to be one of the biggest documents you will keep in your downsizing plans as it is so important. As just discussed, it can be helpful if you’ve sold something that you shouldn’t have but it’s so much more useful than that.

A well organised inventory will be an easy to read and well collated list that can help identify quickly a strategy of getting things right when it comes to downsizing your property. 

One of the best things you can do with an inventory is to ask yourself “if there was a house fire, what could I not live without”. Jot those answers and anything that is missing, you create a separate list so that you can decide if you need to sell or pass on to family that may need it.

If you are moving in with someone else or really downsizing your property, having an inventory is even more important as you will need to see where you could have two or three of the same items and that is not handy for anyone. (Perfect examples, toasters, kettles or microwaves. 

Not forgetting things like sofa’s and beds). You will need to be ruthless when it comes to deciding what to get rid of and if everything is there in a an itemised list then it can be made a lot easier. 

Storage Space


We’ve all had issues with storage at one point or another, it’s true, even the best in the business have found it hard to stick things into storage when required. But there are two ways to look at storage that can be a real life hack when required.

The first is storage for when you are moving your items out of your home and you are still deciding what to do or you didn’t have the opportunity to sell first time round. Here, you want to have an accurate account of where all the storage solutions are in the nearest area to you. 

You don’t want to be travelling for miles to have have a simple facility near you which can accommodate your needs. After that you also want to have a list of pricing. For long term hires you may want to invest in a bigger space and store more at that point as the price per unit may not vary that much due to longevity.

The second storage issue is when you are storing your goods. Things like, ottomans that open up and have space inside, wall-mounted shelving, under-bed storage boxes, they're all your best friend if you're moving to a smaller space.

There are many things that can happen when you are downsizing your home, but the essential thing is, take your time and ensure that you are organized when it comes to shrinking your living space.


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