How to Tidy Up and Downsize Your Home

A cluttered home can have adverse effects on your health, causing low-level stress and anxiety, making you feel overwhelmed and mentally drained. Decluttering can let your home feel more relaxed, even if it’s simply because you’re not running from place to place looking for misplaced items. Having an organized environment can also allow for a concentrated mind, allowing for more productivity and creativity.

Think First Usefulness, Then Sentimental Value

To really declutter, you’re going to have to part with some things. So, when sorting items, it’s important to think of their usefulness and need before you take into account the sentimental value. If the item has a unique purpose or if it does a job better than an item of a similar nature, then keep the more useful possession. When taking the sentimental value of the possession into account there may be things you find that you don’t want to give away, but you also don’t have the time and space for. Think about re-homing these items to give them another life with family or friends who understand their value.

Downsizing Takes Time, Make a Schedule and Stick to It

Make a strategic plan to tidy up and downsize, tackling one room or area at a time, making sure to go  through each and every item. Thinking you can complete this task in a weekend or day is unrealistic and doing it in small bursts, with necessary breaks, can make it much easier. Keep in mind that downsizing your home is not a small task and remember you must commit to completing the process once its begun, even if it takes weeks to sort through everything. If moving you may want to start this process up to a month before you want to start packing, so the packing process is lighter and goes smoother.

Purge, Donate, Sell and Organize

Many swear by the box method to tackle the downsizing process, having a box for each action.

• Sell or Donate – Possessions that are still in good shape and you can make some money from or donate to those in need.
• Keep – Items that you regularly use, need and have space for.
• Store - Things that need to be organized and put away because they don’t have a daily use but are still a necessity.
• Trash - Excess papers, items in bad shape and things you simply can’t sell because they have no more need.

Check your progress as you move through each room and if you see that your keep or store box is overflowing with items, take some time to rethink their place and purpose.

Enlist Help and Make it Fun

Having a companion to help you in any project just makes it more fun! Asking a friend or family member to help out can give you someone to share those precious memories with as you go through your possessions.  Someone by your side can also help you stay focused, on task and accountable.

Change Your Habits Sooner Rather Than Later

You just put all that hard work into organizing and ensuring everything has its own place in your home, make sure it stays that way. Change the habits that put you in the cluttered mess in the first place. Digitize documents, photos, and items when you can to lessen an accumulation of them in the future. Stop spontaneously spending and make a budget so you are less likely to buy unnecessary items. Remember to always put things back in their place so that they do not end up cluttered in spots around your home.

Downsizing, decluttering and tidying up your home will not only give you peace of mind but can also make any move in the future a much easier transition, as most of the hard work has already been done with your smart decision to downsize. Have you cleaned out your home and realized you just don’t need all that space anymore? Contact Move Up America today about our Right Size Program.