Daring to Downsize: How Professional Organizers Help You Simplify

Downsizing is a daunting task. There are hundreds of decisions and countless moving parts. But the transition is worth it and has many benefits. Downsizing can be your gateway to a simpler, more thoughtful lifestyle. You can leave behind what no longer serves you and bring with you the things you cherish. Having a smaller home can save you money and free up time not spent maintaining a larger home and yard.

Today I'm sharing our tips for downsizing with ease. If you're going to do it, do it right from the start!

Tip #1: Take Time to Be Thoughtful

You have spent years, even decades, accumulating items in your home. Give yourself the gift of time to thoroughly and thoughtfully declutter before the movers knock at your door. 

When we declutter with clients before downsizing, we start the process a couple of months in advance. It can be mentally draining for clients to make decisions for hours on end. We do all the physical labor of pulling items out, sorting them, and then we only bring clients in to make the decluttering decisions. That way, they use their mental energy for the important decisions and leave the rest to us. 

When you take the time to declutter and pare down in advance, it is less stressful, and you have time to spread out the purging sessions. You're less likely to decide it's too much and give up altogether. This also gives you time to mentally process all the changes happening and memories attached to items.
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When you are making decisions, try to avoid "maybe" piles. You are doing the hard work to decide if something stays or goes, so make a final decision and stick to it. "Maybe" is only delaying the decision while still tiring you out.

Read more decluttering tips in our "Decluttering 101" blog post.

Tip #2: Let Go of Days Gone By

Saying goodbye to items that no longer serve us can be cathartic. It can also make us feel guilty. We think about all the money we spent on items we didn't use. We feel bad about saying goodbye to Grandma's china set, or wasteful for donating an abundance of items.

But the truth is, you weren't using these items anyway. They were just taking up space physically in your home and mentally in your head. We can't control the past, but we can control our actions moving forward (See Tip #6)!

Ask yourself if an item reflects a past version of you or the present version of you. Do you really need those 20 business outfits if you're now retired? What about the 8 boxes of craft supplies that you haven't touched in years, but hold on to out of guilt that you "should" be using them?

Downsizing and starting fresh is the perfect time to evaluate these past versions of yourself. What brings you joy, and what do you actually want to bring with you to your new chapter? Saying goodbye to one thing frees up more time, space, and emotion for something else that you love more.

Tip #3: Purge Paper Copies & Piles

Paper clutter is super common with our clients. Mail never stops coming, and paper piles seem to sprout up everywhere you turn.

​When we work with our clients on paper, we start by collecting all the various piles around the home. We have a paper clutter timeline that we reference and discuss with clients to give them more assurance that, yes, they can safely recycle or shred most of their physical papers. 

For items that need to be saved and filed away, a portable file box is often small and effective for storing important documents in broad categories. A fire safe can hold items like Social Security cards, birth certificates, and life insurance policies. Items can also be scanned and digitized if necessary.

To reduce paper clutter moving forward, we highly encourage our clients to sign up for paperless billing for everything they can. We can help them do this as well! Everything from credit card statements to utility bills to insurance documents can be sent and stored digitally. This helps the Earth and saves space.

Tip #4: Sort All Like Items

Sorting is always an important part of our process when decluttering and organizing. When you sort like items together, you can see how many items in a category you truly have. When you're staring at a pile of 25 black pairs of pants, it's easier to realize that you don't really need all of them.

When we have duplicates of items, 80% of the time we are reaching for the same small 20% of our stuff over and over (thanks Pareto Principle)! You may be keeping most items "just in case", but when it comes time to use an item, in reality, you're choosing the same favorite items over and over again.

Physically viewing the excess already sorted by category decreases decision fatigue and allows you to part with items more easily than viewing one singular item at a time. You can decide to part with 5 out of your 8 spatulas at once, instead of making 8 singular decisions on 8 different spatulas scattered around the kitchen.

Sorting like with like can be especially useful as you prepare to pack and downsize. You may have hundreds of books in multiple rooms in your current home, but you will have limited bookshelves in your new home. Now is the time to make these tough decisions. Not only will you pay movers less to move your items, but you will be less overwhelmed setting up your new home.

​As for decor, we always recommend packing all decor together. Just because something was in your living room in your current home doesn't mean that it has to be there in your new home. You will likely want some fresh new decorations anyway. Like everything else, take this time to decide what decor you truly love that represents you now. People tend to travel more in retirement, so maybe you want to find a new decor piece for your home for every place you travel. Excitement lies ahead!

When we work with you, our team does the physical part of pulling everything out and sorting it into categories. You can work from home or relax while we set everything up for you. Then we bring you in to make the decluttering decisions. Then you can go back to doing your own thing while we organize or pack your belongings.

Tip #5: Save Space in the New Place

Downsizing to a smaller home usually means smaller rooms and less space overall. Your giant sectional or XL dresser may have fit beautifully in your current home, but it will take up half the room in your new home. Remember that this is a new beginning, and you want to do it right from the start.

Don't force your old oversized furniture in if it doesn't work. Take this opportunity to rethink your current preferences and style. How would something more modern and sleek feel in your new, smaller space? Now that you've downsized your belongings, maybe you don't need all the dresser or bookshelf space anyway.

Instead, perhaps some furniture with built-in storage could work to serve a dual purpose. Maybe your sofa table isn't just for decorations, but now has some built-in cabinets. Perhaps your ottoman can have a built-in chest, or your mudroom bench can have shoe storage underneath. There are many creative ways to work with less space.

Tip #6: Be Mindful Moving Forward

We can't change the past, and that includes all the purchases we made and items we brought into our home. We work with many clients who feel immense guilt donating items they spent money on and items they never really used. These items are a sunk cost, though. You can't change the past; you can only control what you learn from the situation and how you move forward.

​You don't want to hold on to hundreds of items you don't use just because you feel guilty. And you certainly don't want to force yourself to wear or use items you don't really like, out of obligation. Give yourself a fresh start by making the tough decisions now, and then consciously thinking about how you would rather make decisions moving forward.

The next time you're out shopping, ask yourself if you really love an item before you buy it (instead of being tempted by a sale or current trend). You could attempt the one in, one out method where any time you bring a new item into your home you donate something else. This could be category specific, like only for clothing, books, or spices, for example. Read our post on organizing your shopping habits for more info on buying with intention.

Pay attention to the new amount of space you have and stick to those parameters. If your drawers are too stuffed to close, or your storage baskets are overflowing, that's a sign that you've accumulated too much and it's time to declutter again.

Keep bringing yourself back to your goal. What do you want for your new space? Remind yourself how having less feels peaceful and that you don't need to buy more things unless you really love them.

Downsizing can be overwhelming, but you're not alone. Our team of trained and sympathetic professional organizers would love to help you get your old AND new space situated! Download our organizing guide to learn more about Hello Simplified organizing your home and orchestrating your move when downsizing.

Warmly,
Sandi