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How to Downsize Your Home & Decluttering Tips | Key Storage

How to Downsize Your Home

Are you moving soon and not sure how to downsize your home? It’s easy to let stuff pile up over the years, from shoes and toys to little knick-knacks you’ve been gifted. Unfortunately, that can lead to a cluttered home.

If your living space is cluttered, you need to downsize before moving to a smaller home. That means getting rid of some stuff and being creative when it comes to storage.

Read on to learn how to declutter and downsize your home.

What Are the Benefits of Downsizing?
How to Downsize in 5 Steps
Essential Decluttering Tips
Effectively Downsize & Declutter

What Are the Benefits of Downsizing?

Downsizing a home is the best solution if you plan on moving to a smaller home, but that’s not the only benefit. Learning a few basic decluttering tips offers several advantages, including:

Lower bills: If you’re moving to a smaller house to save money and you’re not sure how to move, downsizing is a simple solution. You can save on your electric bill and pay less in rent when you move to a smaller home, which means more money in your pocket.
Less clutter: It’s easy to let larger homes get filled with clutter over the years, especially if you’re the type to hang onto sentimental items. Downsizing allows you to get rid of some of that clutter, and it’s easier to manage any mess in a smaller home.
Simple maintenance: The larger a home is, the harder it is to maintain. Smaller homes are simpler and more affordable to maintain, whether you’re tending to your garden or hiring somebody to paint your house.
Change of pace: Larger homes are a good fit for some people, but moving to a smaller home offers a nice change of pace by bringing everyone in the house closer together.

Step-by-step instructions for how to downsize a home and declutter

How to Downsize in 5 Steps

If you’re planning a move to a smaller home, you might not know how to get rid of everything and move. You can check out some of our storage ideas for a small house, but downsizing is the best method. 

Getting rid of some of the belongings you’ve been holding onto for years can be difficult, but following these simple steps can help you get started.

1. Set aside enough time

Setting aside time is one of the most important steps in downsizing your home. Some people can spend a day decluttering their homes and getting rid of old stuff, but that’s not the case for many.

If you’re planning on moving soon, set aside some time before you have to move to make sure you can spend a few days or even a week cleaning up and decluttering your home.

There’s nothing more stressful than being in a rush when it’s time to move — especially if you have to downsize your home. If you set aside some time, you don’t have to make any last-minute decisions about decluttering.

2. Create an inventory list  of your belongings 

Getting rid of belongings you’ve held onto for years or even decades is never easy, but sometimes it’s necessary. While you don’t have to decide what you want to throw away at this step, you can start by making a list of your belongings.

Once you have a list of all your items, you can get a better understanding of how many things you need to get rid of to downsize. You don’t have to worry about separating belongings by category or importance — you can do that later.

Being thorough is important when you’re downsizing. You might feel like you’re adding too many items to your list, but a more detailed list will only make it easier to downsize.

3. Categorize and sort items 

Now that you’ve got a list of your belongings, you can start categorizing and sorting them to make it easier to decide what you want to get rid of. This is where you start weeding out the junk from the items you want to keep.

You can choose how you want to categorize your belongings. If you have attic storage in your new home, you can find room for some of the boxes you have around.

If you’re looking for category ideas, you can sort your stuff by the room they belong in, their size, their sentimental value, and more. You can break your belongings into as many categories as you’d like as long as it helps you figure out what you need to get rid of.

Keep, donate, and discard piles for clothes

4. Get rid of unwanted items 

For many, this is the hardest part about downsizing and moving to a new home. You probably have several belongings you’re sentimental about, and there might be some items you spent a lot of money on several years ago.
As hard as it is, the best way to downsize your home is to get rid of old belongings you don’t use or need anymore. You can keep some items, but try to donate, give away, or dispose of belongings that will clutter your new space.

5. Consider a storage unit 

If you’re having trouble downsizing your belongings to fit your new home, you may want to invest in a storage unit. You can conveniently store all of your belongings for a reasonable monthly fee. Storage units are a simple, secure way to avoid getting rid of many items you cherish.

Essential Decluttering Tips

When it comes to downsizing, some of the simplest tips can make the biggest difference. Whether you’re storing your stuff for deployment or moving to a smaller home, these tips can help:

  • Digitize any old photos, documents, and videos to reduce clutter
  • Donate or repurpose old items to minimize waste
  • Measure your furniture to make sure it fits in your new home

Effectively Downsize & Declutter

When you’re downsizing and decluttering before a move, getting rid of the belongings you don't need can help you make the most of the small space you’re moving into.

If you still don’t have enough space, Key Storage can help. We offer convenient storage options at an affordable price. Find a storage unit near you to learn more.

Reliable Self Storage,
Whenever You Need It.

Key Storage boxes in a home near Key Storage in San Antonio, Texas