Why It's Never Too Early to Downsize

Downsizing, for some over 50 it is an act filled with dread as it seen as a harbinger of old age. But for others, the act of letting go is a sort of new-found liberty and therefore more and more people in their pre-retirement years are actively downsizing. If this interests you, then read on as there are some reasons why it is never too early to downsize.

The Case Against Procrastination

As mentioned, the act of downsizing is seen by many as a sign of aging and for that reason is it largely put off. Let’s face it, most of in our 50’s feel no different than we did in our 40’s or 30’s. Sure, we might not be as full of youthful exuberance as we were in our teens, but it's not like we feel that much older.

This is the reason why most of us put off letting go of the things we have accumulated over the years. But this procrastination can have consequences. Not only does putting off downsizing risk letting others handle the task for you, it also means that you end up spending your life in a sort of museum, instead of freeing yourself and enjoying your golden years.

Given this, it is better to go through your things and start to decide what to keep and what to let go of. Beyond this, you might even decide that some of the items you want to keep might better leave in storage for your grandchildren or some other occasion. For example, if you live in New England, then you might want to make use of a storage company in Boston to hold those items you don’t need but aren’t quite ready to let go of.

Beyond this, let’s look at how downsizing can help you enjoy your life.

Starting Early Allows You to Take Your Time

Sifting through a life’s worth of knick-knacks can be time-consuming. As such, you are better served by breaking the task into smaller bits, by starting with one room and then taking a short break before moving onto the next.








Two questions you should ask yourself along the way is whether you have used the article you are considering letting go of in the past six months, or if you will need if over the next year. Doing so will help to give you some perspective on what you need to keep around.

Beyond this, starting early means that you can have discussions with your loved ones on what you want them to do with the items you are leaving to them. This could include family photos, books, and heirloom items – some of which might have been in your family for generations.

Another bonus to downsizing in short bursts is that you can time these activities to when family members come to visit as this is a perfect time to handover items you don’t need but you want to keep in the family. Granted, you might not want to involve your guests in this ‘chore’ but prepping for a visit can give you a much-needed deadline to work towards.

Eliminate Bickering

In some cases, your kids, or grandkids, might want some of your stuff, but in other cases, they might not. As such, starting early can help you do better determine who gets what. This will eliminate the family quarrels which are bound to crop up when someone decides it is time to downsize.

The same is true when you are holding onto mementos from when your children were younger. This can lead to more winging as your kids probably don’t want 3rd place medals from their 5th-grade spelling bee. As such, letting go of these items can eliminate bickering over who gets, or wants, what.

A Little Perspective

There is nothing like rummaging through all the stuff you have accumulated over the years to help put your life in perspective. For starters, you might find things that you forgot about or you might find something that you have been looking for. As such, think of the exercise not as a waste of time but as a way to save money.

That’s right downsizing can help you save money. Not only can it stop you from buying other ‘things’ but it can also open the door to getting a smaller home and this could mean you are spending less each month on your rent or mortgage. The added plus is that you will have less space to buy even more things and this leads to saving even more money.

Embrace Your Freedom

Living a life without clutter can lead to a sense of freedom. It’s not as if you are letting go of relationships; instead, it is the clutter which ties up all the space in your home. When it comes to downsizing, remember it is never too early to start; doing so will help you to enjoy your life without worrying about what to do with all this stuff.

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.