Downsizing-How to Tackle It

Where do you start? What’s first? So… you have decided that you want to downsize your San Diego home, and you need a game plan for getting this done without too much hassle. You may be a little overwhelmed and dread the work involved. You might even be apprehensive about going through your stuff and deciding what to eliminate.
I have helped many people, such as you, organize and get through this process, making it much easier. Let’s get started! Declutter, purge, cull, whatever you want to call it! You should not wait until a week before moving to start going through your things to see what you will keep and donate or toss. There are many ways to tackle this, and I will give you a few ideas on how to do it. Furniture may take the longest to find a home for or to decide what to keep and get rid of the rest. However, this is a good place to start. If there are furniture pieces you know will not be going with you, then deal with that first. If your sister said she has always loved that armoire, now is the time to get that to her. The extra space will be needed as you go through your things. Less furniture is better for staging purposes as well. So many charities will take used furniture and even come to your home to pick it up. I suggest that you call them first since there are items like mattresses that some charities will not take.  One common decluttering method is to get three boxes and label them Toss, Donate, and Keep. Go through room by room using this method. For the Keep box, if it is an item that is not used frequently, go ahead and properly pack that box up and store it until you move, labeling the box, as well, with items and the room to which it will need to be moved.  The “Toss, Donate, Keep” method works well with clothing. For the kitchen, pantry, and medicine cabinet- Toss anything expired, or you know you will not use. If it isn’t expired, it can be donated to the local food bank. Be sure to dispose of medication properly and do not flush down the toilet. Attics and garages tend to be the most overlooked areas since they store our items that “we will get to later” or our seasonal items. So do not avoid these areas until the last minute. My previous clients who downsized found that enlisting a friend or relative to help them sort through the different categories of items was very helpful and instrumental in reassuring them that they would not miss the items that they got rid of. Sometimes we need encouragement to release that 1980’s jacket that we loved so much but haven’t worn in 40 years!
If you are ready to start the downsizing process and want a market analysis on your current home, give me a call and I can easily do that for you at no cost. We can also discuss your options for your next home as well, as the timing, since the market IS very likely going to experience some significant changes in the next couple of months. Also, if you would like a list of resources and helpful moving information, just let me know. Since we are involved in this process, we keep good and useful information on hand for our many clients every day, and I am happy to share this information with you, too. I would love to help you through this entire process from start to finish! So, please feel free to let me know if you have any questions at all or could use some helpful resources. You can contact me via email at [email protected]. You can also contact our team at # 858-336-1114.