Downsizing your home is a natural step for many empty-nesters looking to live in a more easy-to-manage home. Using this notion as your guiding principle is the best way to stay on track when editing your belongings to prepare for living in a smaller space.
Look at the rooms in your current home and compare them with their counterparts in your new place. Some rooms in your current home i.e. the kitchen and dining room may now be united as multi-purpose spaces in your new home, which means you may need to eliminate some of your furniture.
Take thorough measurements of your new space, this includes doors and windows as this will affect furniture placement. Measure your current furniture and start planning a layout in order to determine what furniture you will need to keep, sell or replace.
For multi-purpose rooms choose furniture that can perform double duty. A desk like the BDI Cascadia Console works well in a living room but can also serve as a buffet table when entertaining guests. Ottomans are also high-functioning in a multi-purpose room. The Otis Ottoman delivers storage, seating, and its lid can be flipped over to act as a tray.
Start paring down and organizing your belongings three months prior to moving. This will give you time to donate, sell and recycle items instead of throwing them away in a last minute rush.
It is normal to have items we feel sentimental about, but in order to help determine which ones to keep, make a list. The items that actually come to mind are the ones you should hold onto – leave behind the ones that don’t make the list.
For those sentimental items that do make the list there are ways to keep them around without having them collect dust in a box. Put them on display! One of the most creative ways we’ve seen this employed was by a family friend who could not part with the adorable swim trunks their son wore as a baby. They ended up framing these pint-sized trunks and they are now proudly hung up on a wall at the family cottage.
