How To Downsize Your Apartment
Sometimes you get so used to living in a certain way that you do not even question if it is still the right move.
If you lived in a big home or apartment because you had kids or extended family members living with you, it was a sensible decision at the time.
Now those kids or family members have moved out. And you are still living in a huge home or apartment, by yourself or with a spouse. Is it time to downsize?
Here is a short guide on how to downsize your apartment.
1. Plan
The first step in downsizing is to plan. Do not take this step without a detailed plan of action. Think three to six months in the future. Where would you move? What steps must you take before you can make this a reality? As you start to plan, more of the steps needed to achieve your goal will become apparent.
2. Make Possession Lists
If you are to downsize, you must separate your possessions into three lists: keep, store and get rid. The keep items are ones that you use frequently and need in your next home.
The store possessions are ones that you can place in a storage space.
And the get rid possessions are ones that you are only keeping for sentimental reasons. These are items you must give up if you want to downsize your living situation.
3. Sell, Donate and Throw Away
The items that you placed in your “get rid” list are the ones you must sell, donate or throw away. Do some research to see if any of those possessions have significant value. Sell the ones that do! Donate items that you think would be useful to others, even if you no longer need them. And throw away everything else!
4. Rent a Storage Space
Finding storage near me is extremely easy. You can use reputable sites to assess the most affordable and safe storage spaces in your area. Rent a unit per month or pay for a full year to get a discount. Now you can move every item that you placed in the “store” pile into the storage space!
5. Find the Ideal Sized Apartment
Now that you have stored and gotten rid of many possessions, you can start to see how much space the items you really use are taking up. It will help you figure out the size of your next apartment.
We find that many people who were living in three or four bedroom apartments would be just as happy in a one or two bedroom. When you get rid of the items that you are not using most days, you start to see how much less space you need to live a happy and fulfilling life!
Downsizing can feel scary for a few reasons. You may think you are downgrading your status in life, which is absolutely not the case. Or you worry that you are so used to living in a bigger space that you cannot adjust. The above five steps will help you downsize with minimal disruption to your life.
