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10 Top
Tips To Help Downsize Your Home |
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It is a common occurrence that we
accumulate items over the years and the longer
you are in one home the worse it is. We have
cupboards and drawers full of stuff; furniture
we don’t really need but keep “just in case”;
and items that we’ve had for years and may be
difficult to part with due to a sentimental
attachment. |
1. Assess Your Actual
Needs
Someday, you may take up exercising, but the
treadmill has been gathering dust for some time.
Wouldn’t a good pair of walking/running shoes be
more useful and take up significantly less
space? Deciding what you really need requires a
good long look at how you live your life and
what you often use.
Take a walk through your house and evaluate
everything you come across. Ask yourself if
you've used it in the past year and, if so, how
often? Be honest now!
For stuff that you really have a hard time
getting rid of, make this agreement with
yourself: Put the items in storage. If you don't
need or use them within 6 months, give, sell or
throw them away. |
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2. Will everything fit?
Always measure your furniture as you will need
to know if it will (or won’t) fit into your new
space - particularly large items such as your
sofa and your bed - so measure everything.
You will also need to get the room measurements
of your new space. Ask if you can take
measurements or if there is a floor plan
available to you. Don’t forget about the
location of doors and windows as this will be a
factor in furniture placement.
Once you have these measurements, make a floor
plan using your furniture’s measurements. This
will give you a much better idea on what you can
keep and what will have to go.
3. Assess Your New Storage Areas
How many times have you moved into a new place
only to realise that you have overestimated the
amount of storage space? While you’re getting
room measurements, make sure to properly assess
the storage space you’ll be inheriting. Will you
have fewer kitchen cupboards? How many closets
will you have?
Assessing exactly how much of the new space is
dedicated to storage will give you an idea of
the volume of items you need to dispose of
before moving in. Don’t forget hidden storage
areas you currently use in your old place. If
you place a lot of items above the kitchen
cabinets in your current home, for example, find
out if the cupboards in the new place have
storage in that area as well. |
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4. Ransack Your
Old Storage Areas
Go through your storage areas first -
you will be surprised to find out what
you’ve put away instead of gotten rid
of. If you’re like most of us, you will
find boxes of items that haven’t seen
the light of day for years and there’s a
reason for this: you don’t need them.
Don’t forget to go through your bathroom
cabinets, kitchen and “junk” drawers. We
have a tendency to accumulate
unnecessary items in these places. |
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5. Sell Your
Stuff
Have a garage sale (or a better idea,
organise one with neighbours or
friends). If you need help organising or
promoting a garage sale, contact Greg or
Heidi at "What Garage Sale"
www.whatgaragesale.com.au.
The Weekend Shopper in the Courier Mail
or The Trading Post is a good avenue for
selling larger items such as furniture,
appliances and home decor items to
people living in your area. eBay is a
good venue for selling items but make
sure to take good quality photos and
offer good descriptions. |
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Used designer clothing can be resold in
consignment shops. These stores can be
found in your local business directory.
6. Get
Organised
Before you move into your new place,
it’s a good time to work out some
storage solutions for your stored items.
You can do this as you pack. Place your
storage items in decorative storage
boxes that can be moved and placed in
the new storage areas without much
effort. Plastic bins are great for
moving and storing, come in many sizes,
are stackable, and the see-through ones
make finding what you need a snap. But
don’t forget to label everything by
room.
7. Move Large
Items First
Move your furniture into your new home
first. You will have the most energy for
this task at the beginning of the move
and it will also give you a better
indication of where the smaller things
will go.
Do not merely fill a room with furniture
with the idea of sorting it all out
later. There is nothing worse than
trying to navigate through small rooms
littered with boxes and stacks of
furniture after a day of moving.
Place furniture in the rooms as you go,
according to the plan you made earlier.
If you have done your homework
correctly, your big items should fit in
nicely and already give you a sense of
home. |
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8. Organise
Boxed Items
Your labelled boxes can now be put into
their respective rooms and the unpacking
can begin. Begin with the bathroom, as
that is the room most likely to be
needed immediately. If you have only
kept the basics, unpacking this room
will be a breeze. |
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9. Organise
Your Space As You Unpack
Utilise wardrobe and cupboard storage
solutions as you unpack. This way, more
can be stored in these tight spaces and
you will be setting a precedent for how
your new, smaller space will be used.
Don’t fall back into lazy habits or your
downsized place will get you down. |
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10. Relax And
Enjoy!
You no longer have to worry
about the financial burden or time
draining tasks of maintaining a home too
big for your needs and you have
simplified your life by surrounding
yourself with only those things that are
most important to you. Celebrate! |
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