- Remember that rightsizing is a process and not an event. Events can feel overwhelming and make bog us down. Break the process into smaller pieces, so you can plan and organize.
- Start now! You may not be moving for months or years, but start today thinking about a downsized life. Look at each item in your home and life with a new perspective and decide if you really want it or need it. Keep the move in mind when getting new – don’t buy large quantities of items that require a lot of space or will cost extra to move (bulk items from super stores).
- Give things away now. Don’t try to find the perfect place to donate items. Sometimes we really do want donate to a specific place but don’t spend more time on giving away donations than the donations are worth.
- Set deadline for pick-up. If you have given belongings to family or friends, set a deadline for them to pick the items up. Then stick to your deadline and donate or sell the item. Waiting for other people to get things can take a lot of time and energy.
- Everything you move costs money. It may not cost money out of your pocket but it will cost your time. And if you have others pack and move you, it will cost extra to pack things you don’t really want or need. Plus it will cost money for extra square footage to store things.
- Think before you put things into storage. The on-going cost of storage can quickly strip the value of items left in storage for months or years. If belongings are to be packed away in storage for more than a few months, question whether you really need them.
- Remember your decision to rightsize. View your plans through the lens of your decision. Do I really need extra furniture or bedding or dishes? Will I continue to entertain the way I did in the past? Do I need as many dressy clothes for my new lifestyle?
- Choose furniture that can serve more than one purpose. If you are moving to a smaller home, repurpose your furniture. Instead of a table in the front hall, consider using a small chest of drawers that can serve as a foyer table but also has storage space.
- Organize your move. Keep a notebook for information about your move. Have a bag or box to hold things you will need during your move – important papers, medicines, calendar, checkbook, phone book, toiletries, remote controls. Create an “Open First” box for move day that includes cleaning supplies, paper towels, toilet paper, coffee pot, paper plates & cups, and other things you’ll need on your first day in your new home.
- Get help. Ask family or friends to help with organizing, packing, move day and unpacking. Or call on professionals. There are many good professionals who can make this process much easier.
The most important suggestion is Start Now! If you start now, you can make the move happen on your timetable and be in control. The move is going to happen and good planning can make it go more smoothly!
Thanks to Organized A to Z.com partner Susan Campbell for contributing this article. Susan operates More Than Moving For Seniors, a locally-owned Richmond, Virginia business specializing in helping seniors and their families with the sometimes overwhelming process of downsizing and moving. Their services are available to anyone who needs help with moving, organizing, and de-cluttering, including empty-nesters, people combining households, busy professionals, newlyweds, those with disabilities and families who’ve lost a loved one. The business is a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM), and Susan is a past president and currently serves on the board. She is committed to establishing and maintaining standards in the senior move management industry. Visit her Web site at http://morethanmovinginc.com.
Copyright 2010, Susan Campbell
April 26, 2010
Are you an adult child who needs to help your parents downsize and move or are you someone who needs to downsize and move from your large home to a smaller home? Is it overwhelming to think about starting this process of downsizing and relocating? Would it be easier for you just to toss it all out in the trash and start over again? Many seniors and their adult children are faced with the task of downsizing and relocating to a smaller home, apartment, or retirement community. Instead of throwing your memories in the trash, make a plan to start this process.
Making the decision to downsize and move to a smaller home or retirement community can be very difficult. Once you have come to that decision, you need to make a plan. What should you do with all your belongings? Many seniors have a 2 story, 5 bedroom home with 50 years worth of dishes, furniture, slides, collections, and adult children’s past term papers and toys. You realize that all of these things are not going to fit in your new home. How do you start the process of dealing with all of this?
Consider these points when starting the process of downsizing and moving on.
- A good way to start is to get someone to help you through the downsizing process because it can be overwhelming. You need help and support.
- Think about what you are really need. Will you need place settings for 12 or will 6 maybe work? Do you really need three turkey roasters? When is the last time you made Thanksgiving dinner or do you always go to your son’s home for Thanksgiving?
- Consider donations to social services agencies. You may be able to use the donation as a tax deduction and you are helping someone else in need.
- Why not give pieces of furniture or other possessions to family members or friends that have admired them for years? If your granddaughter has loved your china hutch for years, why not give to her now and see the joy and happiness that it brings her today?
- Adult children need to pick up their stuff out of your attic or spare bedroom! Unless you have decided to go into the rental storage business, adult children need to get their stuff out of your home.
- Do not overwhelm yourself. Start with baby steps. Work a little each day on a section of your home: a drawer, or a closet shelf.
- If you feel overwhelmed looking at a pile of papers that you need to sort through, start with just 15 minutes. Set an egg timer for 15 minutes, sort through the pile and then stop working when the timer goes off. You will make some progress and can start again the next day. Before you know it, you will have sorted through dresser drawers.
- Remember every item you own requires your time, energy, maintenance, and money. Decide if the item is worth keeping.
While downsizing can be an emotionally and physically overwhelming process, it can be achieved through planning and organization. Taking it one step at a time with some assistance can make the downsizing process a little easier.
Thanks to Organized A to Z partner Vickie Dellaquila for sharing this article. Vickie is a Certified Professional Organizer and owner of Organization Rules, Inc, located in Pittsburgh, PA. Her company provides senior downsizing, relocation and residential organizing services. She is also the author of the book, Don’t Toss My Memories in the Trash-A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Seniors Downsize, Organize, and Move and the Moving Workbook. Both are available at Organized A to Z.com. For more information, visit www.OrganizationRules.com or call 412-913-0554.
April 19, 2010
Many people today are considering downsizing and rightsizing their lives – generally people 55 and older, although some younger people are joining the movement. Adults who are 55 and older find themselves with large homes after their children have moved out or are living in a multi-level home that has become more difficult to manage.
What prompts someone to downsize or rightsize? Usually there has been a major shift in life or thinking. Children have left the home, health concerns make a larger home more difficult, finances have changed or a desire to live a simpler life. For most of our lives, we expect to expand our lives, having children, more lucrative work and a larger home. For many of us, we come to a time in our lives that we want to contract our lives and make them simpler. We want more time to enjoy what the life we have created – to spend time with children and grandchildren, to enjoy travel and hobbies, or just to putter about.
So we make the decision to downsize.
Some people downsize by limiting their lives – closing off or not using parts of the house, cutting back on maintenance, giving up some activities. It can be a decision by indecision.
If though, a person wants to rightsize his or her life, it has to be an active decision. And it takes work. But the reward is much greater and more freeing than making a passive decision.
Choosing to rightsize you life means taking a good, hard look at all aspects of your life to see what still fits and what isn’t needed. It’s choosing the life you want rather than continuing the life you have just because it seems easier or is always done that way.
Choosing to rightsize doesn’t mean that a person must move or give up working in a yard or change every aspect of his or her life. You can reshape your current home to fit a rightsized life or hire lawn care to free up time.
Choosing to rightsize may mean moving to a smaller and more manageable home, a maintenance-free home or condo. If your current home takes too much time or is difficult to manage, a move might make a positive difference.
What is important is the decision followed by the action. Whether you stay in your current home or choose to move, make a decision about it. People are happier when they have control of their lives and make positive choices. Look at your life and decide if it fits. Then look toward your future and see if a rightsizing change is on the horizon. And having made the decision, start on the action of rightsizing!
Thanks to Organized A to Z.com partner Susan Campbell for contributing this article. Susan operates More Than Moving For Seniors, a locally-owned Richmond, Virginia business specializing in helping seniors and their families with the sometimes overwhelming process of downsizing and moving. Their services are available to anyone who needs help with moving, organizing, and de-cluttering, including empty-nesters, people combining households, busy professionals, newlyweds, those with disabilities and families who’ve lost a loved one. The business is a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM), and Susan is a past president and currently serves on the board. She is committed to establishing and maintaining standards in the senior move management industry. Visit her Web site at http://morethanmovinginc.com.
Copyright 2010, Susan Campbell
April 5, 2010
