Are You Downsizing Your Home? Here’s What You Need to Know.

If you’re downsizing your home, whether it’s because you want something more affordable or you just don’t need all the space you have now, it can be a fairly simple and straightforward process.

First things first: you need a skilled, talented and knowledgeable Realtor® to help you find the perfect place.

What to Do if You’re Moving to a Smaller Home

When you move to a smaller home, you might be surprised that you have more belongings than you originally thought you did (most people do!). That means you may have to downsize the things you own, too.

Experts suggest that you make a complete inventory of your belongings before you try to downsize. That way, you’ll be able to see whether you have doubles of certain items that you don’t really need—and you’ll be able to gauge what you use often enough to keep and what may not be so useful that it’s worth taking up space in a newer, smaller home.

When you’re organizing your belongings, it’s best to separate them into four categoires: Keepers, For Sale, Give Away and Throw Away.

Keepers: Keepers are useful, valuable items that you know you’ll use in your new home.

For Sale: Things you don’t need but that are in good condition can head to a yard sale, Craigslist or a resale shop.

Give Away: Things you don’t need but that are in good condition, but that you don’t want to sell, are give-away items.

Throw Away: Things that are damaged, worn out or otherwise unfit to be sold or donated should just go straight to the trash.

When to Downsize

As soon as you determine that you’re going to downsize your home, it’s a good idea to start sorting through your belongings to pare down to what you really need.