If you’re preparing to move into a smaller space, you’ll want to have a plan to help make the transition seamless. Downsizing can be an emotional process and rightfully so, it’s a big change in your life. It’s also an exciting one, as you’re about to start a new adventure and enjoy a new, more relaxing stage of life. Soon you’ll have a brand new home to decorate and make your own. Read on for our top tips for downsizing.
Start With Some Decluttering
When you are downsizing, whether you are newly retired or an empty-nester, your move is a chance to take your most beloved items with you and showcase them in a brand new space. Be sure to keep the things you use regularly and set aside those you use less frequently. Essentially you are editing your collections (furniture, books, clothing, art), saving your very best things for life in your new home. Donate any unneeded items to charity or share them with friends and neighbours.
Prioritize Your Favourites
Your most cherished items give warmth and comfort; they also reflect your personality and interests. These are the key pieces that will help make your new house feel like home. Your favourite, most sentimental items could be pieces of furniture, artwork, mirrors, rugs, bedding, or even light fixtures. Plan to build your new rooms around these items you love the most. You can show them off in a new way and they will bring you a lot of joy.
Draw Up Detailed Floor Plans For Every Room
Visualizing a space is difficult for most people, especially being able to accurately assess just what will fit into a space and where. It can really help to draw out detailed floor plans for each room in advance; you can figure out exactly where each piece of furniture will go, along with accessories and wall art. Of course, doing this means you should stick to your plan: only keep furniture where there is room for it. Measurements are key to making sure everything fits and that you’ll have lots of room to move around comfortably. If you don’t feel confident drawing up floor plans yourself you can try playing around with a free design and decorating app, such as MagicPlan, Floor Plan Creator, Amikasa, or Room Planner by Ikea.
Hire A Stager Or Designer To Help With Space Planning
You might also choose to hire a stager or a designer to help you with space planning. They’ll be happy to work with you and outline a vision for your new home. Many offer this as a one-time, standalone service; you do not have to contract them to actually furnish and decorate your new space, though you certainly can if you have the budget. Professional space planning can be particularly helpful because of the years of experience stagers and designers have; they often see your belongings in a new light and can offer layout suggestions you might never have considered.
Hold Off On Buying Anything New
Once you’ve moved into your new space it can be tempting to want to shop and start filling it up. We suggest you wait a bit, however, until you have been in your new home for a little while and know what your needs actually are. Once you’ve lived in the rooms you’re more likely to understand what kind of decor will work best and which additional pieces of furniture you’d like to invest in. After a couple of months, you’ll have a much better idea of what may be needed and where, at which point you can enjoy a shopping trip for your new home!
We hope these tips for downsizing have inspired you to get started. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to follow the Gemterra blog for more great moving tips.