Downsizing and Letting Go

Article submitted by Vickie Dellaquila, owner of Organization Rules, Inc.
For more information, she can be reached at 412-913-0554 or by e-mail: vickie@OrganizationRules.com, or visit her website: www.OrganizationRules.com.

Does this represent you or your parents? You have lived in your home for the last 20, 30, 40, or 50 years. Your home use to be filled with growing children, the neighborhood kids, and now it is empty. They all grew up. You have fond memories of happy times and memories of some sad times. The time has come to move on. The house is too big and requires too much work for you and or your spouse. You and your spouse want more time to relax and have a simpler lifestyle. Between the cleaning, house maintenance, snow shoveling, and lawn mowing, you find no time to do the things you really want to do. Maybe you need to move to a smaller home.

So you make the decision to move to a smaller home or to a retirement community. What are you going to do with all your belongings? You may have a 2 story, 5 bedroom home with 50 years worth of dishes, furniture, pictures, collections, and household items. 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 this?

Downsizing is the process of letting go of items that you have acquired throughout your life in order to move and fit comfortably into a smaller home. You really need to think about what you will use, need, and what will really fit. Downsizing can lead to a much simpler lifestyle. Less is truly more.

It can, however, be very emotionally and physically overwhelming, especially if you have several years of accumulation. It is an issue facing many people. Helping seniors downsize is an issue for many adult children and healthcare providers. Adult children may be geographically distant or overwhelmed with trying to manage their own lives while raising children and managing careers.

Now that you have decided to simplify your life, here are some key points to remember:

• A good way to start is to get someone to help you through the downsizing process because it can be overwhelming.
• Consider the amount of space you will have in your new home. This will help to eliminate moving items that will not physically fit.
• Get the floor plan of the place you are moving into, including locations of doorways, windows, phone and cable jacks.
• Think about what you are really need. Will you need 12 plates or will 6 maybe work?
• Measure the furniture you want to take with you and compare it to the floor plan of your new home to see if it will fit.
• 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.
• Remember every item you own requires your time, energy, maintenance, and money. You need to decide if the item is worth keeping.

While downsizing can be an emotionally and physically overwhelming process, it can be achieved through planning and organizing. Taking it one step at a time with some assistance can make the downsizing process and move to your new home a little easier.