by Martha Tobin, Owner at Declutter4Good
Moving from any home can be stressful but moving from a larger home to a smaller dwelling (i.e. condo or retirement residence) can be even more challenging.
Here are a few tips and tricks to help make the process easier:
- Start early. Even if you don’t have a move date in mind, it’s never too early to let go of items you (and your family) no longer need, use, love or want.
- Consider the size of place you will most likely be moving to (ie. one bedroom, smaller kitchen, one bathroom)
- Work in your least used room first leaving areas like the primary bedroom, bathroom, office and kitchen for last. Often the basement or a spare room is a good starting point.
- Work in one room at a time.
- Start with items on the floor first and work your way up (ie then surfaces and then shelving).
- Set up three categories in each room:
- Keep for now
- Keep for later (only needed after you move)
- Items to purge (donate, give to others or sell)
Decluttering before you move (and ideally giving yourself the time to do it) will always reduce your stress and feelings of overwhelm when you do have to start the process of moving. Need some decluttering and packing up help? Maybe you’d like help unpacking and organizing?
