Ten Tips How to Downsize and Get Ready For Your Move
Ten tips to downsize and ‘de-stress’ your move!
1. Start Early - End Happy
It’s never too early to begin the downsizing process. Begin
by focusing on typical problem areas such as the attic,
basement, garage, closets, file cabinets.
2. Get Generous
Since you can’t take everything you own to your new
home, now is the time to make arrangements to "gift" some of your treasures to special people in your life including, and especially family, helpful neighbors, friends,
favorite organizations, or a church/synagogue.
3. Save Your Memories
You may have boxes of old photos from every holiday,
vacation and birthday party attended. What do you do
with them? Consider the following ways to preserve
family photos and stories: a customized process of audio
and video recordings called Life-Storying. Copy your
special photos on to CDs, or try your hand at scrapbooking. Also services now exist that will take all your photos, slides, and videos and do it for you.
4. New Looks for Books
If you own large quantities of books, you need to spend
time downsizing your collections. Books occupy lots of
space and are heavy to move. Consider donations to
libraries or senior centers, or sales to used bookstores.
Call on a book dealer for older books with potential value.
5. Use It Up.....Don’t Move It Out
Take an inventory of your canned goods, frozen foods,
and paper products. Plan to use as many of these products
as you can before moving. If you simply have too many of
these items, think about passing them on to a local food
pantry.
6. Recycle the Toxins
Take time to put together a box or two of houshold,
yard, and automotive cleaning products, as well as paint,
that are considered hazardous. Visit Earth911.org for
more information on hazardous collection in your area.
7. Don’t Lose Touch
Create a list of people, places, and utilities/services that
need to be notified of your upcoming change in address.
8. Space Plan Ahead
Most Senior Move Managers can provide you with a
customized floor plan of your new residence. A floor
plan will help you determine the pieces of furniture that
will fit in your new home, and the best location of each.
Knowing which pieces will fit in your new space will
help you in your rightsizing process.
9. Pack a Survival Bag
Put together a survival bag for move day. It might include personal needs (medications, eyeglasses, toiletries,
change of clothes, important papers, etc); kitchen needs
(snacks, drinks, folding chair, disposable cups plates);
basic tools (hammer, screwdriver, flash light, tape, etc.);
cleaning supplies (sponge, roll of paper towels, soap,
etc.); and payment for mover – be sure you know which
form of payment they accept.
10. Ask For Help
Don’t be too proud or independent-minded to ask for
help. Moving is not easy and you shouldn’t do it all
yourself. But don’t wait until the last minute to ask for
help. Some of these downsizing steps require months to
accomplish.
A Simple Transition
Lisa Abrams
301-437-6742
561-907-7075
240-766-0625 Fax
ASimpleTransition@gmail.com
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