THREE TIPS TO GET STARTED DOWNSIZING TODAY

There are more than 10,000 people retiring every day in America. Many of these retirees will need to downsize their homes as they get ready for the next phase of life. After 40 years of “upsizing” their homes, these baby boomers now have the daunting task of sorting through all they have collected to figure out what to do with these items. Here are three tips to get started downsizing today.

• CONCENTRIC CIRCLES

One of the most overlooked realities for most downsizing homeowners is that most of the items of the highest importance are in the most lived in areas of their homes. (These areas typically consist of the living room, kitchen, dining room and master bedroom.) Items of less importance tend to be in closets, spare bedrooms, attics, basements, garages or other storage areas. By sorting through the areas farthest from the primary living area, the homeowner can work in concentric circles back to the most lived in spaces in the house.

• FAMILY INTERVENTION

Once the downsizing homeowner gets the items sorted out that they know they will move to the smaller home, they will need to contact family members to find out if they want any of the items that won’t be moved to the smaller home. If the family members or friends would like the items they’ll need to arrange for them to be moved/transported, otherwise they will be given away or thrown out.

• WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT

This is a great phrase and helpful tip for answering the following question: “Should I keep it or not?” Chances are, if you have to think about whether you want to keep an item, then you likely can live without it. Downsizing is something every person will face at some point in life. Doing it before it needs to be done is always the best bet. Waiting until the house is sold and the movers are showing up is not the optimal time to be figuring out what to keep and what not to keep. It is expensive to have to have a moving company help you decide and then ultimately have them store your things because you can’t make up your mind at the last minute. Getting started downsizing TODAY is a great idea.