6 Tips for downsizing to a smaller home

If you happen to be downsizing your home, whether it’s because you’re retired and the kids have moved away, or you’re moving to a big city where space is harder to come by, it can seem like an overwhelming undertaking. To make things easier, we put together some tips from our team at Two Small Men we’d like to share that can help reduce the sheer amount of stress that downsizing can bring:

Here are few tips for downsizing your home

1. It’s Time for a Yard Sale

The most common issue with downsizing is choosing what you should and shouldn’t keep. Decluttering simplifies the whole process of downsizing, but rather than throwing away the things you don’t want to keep, or just getting rid of the things you own with small monetary value, why not consider making some cash instead?

Whether it’s a yard sale, an eBay frenzy or a trip to a local auction house, selling some of your more valuable belongings is a great way to downsize without feeling like you’re losing out. That cabinet you love, but just don’t need, could be adding to your budget for furnishing your new place.

2. Get Creative with Storage

It’s not impossible to keep most of your belongings in a smaller space. Plenty of people do it. Actor Anthony Triolo, hit headlines when he revealed how he lives comfortably in a 150-square-foot apartment in New York City.

The photos of this tiny space reveal that he does it with clever storage compartments. So whether you’re making use of extra-tall shelving and storage spaces, elevating your bed, or utilizing underfloor storage, you’ll be surprised how many of your belongings you can keep while downsizing.

3. It’s Time to Get Organized

If you’ve never been the tidiest person on earth, now’s the time to change. In a smaller space, you just can’t afford to be cluttered and careless. Ensuring that you are ruthless with what enters your space means that you won’t be cluttering your new home with unnecessary belongings.

A combination of clever storage, and a ruthless attitude when it comes to buying new things can help you maintain as much free space as possible.

4. Use Floor Plans to Prepare

Using floor plans of your new place, you can design a new living space that makes the best use of the room you have available. By taking measurements of the furniture you plan to take with you, you can map out the most efficient way to position your belongings. Creating a custom furniture layout using floor plans also makes it easier to decide which pieces of furniture you’re going to take with you.

5. Consider Multifunctional Furniture

Multifunctional furniture is easily the best way to make full use of the space you have in your new home. Whether it’s a shelving unit with space included for a television, or a kitchen counter that also doubles as a breakfast bar or desk, you can create more space with multifunctional furniture – and when you’re in a smaller space, every inch counts.

6. Hire Professional Movers

Finally, once you’ve decided what you’re going to keep and what you’re going to sell, what furniture you need for your new home and how you’re going to keep your space organized, it’s time to consider how you’ll move to and set your new place. It may be tempting to save money and attempt a DIY move, but when you consider the difficulty of maneuvering large items in a small space-damage free, as well as the often-complicated process to assemble multi-purpose items with many hinges and joints, hiring professional movers, might just save you in the long run.

You can avoid the stress and hassle of moving your furniture and belongings to your new place by using trusted professionals like Two Small Men to manage your move. A team of reliable movers can help you realize your pre-prepared floor plan in no time.