Rightsizing for Boomers

Preparing to ‘Rightsize’ to a new home

– Prepare mentally.  Have an objective in mind and a timeline to accomplish it.  You may already know the floor-plan of your new home or have a good idea of what sized home you’d like to be moving into.  How much ‘stuff’ do you need to part with? What will fit in your new space, what don’t you have a space or need for any longer?  What haven’t you used in longer than you care to admit? It can be freeing to plan and strategize before you begin to rightsize your belongings to your new home.

– Talk to your family.  Perhaps they’ve always loved a piece you would be willing/ needing to part with before your move into your new home.  Why not pass the heirloom along now, instead of paying for it to be stored and possibly discarded in the years to come?  I’d rather my cherished belongings find a new, appreciative home sooner rather than later, if ever.

– Hire help. You do not need to do this all yourself. An Interior designer, organizer, movers- they all can make this a much easier, faster, and all-around better project for you.  Chances are that their help will make a better end-result, as well.  Besides- this is what they do every day, professionally- put their skills to use and lighten your load.

– Sort.  What is being gifted to friends & family? What is to be donated to charity? What is to be sold/ auctioned/ consigned? Make the tough decisions now or you’ll find yourself needing a storage unit for cherished items that never see the light of day again- what a waste that would be! Be sure to mark things keep, also- every item should be sorted to avoid taking things with you that you just never went through. If possible, move things into separate rooms to sort them but if your space doesn’t allow for that, use color coded tape or sticky notes (get the super sticky kind so they don’t all off!) to designate which category each item is in before you start packing and dispersing. Don’t wait to disperse your things until after you’ve moved into your new home- do it now, it will make the move that much easier AND save you money!  Besides- part of why you’re finding new homes for your belongings is because your new home would be overfilled with them- that’s no way to start living in your new home, with it overstuffed and uncomfortable.

-Move & Settle in.  All your preparation pays off as you move into your new home and get settled in. This ’execute’ phase of your rightsize should be a breeze compared to all the hard decisions you’ve made along the way. It’s an incredible feeling when all the pieces fall into place. While all the planning in the world doesn’t make this an easy process, it sure does make it smoother, less stressful and much more successful.

Now that you’ve rightsized your home- what’s next?  Travel?  Retirement? Pursuing a passion project or new business you never had time for, before? More time with family and friends? Whatever the motivation- you’ve earned this- enjoy it!  Scaling your home to meet your needs is just the beginning of an exciting chapter of life.

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