Most conventionally, people prefer bigger homes. However, in recent years, the trend has changed. People are preferring to downsize for plenty of reasons – budget issues, the irrelevance of a bigger home, and most importantly hassling of organization. Taking up the last, it’s a given that big homes come with big challenges. It’s much more difficult to keep a large house organized, it’s harder to clean and there’s unnecessary clutter that keeps adding because of a big space.
But, if you like open spaces and don’t want to move in order to downsize or you just find the process of moving chaotic and don’t like to start over, don’t worry, you can still downsize.
Wondering how? Read on!
8 practical ways to downsize without moving
1. Minimize storage space
More storage space means more space to add clutter. However, when you minimize storage spaces, it will be at the back of your mind that you don’t have cabinets to keep things, so you think twice before buying something.
Therefore, cut down on your storage spaces. Eliminate things like cabinets, tables, drawers, wherever you use to store things. The same goes for containers and shelves. They can be the storehouse for a number of things. You don’t want that.
I prefer a kitchen with a feature wall of tile or pretty shelving. I don’t like upper cabinetry so I did as little as possible in our kitchen and bathrooms when our designer and my husband insisted we have it. So I compromised and did short cabinets and a feature wall above and below the cabinets. I also don’t have a single cabinet with anything on the top shelf, which further proves the point that I don’t like upper cabinets.
2. Sell things
Did you intend to downsize because you were struggling financially? If that’s the reason, think again. Downsizing itself comes with additional stress and extra costs of packing, moving, transporting, setting up, and many more. Therefore, what you can do is sell out things you don’t need anymore.
If you have a heavy financial crunch, then you can start with selling your car. If not you can sell out storage spaces and other things you don’t need and the ones that you can cash out for a higher value.
3. Clear paper clutter
From piles of newspapers to drawers full of old bills, our homes are full of paper clutters. They can make a mess of your house, and make it look untidy even when it is clean. Therefore, eliminate them from time to time. You can go for e-newspapers and kindle to reduce your paper clutter. And as for the bills, throw them away when they are unnecessary, or if keeping them is important, arrange them in a file properly.
If you want to keep your kids’ drawings, or school work, or other things, you can download certain apps like Keepsy and keep their drawings and important things but not the clutter. I believe you can find apps that will email the photos or mementos to an email and keep it for later as well. Another idea is to create an email address specifically for mementos, drawings, or other paper clutter.
4. Clear out heavy furniture
There would be tons of furniture pieces that you don’t even use, and they’ll still obstruct the free space.
For instance, if you have a table that you do not use other than to keep things on, consider selling it off.
People often come to our house and wonder if we recently moved in because it appears our home isn’t fully furnished. In reality, our house is fully furnished, but not cluttered. We have seating for our family and a few other people, but we also have floorspace and no clutter. It feels light and airy and free not tight and stuffy.
5. Own fewer clothes
Trivia time! Have you ever wondered how we are all alike? Well, most of us are individuals whose closets
So, why give them space? Let’s guess, you think, “It’s a good top, I can use it someday.”. The truth is, that “Someday” never comes. If you haven’t worn a piece of clothing in a long time, you are not going to wear it anytime soon. So throw them away, even better donate them!
A tip I found helpful a few years ago — When you wash clothes and hang them up, put the hanger the opposite direction so you know you wore it. Go through a season and continue this process and figure out the hangers that didn’t get turned around are the ones you can donate or sell.
6. Cut electronics
In this technologically savvy world, electronics have become our lifeline. We are so dependent on them that we have forgotten what life was like without these technologies. Yes, it makes our work easy, but at the same time, it adds to our electrical bills. So be smart, and consider going traditional where you can. For instance, you can discard your dryer and opt for air-drying the clothes.
An option we went for when building our home was solar. This helps us take advantage of the sun we experience almost 365 days a year and helps convert it to energy for our home. I know in the Midwest where my parents live, wind power is big. There are so many options these days to help conserve and save money.
7. Lock extra rooms
For a family of four, you would not need a home with five rooms. Yes, it does make sense, however, if you
In the past year or so, having more space or an escape, from your family every once in a while might have been nice while we were stuck at home. Now that things are starting to shift, see if that extra space is still necessary, or if you can lock it up again.
8. Consider changing or selling vehicles
Vehicles are not anymore a thing of luxury thanks to growing consumerism. Nonetheless, if you think you have an extra vehicle that you don’t use much. Consider selling it off for extra cash.
We all go through seasons in life either with kids, pets, or other adventures where we may need a bigger vehicle. When those seasons end, it’s not always necessary to keep the same sized vehicle. Plus, it’s nice to have a change every once in a while and maybe a little cash in your pocket!
Downsizing your living space doesn’t have to mean moving. There are plenty of practical ways you can downsize without packing up and leaving your home town. We’ve outlined some tips for you to get started, but we want to hear from you. How are you going to simplify your life without downsizing your home? Tell us in the comments below or on our social media pages. We can’t wait to hear how you plan to declutter and streamline your life!
Recent Comments