My husband and I finally decided to sell our house that we’ve both loved for the last 25 years. Here’s a blog written about our house and it makes me realize how wonderful it has been to live here.  

I admit, downsizing and moving out is one of our hardest decision we have ever made. It’s hard to leave precious memories we’ve built together and with our children and friends. Moreover, facing the unknown and leaving behind the familiarity, warmth and comfort of the house we’ve been with for most our lives.

Downsizing can be stressful not just for us but for everyone. It’s truly a challenge for everyone involved to leave clutter and move into a new home – not to mention moving into a smaller house with limited space. I’ve collected and summed up tips on how to plan and organize for a successful downsizing.

Create an inventory of all your items.

This is very daunting task believe me but its going to be worthwhile. By doing so, you’ll be able to realize how much clutter and junk you have!

Create a list of your must-haves and your junk.

Creating an inventory is a good blueprint. Now comes the hardest part – deciding what things to keep and what should go. Everybody has a fixation on something like a baseball card collection, stamps or whatever it that is close to your heart.  In times like downsizing, it’s hard to decide if you should hold on to something that hasn’t had value in our everyday lives. It’s like learning how to let go while still hanging on to those things we simply can’t live without.

Don’t throw your junk straight in the bin.

After finally segregating your “must-haves” vs junk, it’s time to throw away all your clutter. Instead of throwing them in the trash or recycling, you can have a garage sales, take the items to a charity drive or better yet, you can simply donate usable stuffs to our less fortunate neighbors. As we all know, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Be selective in your clothing.

As women, we can’t really have too many bags, shoes and clothes. But in times like this, we need to sacrifice and be selective especially when the future closet offers limited space. Be selective on your clothing, bags, shoes and accessories. Keep those essentials at hand – black dress, 1-2 coats, a couple of scarves and basic tees. And as you move forward to your new space, be careful not to accumulate too much clothing!

Successful planning is successful moving!

Moving from one place to another especially with truck-loads of stuff is tedious and very time-consuming. In addition, setting up the entire house is difficult.  In order to make downsizing less stressful, you need to plan ahead. How? By printing the floor plan of the house you’re going to live in for the next period of time and plan ahead where to put your furniture and other stuff.

Downsizing can be exciting and scary at the same time. But don’t worry, these tips helped me and will help those who are planning to move from one location to another – whether you need a warmer climate, want a few acres on your backyard to nurture horses (which my husband wants) or are moving close to your work or family.

Still looking for a new home across USA? Here’s RealTracs, a handy app that can suggest places and homes you’d like to move into.  If you want to buy my house, which I highly recommend, you would be a lucky person indeed!