Making the Most Out of Downsizing Your Home

Like so many Americans, last year, my husband and I were forced to downsize. One of the most game-changing events was moving into a smaller house. We suspected this year would be a year of trying to keep our chin up, but something unexpected happened. For the first time in 10 years, we found our home (and ourselves) at peace. I look around my smaller house and I realize that downsizing was not the death of all we accumulated. In many ways, it was a birth.

If you are confronted with the trending change of downsizing your home in the upcoming months, take heart. Reevaluating your accumulated "stuff" can be refreshing. There are so many things you can do to simplify and make money, encourage your spirit by personalizing smaller space, and take control in a time where everything seems a tad out of your control. Don't struggle to accept change, claim it and make it work for you.

Reevaluate

When we moved, I knew we were going from excessive square footage to less. As we packed, I started asking myself. "Do I even like this?" It was amazing to me how many things were gifts, or donations from my mother or just things I bought to help coordinate a room, that I didn't even like! Start to look at your home and scrutinize it. Ask yourself the simple question, "Do I even like this?"

In the throws of our decision to move cities, we also considered moving over seas for a while. Of course, it didn't take us long to rule that out. However, for about a week, I would lie in bed and look at my things, or sit on the couch and survey the room. I would ask myself, "If we moved overseas, would I pay to take that? If not, would I pay to store it?" This is different than "Do I like It?" It is looking at your things, though you may like them, as an investment. By asking yourself, would I pay to store it for a year, you are forced to weigh and measure the investment. Ultimately, if the item would certainly be replaced - keep it. It is surprising how fast household goods are put in perspective with the overseas question. Try it! Look around your room and ask yourself the same thing. My guess is you will realize very quickly how temporal or unnecessary your things truly are and how much can go.

The last rule in reevaluating your content is getting real with yourself. If you haven't used a product in a year (two or three), it is a "must-go." We have a way of storing so much we really don't need: DVDs, books, holiday (which never quite makes it out of the box year to year.) Just say goodbye and try not to be sentimental about it. It all can go. This especially applies to things in the kitchen and garage. Once you hurdle selling your collection of unnecessary-space-sucking stuff, the question becomes, "What is the best way to get rid of it all?"

Simplify: Turn Downsized Items Into Cash

Cash is king, especially when a move is at hand. All unnecessary liquid assets need be just that: liquidated. These days, there is definitely an easy place to sell just about anything.

eBay Isn't for Everything

If you are selling something small and semi-expensive, Ebay is a great solution. If it costs too much to ship, don't post it. Contending with Ebay postings, shopping the competition, keeping your price right, setting up Paypal and actually shipping your item can be a full time job. If the good being sold isn't worth more than 20 dollars and weighs more than 3 lbs, skip Ebay.

Craigslist Scores Big with Big Items

Local person-to-person selling (ie: Craigslist) is awesome for furniture, large toys or most anything in the garage, including shelving. Remember that posting without a picture is a mistake. Eye candy works and your odds of selling anything fast increase dramatically. Additionally, not posting a picture only results in 100 emails from people asking for a picture. This also applies to measurements. So, get out the tape measurer and take the 5 minutes to measure the item when you post it. Otherwise, you will be searching for the one email you sent to an interested buyer that had the measurements in it, over and over.

Consider Consigning

Any large furniture that doesn't sell, consign it. This may not produce immediate cash in hand, but what day isn't a good day to get money in the mail? Local consignment shops are totally worth it for furniture or home decor that doesn't sell in other avenues. Inquire about the donation policy of the consignment shops you work with in the event the item doesn't sell. It may be possible to request the tax write off, too. Some consignment shops even make house calls, so you won't have to move your own goods. Be sure and ask about that, because in a move, you have enough to do!

Never Underestimate a Good Garage Sale

For all practical items in excess, decorations, small tools, sporting goods and holiday riff-raff, a garage sale could yield 100's! Keep in mind a few things that work miracles for increased revenue in a garage sale: plentiful signage, advertising on free sites, grouping your like items, turning on a little music and lighting a scented candle. Little things make a big difference in maximizing sales from a musty garage.

Donate: Tax Time will Come

Lastly, donating to local charities (Goodwill, Children's Homes, etc) will turn into cash in a year or less. Don't forget the receipt at the donation spot. And, it is always a good idea to itemize what you donate so you remember. (In the parking lot, take a second to write down exactly what you gave and estimate the value.) No tax man may believe you actually donated 1,000's of dollars worth of goods. In addition, if you are flagged for an audit because of sizable donations (due to your move), you won't be caught trying to remember what the heck you gave away, you will know.

Trust Yourself: Reinvent Smaller Space

My mother and sisters are die hard hobby decorators. Their homes are fabulous. I spent the better half of 10 years trying to keep up, not with the Jones's...but my own family! They were constantly giving me advice and helping with the "look" of my home and they were usually right by standards of any good interior decorator. But in all that effort, my home really wasn't me. In fact, the things in my home that I felt reflected who I was most seemed a tad out of place.

It is so important to be true to yourself in the space you call home (especially if it is smaller.) You have got to hang on tight to the things that you love most. It may not work from an "interior designer" standpoint, but who cares? It is YOU and that is what a home should be about. I liken this to a wedding.

We all know what a fabulous wedding looks like. We have seen far too many tabloids to deny it. But in the real world, most of us work on a budget. And that budget helps us focus on what really matters. The best weddings may not have the 7-tier cake, or orchestra, or a setting to die for. The best weddings are the fun ones, where the bride and groom are true to themselves and their personal touches (even if you totally disagree) are everywhere. So should go the home.

The key is remembering that your living space is just that; yours. So, take advice from good decorators, but don't let it rule the whole darn roost. After all, it is YOUR house. And no one can do it like you - no matter what size it is.

Inventing a Haven

Considering what I loved most was really pretty easy. Grouping those things I loved really worked for me. For example, I love my kid's art. Yes, I have thrown away more than I have kept through the years, but some children's art is outstanding. This is something I value, as an artist, and I could never part with. By grouping these things in my new, small home, it made an attractive "art gallery" that makes me happy. I don't see this wall fitting in to any grand home on display, but my home isn't a display, it is my haven. I love art and I love my kids. So, kid's art is up without apology.

There is also a decorating opportunity in organizing that I never understood until my home got smaller. In my larger house, I had an entire craft area. Scratch that, I had a basement! Now, with less space, practical things take a more prominent place because there is less storage and no place to hide things. Honestly, I can't believe I hid craft items in tubs and bins all these years.

Some craft items, like my paint brushes, remind me what I love to do. When I look at them, I see art - and now they are a decoration. I gathered interesting vases (which I also used to store for the rare bouquet of fresh flowers) and put my brushes in them on my screened porch for easy access and all to see. These are just a few examples of taking practical items, recognizing the beauty in them and turning them into decorations that warm the spirit and give your living space a personal signature.

Protect Your Bedroom

In a smaller house, you may find that your bedroom is more conveniently located to the noise of the house. Just because your bedroom is closer to everything does not mean it has to become a high-function room. For example, the baby, the home/office or laundry should never overtake your room. The adult bedroom in the house should be reserved for rest and that's all. Especially in a stressful year of change, it is critical to have one room of peace where you aren't reminded of chores and limited space. Everything in your room should make you calm, even the pictures on the wall. When decorating that new house, do you and your spouse a favor by keeping your room a zone of rest.

In the end, downsizing is not the end of the world. It is an opportunity to reevaluate what you need and like. It is a direct route to earning extra money in a time money might be tight. Best of all, it is an open door to reinvent yourself and your new home.

Nothing is more rejuvenating than coming home to family and being surrounded by things that remind you who you are: A person with unique interests and a one-of-a-kind personality. And that is something you can cling to without a single square foot.