Downsizing your home: What you need to know

Whether the kids have flown the coop and the family home has become just too big or you are looking to move into a smaller place for retirement, there are many things you need to consider when downsizing. 
Downsizing your home can be a stressful time trying to fit all of your belongings into a smaller footprint. Plan ahead and reduce your anxiety with our tips on downsizing.

DETETRMINE YOUR NECESSITIES 

When looking at house designs to downsize, determining life’s necessities that you still need moving forward will help decide what is important in the next stage of your life. Will you require a home office, or will a study nook suffice? Is a single storey more suitable as you head into retirement?

Alpha 17 on display at HomeWorld Leppington 

PLAY WITH YOUR FLOOR PLAN

You may already have items that you can take into your new home like antique furniture, however we suggest measuring all of your furniture to make sure these pieces fit. Play around with your floor plan to make the best use of your furniture and space available.

ORGANISING WHAT TO KEEP AND WHAT TO LEAVE

Give yourself plenty of time when going through your life belongings. We suggest starting small and working your way up to your bigger rooms. The laundry or bathroom may be the easiest place to start as these rooms have less emotional attachment than, say a bedroom. 
Sort your items into a pile of “Keep”, “Sell/Donate” and “Trash” so you can start organising your household items. You can always come back to these piles and realise that you actually don’t need to keep all of your items in that pile.

Rhapsody 26 on display at HomeWorld Thornton

REDUCE CLUTTER

You may find that you have extra plates, serving dishes and double ups of kitchen utensils as well as extra chairs for when guests come over. If you no longer plan on hosting the family Christmas in your downsized home and pass this tradition down to family members, it may be time to reduce the clutter and get rid of these extra items.

ORGANISE YOUR FUTURE SPACE BEFORE MOVING

As you clean out your items it is a smart idea to organise things as you move forward. Make day to day life easier when going through paperwork by clearly labelling and organising items into folders such as statements, important documents etc.

Alpha 18 on display at HomeWorld Marsden Park

ASK FOR HELP

Downsizing your home can be a big job. Invite your family over to go through sentimental items that may be hard to decide to keep or sell. You may even find family members will keep these items and cherish them in their own homes.

SMART STORAGE SOLUTIONS

With reducing space, it is important to incorporate smart storage solutions into your home. This could be through buffets that can hold your serving ware or coffee tables that can fit your throws into them.