MOVING? DOWNSIZING TO SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE

1. The first step is to spend a few days collecting clutter and toss into trash & donation boxes from each room of your home. Take the items to a Goodwill or Thrift Store.
2. The next step is to collect items you no longer have room for that you may want to give to friends or family and offer the items to them. If they do not want them then donate or sell.
3. Decide what furniture and art work will fit into your new home. Sell or donate what will not fit. If you are not sure what will work then hire an organizer or designer to give you a consultation. Make sure you have the dimensions of the new home. If the new home is local, then go there with your consultant.
4. Be sure to clean out stored away paperwork and clean out your filing cabinet. Shred anything with personal information. Downsize it as much as possible and try to go paperless. Online banking and electronic billing is recommended.
5. Be sure to sort through your clothes, shoes, lawn equipment, tools,... Think about your new place. Are the items necessary there?
6. CD/DVD cases can be thrown away to save space. Place them into cd/dvd books and alphabetize so you can easily find them in the future.
7. Give books to your local library. Buy a Nook or a Kindle to save space.
8. Downsize holiday decorations. Family will appreciate a few keepsakes from your collection.
9. Digitize VHS family tapes. Costco turns them into dvds for a minimal cost.
10. Minimize as much as possible before you move. If you find once you have moved that you still do not have room for your belongings, then go through the donation process once again. A simplified home is a happy home.