These five tips will help you navigate your transition to a smaller home with greater effectiveness and ease.  Make sure you are doing these five things when you are finding that perfect place between “too much” and “too little.”

1. DO set priorities. If you are moving from a larger home to a smaller home, chances are you’ll need to leave some of your STUFF behind.  The goal should be to keep only what will easily fit in your new home.  This means you’ll have to set priorities.  It won’t all fit, so what is most important to you?  What is next on the list, then next, and finally what is the least important?  It’s all about setting priorities, and YOU get to decide.
2. DO measure and create a floorplan. Don’t eyeball it!  Get out that tape measure and measure (1) your new home, and (2) your furniture.  Put the two measurements together to see if your furniture will fit in your new space, and where.  Creating a floorplan like this gives you a road map so there are no surprises on move day; you’ll know precisely which wall the couch goes on, where each end table will fit, and which corner to put the Grandfather clock into.
3. DO be methodical. We created the five steps to rightsizing to make the downsizing process easier, and it’s in that order for a reason.  Rightsizing is easiest when you FIRST determine what you will keep, THEN determine which items you will give away to family/friends, NEXT sell items from what remains, FOLLOWED BY donating what items you weren’t able to sell, and FINALLY disposing of trash.  If you try to sell items first, then take some items to donation, then talk to kids about what they’d like to keep, the process will be utter chaos.  Follow our five steps in order to create the easiest transition possible.
4. DO keep the best, let go of the rest. Keep this motto in your brain the entire time you are sorting.  Going through the sweaters in your closet?  Keep the best, let go of the rest.  Looking at your holiday decorations?  Keep the best, let go of the rest.  Perusing the books on your bookshelves?  Keep the best, let go of the rest.  Deciding which coffee cups you’ll keep?  Keep the best, let go of the rest.
5. DO bless others with your excess. Remember that your EXTRA items could be a blessing to someone else in your community.  Your extra ten coffee cups could be someone else’s only coffee cups as they set up their home for the first time.  By taking your extra items to a local charity, your stuff will wind up in the hands of people who can truly use the items.

To read about the top five DON’TS of the rightsizing process, click here!