Taking the First Steps to Downsize
Plan to work on one room at a time. Start with the room least used, leaving the rooms that are used most until the end. Find out when your recycling and garbage pick-up days are and plan to have items ready for each. If you think you want to hold a garage sale, pick a date and work toward it. If you want to donate items to charity, find out which ones take the items you want to get rid of, whether they have pick up service or you have to drop the items off.
If you know where you are moving to, create a scaled floor plan of the new place. This will help you decide what fits and what needs to be left behind. If you have big expensive items, like furniture or antiques, you may want to sell these items through a classified ad, or consign them to an auction house or second hand dealer. If the items are of historical significance, get an appraisal. If you invite a dealer to look at your items, be prepared to be offered money on the spot and have the item taken away immediately. When dealers see a deal, they jump on it.
Having a friend or relative present when sorting through your stuff can provide a bit of objectivity and make decision-making a little easier. Sort belongings into four categories: to keep, to toss, to sell or donate, and to give away to family or friends. Once you’ve made the decision to toss, sell, donate or give away, act as quickly as possible to avoid the problem of second-guessing. If left hanging around, the temptation is to put it into the keep category and downsizing can become a real chore when you have to go through your items a second time because you kept too much the first time.
Put everything that you don’t intend to keep that is pre-1960 in a box. Antique dealers are often most interested in things that you might think are garbage. Postcards, letters, diaries, menus, manuals, advertisements and matchbooks are of interest, especially if they are from the area. Tins, toys, jewellery (valuable or costume), hand tools, and sewing equipment are of great interest to the antique and vintage industries and might be worth more than you think.
Remember you can’t keep everything – sometimes it’s easier to let something go if you can preserve the memory of it by taking a photo of it.
Employing a downsizing professional can often help you get through the process. They know all the tricks and can show you ways to organize your stuff, disburse it and even memorialize it. Above all, they know how connected we are to our stuff – the psychology of letting go is something they specialize in. So if you’re finding it hard to take the first steps to downsize, consider getting a little help.
