Downsizing Your Home: A Practical Guide for Seniors

Your golden years are a time for you to enjoy what you’ve spent your career saving for. Maybe you want to spend your time traveling and enjoying the wide world — whether it’s a journey across North America in an Airstream or visiting a different country every year. Perhaps you want to move to a smaller home so there’s less housekeeping and more time with grandchildren. Or, maybe you want to re-root yourself in a senior living community where you can socialize and live with ease. Regardless of what you want to do with your retirement, downsizing your home may be in your not-too-distant future.

While the reasons for downsizing your home may be exciting, the act of downsizing can be overwhelming and sometimes painful. When you go through the downsizing process, you’re going through a lifetime of possessions, many of which come with both good and hard memories and emotional attachment. Saying goodbye to the home you’ve raised your family in and shared many milestones can be a difficult time, but it doesn’t have to overwhelm you. Follow these downsizing tips for seniors to make your move a little easier.

What we’ll cover in this guide:
· Signs It’s Time to Downsize
· Downsizing Tips for Seniors
· How Crampt Can Help With Downsizing Your Home

Financial concerns.

If you’re considering retirement in the near future, your financial situation is important to keep in mind. Retirement means a reduction of income, and that means that you’ll eventually shift your budgeting priorities. One way to adjust your budget is to downsize your home.

Downsizing lessens what you’re budgeting for energy use, home maintenance, homeowner’s insurance and mortgage or property taxes. Commonly, it’s not recommended for combined insurance and property tax costs to be greater than 30 percent of your income. Downsizing allows you to shift your budget to focus on more important things or spend your money on the things you enjoy.

Housekeeping and maintenance are becoming a struggle.

With a large home, maintenance and housekeeping can become an issue. The larger the home, the more time it takes. If you’ve gotten to the point where it seems as though you’re spending the entire day cleaning and organizing, or if you’re tidying a room that you rarely use, it may be time to consider downsizing. And home maintenance means fluctuating energy costs as well as yard and home upkeep and repair. If you live in an older home, major repairs can pop up frequently, which leads to an unpredictable monthly budget. Plus, housekeeping and home maintenance only become more of a struggle as you get older, making moving to a smaller home an ideal solution.

You’re considering plans for the future.

While your home worked for you through your growing years — raising children and pets, hosting sleepovers and pool parties and hosting holiday gatherings — you no longer need the space for these events now. Keep your plans for retirement in mind as you consider downsizing. When you consider your future, think about the need for future healthcare, any home modifications you might need for mobility and what’s going to be most comfortable for you as you age.

After having a discussion with your partner or your adult children, you may want to consider a move to a senior living community which can provide solutions for future care. If a senior living community isn’t for you, maybe a home, condo or apartment closer to your children is a better choice.

You want more fun in your life.

With a smaller home comes fewer things to worry about, and that leaves more time to experience the retirement you desire. With fewer responsibilities, you can now enjoy that road trip to Alaska or the month-long visit with your sister. Now you have time to pick up that old hobby or learn a new skill.

 2. Start with less emotional items.

You may want to jump right in and clear out your living room or bedroom right away. But many of the items in those rooms can come with attached emotions that can slow down the process and take any joy out of it. Starting with those scrapbooks or your jewelry armoire can even cause you to lose the desire to complete the procedure, which will make it take even longer. Instead of diving into the hard rooms first, start with something smaller like the laundry room or hallway closet. (You probably won’t have too many attachments to beach towels and bedsheets.)

3. Keep size in mind.

Remember that when you’re downsizing, you’re not going to have the same space you had before. You’re likely going from a home with three to four bedrooms to a home with one or two. Instead of 5 sets of bedsheets, maybe you only need two. Or instead of 12 sets of silverware, perhaps you want to pair them down to just  four.

And don’t forget: you probably won’t have the same rooms in your new home. There’s a big difference in  going from a 4-bedroom cape cod with a garage, attic and an office to a 1-bedroom apartment in a senior living community. Keep in mind that most things in those spaces will need to be sold, given away, thrown away and placed in other rooms. Have duplicates? Keep one and toss the rest.

4. Don’t create a “maybe” pile.

Going through a lifetime of belongings means coming across belongings with strong emotional attachment. When you see these items, you may feel the urge to create a pile of “if we have room at the new place.” Don’t fall for the trap! You’ll end up with a massive “maybe” pile with nothing thrown out.

Take a careful look at each item and ask yourself a few questions:

• Do I use this regularly?
• Will this just collect dust in my new home?
• Does this add meaning to my life?

If you don’t have regular use for something or it doesn’t have personal value, it’s time to let it go.

5. Give heirlooms to your family.

Many families have legacy items which are given to the younger generation when family members pass away.Instead of waiting to bequeath the antique clock or handsewn quilt to your son or daughter, consider gifting those items to them now. Not only will you not have to worry about making space for it in your new home, but you can watch your child or grandchild enjoy them.

6. Allow yourself some time for the emotions.

You may find yourself getting distracted during the downsizing process, wanting to look through old pictures and drawings from when your children were small. These moments are why you want to give yourself extra time during downsizing.

Take the time to lose yourself in the nostalgia for a bit or just take a break with the memories, but don’t let it stop you from completing your mission. Hold the item and think about how it makes you feel. If it brings any other feelings than love or joy, it should go.

7. Hold a yard sale.

Moving and storing items can be pricey. One way to offset those expenses while helping to cut down on your belongings is to hold a garage sale. That pile of “no” items you have? This is a great way to get them out of your hands and put a little cash back in them.

Anything you are unable to sell you can donate to local charities and organizations. You may not get money back for your item, but you can feel good knowing that someone in need will benefit from your previously loved items. Use a search engine like Google to find local charities and organizations that you can donate to. They’ll often have a list of useful items they need, or you can contact them directly for more information.

8. Consider asking for help.

One reason why many seniors decide not to downsize their home is because they don’t feel that they can do it all themselves or that they won’t have the space they need for their belongings. To help you get around these feelings, consider using a professional packer and getting a storage unit. A professional packer can help make the packing process easier and faster, and a storage space can help you create space in your new home for the belongings you’re not ready to let go of.

You can also ask friends and loved ones. While you may feel that you’re creating an inconvenience, many people do like to help. If you don’t feel comfortable asking for free help, consider other alternatives like offering a little extra money to a neighbor to help you pack.

9. Remember to say goodbye to your home.

You’ve said goodbye to your belongings. You’ve found a buyer for your home. Your belongings are all packed up and ready to go to your new home or storage space. Before you walk away and move into your new space, don’t forget to say goodbye to the house that provided a home for you and your family over the years. If you feel like you need to keep a small attachment to the house, take some pictures of your favorite spaces or ones that hold memories for you. It may not be easy, and it’s okay to feel the sadness of its loss; but don’t forget about the exciting journey ahead.

10. Know how to make the move.

How are you moving? Are you relying on family and friends to help? Are you hiring a team of packers and drivers? Or are you doing something in between? While you’ll save the most by using a group of volunteers, they may not be reliable. If you hire a moving company, most of them will offer a discount for seniors.

If you want the most stress-free moving experience possible, look into senior move managers. These companies focus specifically on seniors in the moving process and will generally help you as little or as much as you like. They can help with packing and moving or even cleaning, estate sales and finding your new home. They’re there to help every step of the way, if you want it. If you need help finding the right senior move manager, your real estate broker will probably be able to point you towards one.

11. Watch out for potential scammers!

Unfortunately, there are too many people out there today who will try to scam seniors given the opportunity. It’s generally rare, but some companies will offer you a low rate to help you move, but after your items are packed in their moving truck, they will demand more money to give them back. To avoid scammers, be sure to do your research on companies before settling on one. Ask for recommendations from friends and families, and make sure to read customer reviews on Google.

How Crampt Can Help With Downsizing Your Home in Austin

During the process of downsizing your home, you may find yourself unable to part with many belongings that won’t find in your new home. Rather than throw away the memories, you may consider a separate space for your belongings like a storage space. Storage units offer a solution for excess belongings when you feel cramped in your home, no longer have the space or are between homes. While they solve many problems, most storage units miss the mark for seniors.

With standard self storage options, you must rely on yourself to take boxes and furniture to your unit, lift it, store it yourself and pick it up on your own again. That can become an issue with age. As you get older, it can be more difficult to lift heavy items, making self storage challenging.

With storage options like Crampt, you won’t have to worry about straining to lift heavy items in the future. We drop off storage boxes to your home, pick up your items when you’re ready and store your belongings for you. When you’re ready for them again, our team will drop them off to you. You never even have to leave your home.

If you’d like to learn more about our storage process and how it can save you time, our team is happy to answer any questions. We look forward to hearing from you and showing you why Crampt is the right storage choice for you.