A Fresh Start in a Smaller Home: How to Downsize Your Furniture

A major lifestyle change that many retired and ready to retire people face is downsizing their living accommodations. Although there are many factors to consider in making this decision, once you are ready to move to a smaller residence, it can become quite an ordeal choosing what’s coming with you and what’s not.

How do you select possessions that are must-haves while leaving behind what you really don’t need? Consider the following ideas.

Change How You Live

First, realize that living in a smaller space means changing how you live. Accept the fact that you will simply not be able to take everything you own with you. Too many people move to a new location with all of their furnishings only to face the frustration of not being able to lay out their new home in the same way as their old one. The result is cluttered and undefined spaces filled with unnecessary furnishings. This makes life in a smaller space seem inconvenient and unsatisfying, which does not have to be the case.

A Clean Slate

Start with a clean slate by forgetting about what you already own. Consider your new space. How many rooms are available for use? How will each of these rooms be used? For example, will the second bedroom function exclusively as a guest room, as an office / workroom, or could it be used as a formal dining room if necessary? Will the main living area be used only for entertaining guests or will it also double up as the TV room when home alone? Think outside of the box when planning on how to utilize each room so that furnishings can be laid out to reflect and enhance how you live.

Make a Furniture Inventory

Once you have figured out how you’re going to use the new space, make an inventory of the furnishings required for each room. Now you can decide what is coming with you from your current home by comparing what you will need with what you already have. Be very honest with yourself and consider function first. It can be painful to leave furnishings or objects behind that have significant sentimental value but will be of little use in your new home. Living in an overstuffed home will be even more painful if you don’t.

Consider The Size and Scale

Also consider the size and scale of the furnishings and the size and scale of your new home. For example, you may require seating in your new living room but the new space is half the size of your current living room. If you own a huge three piece sectional, perhaps a replacement should be considered. After the essentials are accounted for, then you can consider taking along some of the additional objects, heirlooms, and furnishings that you like and wish to keep as long as there is appropriate space available.

Take a Breath

How to divest of what gets left behind is another story. Unburdening yourself of possessions can be liberating and cathartic. Gifts to relatives, garage sales, or donations to charitable organizations are just a handful of ideas on how to let others make use of what you no longer need. And don’t forget that the more you get rid of, the less you will have to move.

The key thing to remember is that a fresh start in a new home means a new lifestyle. That means taking a fresh look at your current possessions and deciding what you can live with and without.

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