If you’re in your 40s and 50s, it’s a good time to think about downsizing and moving into a smaller, more manageable space. You’re probably in the latter stages of a career after decades of hard work, taking care of a family, and sending your kids to college. After so many years, downsizing means simplifying your life, but it also means eliminating excess clutter. Moving into a smaller home allows you to spend less time on maintenance and upkeep. With fewer belongings, there’s less time to spend dusting, straightening, and vacuuming and more time to spend together. It’s an opportunity for travel, volunteering, and hobbies you’ve always wanted to pursue. Some people even use the opportunity to start a business venture and work out of their home.
There are many costs to owning a home, and going from a big home to one that’s right-sized for you and your spouse will save you considerably on utility payments, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and homeowner association fees. Of course, downsizing after so many years can be an emotional ordeal, and it’s a physically daunting prospect, but it needs to be done if you’re serious about moving into a smaller home. It’s about making your life and lifestyle fit a new and smaller physical environment.
Stick To Your Guns
Go through your household belongings over a period of days; don’t try to do it in a single day. Take the time to assess whether you’ll keep, donate, or throw away each object, physically handling each before deciding. Make separate piles and dispose of the items you’re not taking with you. Don’t shove them into a closet or the basement. Being thorough and methodical will help make it easier to part with your belongings, and leave you feeling confident about the decision to downsize. Depending on the size of your new home, it may be necessary to get rid of some furniture. This is a good idea when seen within the context of selling your home. When staging your house, you want to declutter as much as possible, getting rid of items or giving them away. The idea is to make your house look as large and open as possible, with plenty of flow. So downsizing will help on two fronts: it’ll prepare you for moving and help you attract prospective buyers.
Clean and Declutter
Clean as you declutter and downsize. Have your carpets and drapes professionally cleaned and add a new coat of neutral paint in your entryway and wherever it’s needed to make dingy and worn walls look fresh and clean. Add lights so that no room looks dark and dim and so prospective buyers can see every detail. A poorly lit room makes it look as though you have something to hide, and it can be a turnoff for buyers. Keep drapes and blinds open to let in plenty of natural light.
Kitchen and bathroom upgrades
You can add significant value to your home without having to invest a ton of money in kitchen renovations. A new tile backsplash or faux granite or marble countertops, which you can easily install yourself, will add significantly to the appearance of this important room and save you money. The bathroom can be upgraded with smaller improvements, such as new faucet and light fixtures. Many homeowners put in a new vanity to give their bathroom a cleaner, more decorative appearance.
Curb Appeal
Never forget the importance of curb appeal—the appearance and impression your home makes on people as they drive by. Adding colorful flowers and bushes, touching up your home’s exterior, and keeping the lawn well-kept are all affordable and useful measures.
An Exciting New Life
Once your children have left home and started their own lives, there’s no reason to maintain a large home that you no longer need. Downsizing is an increasingly popular way to keep your home and lifestyle in proper proportion. It’s a relief and the start of an exciting new life of possibilities free of the burdens of accumulated belongings.
- costs – https://blog.hireahelper.com/hidden-costs-of-homeownership/
- dispose of the items – https://www.focusonthefamily.ca/content/tips-for-downsizing-after-the-kids-leave-home
- declutter and downsize – https://bemorewithless.com/room/
- kitchen – https://www.moneycrashers.com/7-home-improvements-to-increase-its-value/
- curb appeal – https://www.fortunebuilders.com/importance-curb-appeal/