Moving isn’t for everyone. Moving is known for being stressful and labour-intensive. Most say that the worst part of moving is sorting and packing all your belongings. If you have to downsize or move to a smaller home, it requires even more planning and effort. Our goal at Morrison Moving is to make your moving experience stress-free, so we asked our professional movers for their advice on downsizing or moving into a smaller space. This is what they said:
Downsizing Advice
SORT EARLY
Make sure to sort out your things well before the packing even begins. By doing this, you will not be pressured to throw away unwanted items at the last minute or, worse, take them with you. Give yourself enough time to consider the things you want to keep and what to discard.
USE THE PILING METHOD
One of the best strategies when it comes to the sorting process is grouping things into different piles. We recommend that you carefully consider what you want to keep. Quite often, we find ourselves holding onto items that we do not need. Divide all your items into different categories, such as personal, clothing, necessities, documents, kitchen items, and more. By doing this, you will rather quickly spot the areas which have become unnecessary clutter over the years. Now that you have categories start to divide the piles into keep, donate or sell, and thrown away. We usually recommend to our customers that if they haven’t used a specific item in the past year that it should go into the “donate, sell, or throw away” pile.
FRIENDS AND FAMILY
If you have duplicates of clothing items, kitchenware, or just some additional old furniture that you inherited, you might want to consider sharing them with your family and friends. A family member might appreciate an old piece of furniture that belonged to a deceased relative. Or, if you and your best friend have similar taste in clothing and wear the same size, they may find good use of some of the old clothes that you no longer wear.
TAKE MEASUREMENTS
Take the measurements of your new place to make sure that the furniture will fit correctly. Imagine what will go where and figure out how your belongings will fit into each room. Draw out a floor plan with the measurements of each room. Make a list of your items and their sizes for each room. Once this is complete, you will be able to figure out what stays and what goes.
SELLING YOUR STUFF
Why not make some extra cash selling secondhand items on Facebook groups or free classified websites? Consider a yard sale because this is the easiest and quickest way to make some money. Sometimes clothes can be quite challenging to sell online. Search for some local consignment or secondhand clothing stores. Another great option is to recycle old furniture and other great stuff.
GIVING TO THE COMMUNITY
Consider using the services of Goodwill, The Salvation Army, and local churches. These organizations will take those old belongings off your hands. Some even have a truck and do pickups. Another smart idea is to place your unwanted things on your lawn with a “Free” sign on it. Make sure it’s not raining that day. The chances are someone will grab it.
STORAGE SOLUTIONS
When you are downsizing, and you don’t have the time, you can temporarily keep your extra items in a storage facility to sort later. Short-term or long-term storage solutions are an affordable option and can be an alternative to stuffing your home with extra furniture or items that you won’t be using.
Hire The Best Movers
If you are looking for someone to help you with downsizing, consider Morrison Moving for all your packing and moving requirements. We have over 30 years of experience and are fully insured. We have been voted best mover six years in a row from The Hamilton Spectator Readers Choice Awards.
THE DECISION IS EASY! CALL US NOW AT (905) 525-8332.