Downsizing Without Regret: A Guide to Prioritizing What to Keep
It’s a common question for many who are thinking about making a future downsizing move. “How do I decide what to take and what to let go?”. It’s all about planning with a heavy dose of prioritizing!
Sounds easy, right? But what’s important is different for each individual. But in general, there are consistent types of items that should probably be at the top of your list during your downsizing purge and planning process.
Before you even start, one of the biggest challenges can be as simple as being honest with yourself about the items you actively use in your current lifestyle. We humans tend to hold onto things from previous seasons of life, even when they no longer interest or serve us.
For example, you may have done extensive formal entertaining over the years that required a wide assortment of china, crystal glasses, expensive tablecloths, and serving pieces. But it’s been years since you had the energy to entertain a crowd in your home, now preferring a more relaxed and informal style.
Maybe you were an avid golfer throughout your life, but recent health issues now prevent you from continuing with the sport.
You may be surprised to hear how many seniors with similar lifestyle changes insist on taking these items to their new home knowing they won’t be used, despite having limited space.
Where to Start
So where do you start when prioritizing what to take? The most common priority items should be items that provide comfort and practicality based on your current season of life, while also allowing for a reasonable amount of special items with sentimental value.
To achieve this, start with these top priority items.
Daily Essentials – An Exercise
A helpful exercise I often suggest to my downsizing clients is to take a week and keep detailed track of items they use daily. This seems simple, but it tends to be an eye-opener for most because they haven’t taken the time to realize just how few items they use or need.
Keep this detailed list for later as it will create the foundation of your plan for what to keep and what to let go.
Kitchen: Prioritize by Focusing on Your Favorites
The number and type of plates, glasses, and coffee mugs
Cookware and utensils
Small appliances
Pantry items – Check for outdated items and dispose
Which items are part of a previous season of life that you can purge for others to enjoy (formal entertainment items like china, crystal glasses that need to be hand-washed, etc. )?
Bedroom:
Which clothes are you most comfortable in and use the most? Prioritize clothing that’s been used in the last six months. A great exercise to help you with this is to turn your hangers so they face the opposite direction.
As you use clothing, hang them in the closet with the hanger facing the usual way. This will give you an easy visual reference to the clothing you use most.
Check shoes, accessories, nightwear, and jewelry. Do your shoes still fit comfortably?
Do you still need multi-seasonal wear in the area where you live?
Are you still hanging on to formal suits, evening dresses, or other specialty clothing for functions you no longer actively attend?
What about clothing from a previous career or sports activity that is no longer needed?
Which bedding, pillows, and sheet sets are your favorite?
What do you rely on, or need, from your bedside stand?
Bathroom:
Time to go through your bathroom drawers or medicine cabinet for those outdated medicinal items!
How many of these items do you use daily? Are they expired? If so, then toss.
Check your towels, rugs, sheet sets, extra blankets, and pillows. If you aren’t going to have a spare guest bedroom where you’re moving, only plan to bring 2 sets of bedding (sheets, pillowcases) and towel sets.
Furniture:
Identify favorite comfort seating (chairs) for watching TV or other activities. Include side tables with storage.
Prioritize furniture options that provide added storage space.
Think “outside the box” using a piece of furniture in a new and unexpected way.
Prioritize smaller-scale furniture so you don’t overwhelm your new space.
Many of my clients assumed they needed to bring an entire set of dishware, glassware, or cutlery. But, few need a set of twelve to be comfortable in their new home. Most find that only bringing four to six of a dish or glassware set is plenty for daily use and entertain.
What to Avoid Bringing
Nothing makes a smaller space feel even smaller than trying to fit more stuff in it than it was meant to accommodate. So, it’s just as important to know what NOT to take to your new home unless a designated space has been created for it in advance.
With a smaller space, storage is always a premium. Shelving and cabinetry are often shorter in depth/height than a larger traditional home cabinet offers.
For instance, a typical retirement community apartment has smaller-depth kitchen cabinets that cannot accommodate plate widths over 10”. Bath cabinets may, or may not, have drawers, so additional storage for common bath items may have to be considered.
To help optimize space, avoid bringing items like:
Large, heavy kitchen appliances (Kitchenaid Mixers, Air Fryers, Large Slow Cookers, Convection Ovens)
Oversized (tall) stemmed wine or champagne glasses
Bulky extra blankets, pillows and bedding
Full sets of china, or extra sets of everyday dishes, glassware, or flatware sets
Formal entertaining serving items (large platters, bowls, specialty ware, etc.)
A lot of baking pans and supplies
Full-size dining table sets or china cabinets
Large-scale or overstuffed couches and chairs
Large entertainment units
Too many chairs (unless they can fold and be stored)
Too many large art pieces or oversized framed wall photographs
Tons of books
Large collections of collectibles
Large exercise equipment requiring floor place
Garage items (tools, garden equipment, holiday decorations, etc.) if you have no garage or exterior storage included in your new home
Saving Space – Go Digital
Some of the biggest “space hogs” that create storage issues in a smaller home are books, photograph albums, photo boxes, or documents that should be kept for seven or more years (like bank statements or tax and real estate documents).
Save yourself the heartache of being unable to bring another treasured item because these space hogs have filled every inch of your precious storage space. The answer is to create more space by digitizing!
Invest in a scanner (they are inexpensive and usually “plug and play” with your printer) to digitize photographs, and documents so you can bring more of what you love.
Upload your favorite photos to a thumb drive, then use digital photo frames and set them to a “carousel” display. They can hold 3,000 photos or more in just one frame. It’s a win-win. You get to enjoy the memories of your family, favorite trips, places, and friends every day while you create more space for other treasures.
Uncomfortable using a computer? There are many digital services available to do it for a fee or engage a family member to help you and make it a family project!
When to Start
But don’t wait until the days, weeks, or even months before a downsizing move to determine which items should be prioritized. The shorter the time to make a decision, the higher the pressure, stress, and chances that you’ll make poor emotional choices rather than positive effective ones you won’t regret later.
No matter how far down the road you plan to move, start the process now! Once their downsizing move was completed, most of my clients said they wished they had started earlier.
Why? They procrastinated because of initial fearful expectations that a downsizing move meant having to give everything away. The reality was they ended up bringing way more than they initially anticipated.
Having a plan in place, and professional or family support along the way, helped them feel more in control in prioritizing what to keep and what to let go of. That allowed them to work through the process more effectively with less stress and feel good about their final decisions.
Being honest with yourself about prioritizing what you use is key. Don’t fall into the habit of keeping things “just because”. Surrounding yourself only with things that sustain and comfort you helps to emotionally connect you to your new home, providing enjoyment for years to come.
Deborah
Learn more about downsizing educational courses at the Downsizing Institute!
P.S. Interested in learning more about how to make the purge and disposal process easier during a downsizing move? Check out my online video guide “Letting Go of Life’s Treasure: A Downsizing Guide for Purging and Disposal” ($69) now available at The Downsizing Institute for seniors, their families, and senior downsizing professionals! Click here for more information.