Tips and tricks to help with downsizing

Many people who move into a retirement village are downsizing into a home that better fits their needs and lifestyle. While downsizing can be a positive move with great benefits, that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. 

We teamed up with expert retirement village stylist Prue Florence-Rieniets from Tree & Tribe, to give you a few tips and tricks to make downsizing a breeze! 

Where do you start? 

Prue says starting is the most challenging part, but there are a few ways you can get over the hump and see some results quickly to give you motivation.

Start with small tasks and start them early so you are not stressed out by leaving the downsizing to the last minute as your moving date looms. 

Downsizing can even start before you have a new home to move into - it’s all about breaking down the workload into small manageable tasks. 

Look for an easy task to start with, such as items you don’t use daily, or spaces like a drawer in your dresser or office. Leave photographs and precious items for later. 

Ask yourself; “where will this live in my new home?” If you have an answer, it’s likely that you should keep that item, but if you don’t have an answer that could be a sign that you don’t need it. 

You can always seek help if you think sorting through your home will be better with a family member or friend by your side, or even pay for help from a professional. 

Some older people are also able to use their home care services to help with decluttering and organising their homes. 

The easiest process to downsizing 

STEP 1 – Remember your goal 

Often, we look for reasons to hold onto things. Instead, you should ask yourself whether each object and item supports your goal for your new home. Mindset is key, so keep those goals in the forefront of your mind. 

STEP 2 – Room by room 

It’s a good tip to go room by room and start with something that isn’t too emotional. Remember that the room doesn’t need to be completed in one go. For example, one drawer in the study, a garden shed, or a garage can be motivating as you start to see the results quickly. 

STEP 3 – De-clutter 

Downsizing requires organisation, planning and decision-making, and de-cluttering is how you do it. Keep only what you need, what has great sentimental value and what brings you joy. 

Getting organised

Prue also suggests using the ‘sorting box system’. To use this system you need three kinds of coloured tags, such as a green, yellow and pink sticky note. 

Use the green tags for items that you want to keep. These should be items that: 

• you will want, use, need, and love in the future
• make your house a home, including objects that give you pleasure or have sentimental value
• are artworks that create a feeling of home in your new space 

Use the yellow tags for items you want to give away, such as:

• items family and friends may want
• items that will sell at auction rooms
• items that are good enough quality to donate to charities

Be a generous giver and be happy to let go of things! Put a donation box somewhere in your home that’s easy to get to with a yellow tag, to make the task of giving even easier.

Use your pink tags for items that need to be thrown away. 

• For these items you could organise a hard rubbish collection or arrange help to take a trailer to the dump, as well as recycling as much as possible.
• There are collection points for e-waste, chemicals, scrap metal and more. 

It’s important to remember not to look for reasons to hold onto things, not to ‘over-save’ for your children and grandchildren, and to know that if an item doesn’t give you any joy you may be able to spread the joy by giving it to someone else.

Once you have tagged items you can organise the relocation of everything you don’t need, and focus on packing what you are keeping for the big moving day. 

For more information about retirement living topics visit our Retirement Living page.