Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have to downsize from my house to an apartment. I have been in my house for years! And to be honest I am overwhelmed, does anyone have any tips?
By Lynda1972 from Kearny, NJ
Nobody but you can really do it. You have to go through things and decide what you have to keep, what you haven't used for a year or more (these things can be gotten rid of). When it comes to furniture determine keep bedroom furniture for however many bedrooms you will have in your apartment. You also might have to get rid of some of your living room furniture. You have to pick and choose what you will take with you.
Back in the 80s I moved from a three bedroom house into a three bedroom townhouse which wasn't bad, because they both had basements. But then in the early 90s I moved into a two bedroom apartment and really had to downsize. I had several rummage sales before moving, donated a lot of what didn't sell, and threw a lot away.
Even with downsizing my current apartment is crowded, because I have to have my computer in the living room, and I have a china cabinet that belonged to my parents, and there isn't anyplace else to have the china cabinet.
My kitchen is crowded because due to mobility problems I can't get to a lot of things in the bottom cabinets, and my balance isn't good enough to dare standing on a step stool to reach things on the high shelves in the upper cabinets, therefore, I have plastic shelving units to store things on. My bedroom also serves as a store room. Every now and then I go through things and get rid of stuff, trying to make more room. Good luck making your decisions and move.
Go through each room and pick 5 things you love. Box them up, next 5 things you really don't care about, box them up for donation or yard sale if you have time. Keep doing this over and over till you are done.
Or pretend you are going on a trip for a week and need say kitchen stuff, pick out what you would need for a week, pack it and get rid of everything else. Repeat in each room
We did this kind of move twice, once we moved from a 2400 square foot room to Saudi Arabia and could only take 6000 pounds. Then we did a move from a large house with a 27 foot Ryder trunk. At 2 am the truck was full and we had lots of stuff left. We woke a neighbor and gave him a dining table chairs, TVs and all kinds of stuff. Turns out his brother and family just came from Puerto Rico with nothing.
Both times I thought I would be devastated but I have never missed anything.
You can do this, it's a fresh start with just the stuff you love!
Oh, my; been there! 9 years ago, I downsized from my 3-bedroom condo to what would fit in my car. So, one step at a time, though do take at least a small step each day; if a room is too much to tackle, commit to filling one box, on a particular day. I sold items at a garage sale, gave things away (a lot of things), using it as a kind of meditation on attachment, since a lot of very personal things went to friends, relatives, neighbors.
Some items went into storage, though my daughter now has them, and I haven't seen them in years. Many things were donated to charity. Some tears fell, some fears were faced, and gratitude found its way in, since I knew the hard work I was doing meant that my children would be spared that tedious work, down the road. "How do you eat an elephant?"..."One bite at a time". Take the first step, and keep taking more little steps. Celebrate your coming lighter life!
Keep the best of what you have, it's time to use all of those things that you have saved for "one day". Treat your self! Do one room at a time. Tackle the hardest room first. Know where you're moving to?
Another suggestion: use craigslist.com to sell some items. I wouldn't do a garage sale as it is soooo much work. I donated a lot and gave lots away on freecyle.org. I downsized from a 4 bdrm house with garage and basement to a 2 bdrm apt. It was hard, but you won't miss what you give away. Enlist help if you can.
I just moved my mother into our small home. This summer I had a garage sale, what was left went to Goodwill. I used the money to build deeper shelves and add more shelves to the panty and closets. I also added small drawer units to each closet so I could eliminate dressers. We kept only clothes we currently wear and sorted all shoes, socks etc.
I got rid of nic-naks to make dusting easier and bought a lot of storage containers like photo boxes and plastic bins to organized drawers and shelves. It is sooooo freeing and now I can find anything I need. Should have done this years ago! FYI: I did not allow sentimental objects to rule over organizing my life.
I was fortunate to be able to downsize gradually through a series of moves and I learned a lot along the way.
For items that are sentimental but not of practical use, it's good to take a picture of it. You still have the reminder, but not the object taking up space.
I also recommend www.flylady.net for decluttering wisdom. 15 minutes at a time, and don't pull more out of a drawer or closet than you can finish and put back, otherwise it just adds to the overwhelming chaos.
You can go at it from perhaps three directions:
1. Stuff you know you don't want and don't care about. This can be bundled into the trash or a donation box or bag and taken out. You can go at that either one room at a time, or by making a superficial pass throughout the house until your bag or box is full. If you do this everyday the task will gradually start to feel more manageable.
2. Stuff you know you use and love. Basic things like the 3 most common size pots and pans, the 10 outfits you wear a lot, a couch a bed a table and chair. The functional things for bare living. Perhaps you can mark these with a colored sticky note or something, or list them.
3. Stuff that needs a decision to be made. You don't want it but it was Aunt Sallie's so maybe email a pic of it to the relatives and see who would like and use it. The next 10 outfits that you don't always wear but might want to.
If you work steadily every day at step one, removing the obvious, and give away things to people who will use them, gradually you'll find that things that were in category 3, needing a decision, become clear as either category 1 or category 2 and you find yourself deciding to let it go or realizing you will truly use it.
Decide which big furniture things you need to have. The basics, bed (with mattress & box springs), dresser, couch, 2 lamp stands, one by couch, other by bed. Empty the dresser. Return basic items you must have, like underwear and socks. Now fill the rest with things you wear all the time; (even if you usually hang them up) blouses/shirts, pants, skirts, dresses. Include shoes, slippers, nighties, bathrobe, etc.
When it's full, that's it! Drawers in lamp stands are for toiletries and office supplies respectively. Use a large suitcase for linens (including towels). When it's full, that's it! Medium size suitcase, kitchen stuff. What won't fit, buy again later from Goodwill. This is just essentials for when you move in. A small suitcase with legal/bank documents. Anything else is not needed for survival. Sell it.
Hobby equipment can go with you, but not supplies. For example, quilting. Keep sewing machine & equipment. Give away all cloth & threads. Hard? Yes. Fun to buy new later? Yes!
What is the best way to price and collect the money from a "moving to a smaller place sale"? I am having to help my parents downsize and everything must go! I need a good way to make it easy for my parents and me. The sale will be inside the whole house.
By Rita from Tuscaloosa, AL
Put ad in paper,"Estate Sale". Put price on everything, have someone there to help you, don't let anything go out the door before you get the money for it. Also have a price worked out just in case somebody wants everything. Also go online to see what prices are for Antiques, maybe that will help you with prices, good luck.
Cash and carry should be your rule. Tag everything for a reasonable price. Do not be greedy. Better to get something than nothing. Also tag things for group prices too, for example: a living room set, tag separately and then do a "sale" if they buy the whole set.
Advertise your sale in the local paper, with signs and on store bulletin boards. My neighbors just did one and they parked their car at the corner with a big bright sale saying "Moving Sale Everything Must Go" with an arrow pointing to their home and had balloons out in front with another sign.
Also look in the yellow pages for used furniture dealers, call and see what they would give you and price it about the same. As if they buy it they would mark it up, or it may turn out that you can sell it all to them. Good luck.
My mom and I live in a big rented house. We have to downsize to a smaller rented apartment. There is no storage in these places. I also have to share a washer and dryer the everyone uses. What did you do when you had to move to a smaller elderly apartment?
You need to sell or donate any items you havent used in the last year. Start getting rid of things as soon as possible. When you get to the new place it would be best to have a schedule of who uses the washer and dryer.
Downsizing is a multi step process. I work through these steps with many of my clients. The short version is:
You need to decide what to keep, sell, give to family and friends, donate, trash and recycle.
Keep what you need for the new place.
Sell what you don't need...If you have a number of large pieces of furniture and a lot of general household items , you may want to have a professional estate sale company come in and run a sale for you. Some sell everything from canned goods from your pantry to cars from your garage. Many of these services have long wait lists so you need to start planning at least 6 months in advance to get on their schedule. If you are game, you could run your own sale and keep all the profits.
Let your family take first choice before the sale.
Shred and recycle old paperwork like bills, and such. Typically you only need 10 years of taxes, 7 years of medical and three years of the rest. Recycle unneeded bottles, empty canned goods that have gone bad and recyle cans. Recycle all magazines, newspaper and such.
Trash broken items that are beyond repair and not recyclable.
If you do a sale and there are items left, find a reputable charity and dinate the items. Be sure to get a tax receipt if you itemize your taxes.
Once you move you may need to do another round of paring down if you don't have enough room.
As for the laundry situation, most places have a schedule and you will need to see how they work it. You can always negotiate or trade days with neighbors if they are willing or find a clean, safe neighborhood laundromat where you can go at your leisure.
Wishing you a peaceful and painless process.
You did not say how long before you move , but you should start sorting right away, even pack in boxes what you know you will need when you move . If you have family who live close by ask what all they would like. Things that you know you can not take, try to sell some items and the rest donate to a local thrift shop, its called "down-sizing" .
As for the washer/dryer bit, find out if there are any set rules as to when you can use them.
I am sure it will be hard at first, try to get to know your neighbors, and see if they have any suggestions.
Good luck !!
How much stuff do you have in the "big rented house" that you already know you cannot take with you? Is there a lot of furniture? If there is furniture that should be the on your first "to do" list.
Are the items all in your rented home items you need, or collected overtime?
I would sort with each item and decide whether the item is needed, why is it needed?
If it is, keep it in the pile of "to bring items"
If not, see if the item is sellable? To donate? To give away to family/friends/neighbors or someone who may want or need it. Or is it completely trash
From there sort again with the "to bring items" and think where they will go in the new apartment, is there a purpose & will it fit?
We learned I have (inoperable) matastesized cancer and the shock of it included an immediate necessity to move, and I mean fast. Even as sick as I am, I immediately started looking at downsizing ideas, and I hope some of these might help you.
