Michael Edlen: Ideas for Downsizing a Home

Whether people are currently considering moving to a home that is easier to manage or looking ahead to when they may be in some type of assisted-living arrangement, it’s important to think about strategies now.

Family members, close friends, real-estate professionals and organizing specialists can be consulted and perhaps involved in the process, at least in the early planning stages.

Giving children various childhood arts, crafts and family photos several years before a time when a move out of choice or necessity is anticipated can be a practical start. Other families have their adult children sort various items into such categories as: take now, will take the next time, give away to someone else, or throw away.

Seniors may find it constructive to gradually start sorting things into categories, perhaps taking one shelf or drawer each day: donating items to charitable organizations or giving items away to family members or friends.

My mother had an extensive teacup collection and decided to offer a cup and saucer to a family member, neighbor or visitor who would like one. If there are a lot of useful items that haven’t been used for years, and if they are not the sort of things to give family members, professional estate or yard-sale people can arrange a sale for many items. Color-coded Post-It type notes might be helpful to designate categories of things. It can be a refreshing exercise to consider things that could be thrown away now. Most of us have a tendency to hang onto things for a long time, often with the notion that someday it will serve some use.

However, if an item hasn’t been touched for years, most likely it could be tossed out and not missed. It is also merciful for the children who will be spared sorting challenges in later years. I well remember the many months it took for my father to sort through and dispose of 40 years of accumulated collectibles, tools, files, etc. that my grandfather had carefully packed into the then-full two-car garage.

The process of downsizing can easily take at least a few months. Spreading it out over many months can make it less difficult, both emotionally and physically. A schedule for managing the process can be room by room or week by week or finding some other measure or pace that is comfortable. There are also some space planning and future need assessments that can be considered well in advance of any move. For example, almost all families have very large items stored in the garage or storage unit that would most likely never be needed in the future. Likewise, if a future move will be to a condo, child’s home or assisted-living facility, most gardening tools would be of little use. If one knows where they will be moving to, even if not for many months or even years, they will know if large furniture pieces might not fit.