For a lot of people who have lived their lives in bigger houses or have always been striving for more, downsizing can seem like a step back — when, in actual fact, it can be a rewarding and practical home move that doesn’t have to mean compromising on your lifestyle. While downsizing can be the right decision, it doesn’t mean it’s an easy one, as there can be a lot of common challenges associated with downsizing from a larger home.
First, let’s look at the top reasons you might want to consider downsizing.
5 Reasons to Downsize
- Your Family Has Moved Out
If you have a larger home with many bedrooms, it might have been the perfect family home while your family was growing up and needed a lot of space. If family members have now grown up and moved out, downsizing can be a smart move for those living alone, or with a partner, in a huge (and much emptier) house.
- Embrace a More Minimalist Lifestyle
The less space and fewer possessions you have, the happier you might be. Minimalism is a great way to take the stress and focus on overcrowding your home with material items, and downsizing can be the right move for those wanting to live with less in a better way.
- It’s the Perfect Opportunity for a Declutter
If you’re finding that your home is filled with stuff, and you know it’s stuff that you ideally need to sort and get rid of, downsizing and moving home can be the ideal opportunity for that. This means you get to move into a smaller home with a clean slate, with only the items you know are important to you. You can then eliminate all your clutter by donating to charity or selling any items you need.
- A More Sociable Living Space
Having a large home is great if you do need the space, but it might be difficult to manage if you would like a useable and busy living space. If there are lots of separate rooms family members can escape to, it makes it less likely you’ll socialize in one main space. If you downsize to a small place that has one main, functional room, it’s more likely you’ll create a cozier and more sociable atmosphere.
- Easier to Clean
Even if you actually enjoy home cleaning, chores, and maintenance, it’s always going to be a plus if you have less area to focus on. A smaller home can be much easier to clean and maintain within a manageable space, so less cleaning stress, less dust, and less dirt.
Common Challenges You Might Face with Downsizing (and What You Can Do About It)
Now that the benefits have been explored, it’s important to highlight some difficulties that can be faced with downsizing. Nevertheless, these challenges certainly don’t mean downsizing is the wrong decision — it just means more creative solutions are in order!
Here are some common challenges of downsizing you may face.
Less Room for the Items You Want to Keep
You may have had a serious declutter and been honest and strict with what you don’t want to keep, but that doesn’t mean you still don’t have a lot of treasured possessions you wish to stay with you. The fact is that downsizing may not offer a lot of room for what you do want to keep. This may even simply be storage space needed and not necessarily items on display, in which case a downsized property may not offer adequate enough storage for you.
The solution: it’s important to take your time with finding your new property, as downsizing doesn’t have to mean ridiculously small. You can still find a much smaller property that still allows ample storage space. If you’re still struggling, you can think creatively about storage solutions in rooms you have. Shelves, multi-purpose furniture, or even outdoor storage can all be a big help.
There’s also the option of using a local self-storage unit to store anything you simply don’t have room for in your home but want to hang on to.
Nowhere to Put Excess Items if You Haven’t Got Rid of Them Yet
If you’re within a property chain or have a deadline for moving, it may be that you have a lot of clutter you need to get rid of but haven’t had the opportunity to do so before your moving date. So, where are you going to store all your excess items until you get rid of them?
The solution: you can always use storage units as a way to safely store all your clutter so that you can donate or sell items in your own time, without worrying about storing them in your new home.
Less Room for Guests to Stay Over
Moving into a smaller property is ideal if you no longer have a lot of people at home, such as family members growing up and moving out. However, that doesn’t mean you don’t want them to return and stay over as guests from time to time. Downsizing may, unfortunately, mean you have to sacrifice on spare bedrooms (as, after all, eliminating extra rooms is the point), so this can cause a problem for potential guests.
The solution: think creatively about sleeping arrangements, such as buying folding beds, pullout beds, or sofa beds so guests can sleep in the living room or wherever your couch is placed.
Less Room for Growth Over Time
Downsizing doesn’t mean that you don’t wish to progress in the future and make new goals; you could take up a new hobby that requires a little extra space or decide to work from home. What you choose to do in the future could cause a problem if it requires extra space you no longer have.
The solution: having a spare room or two is always ideal for new hobbies or activities, but not having one doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy something new. You may have to double-up rooms, push other furniture out of the way temporarily, or even find space outside if you have a garden.
In conclusion, downsizing — despite its challenges — can be a beneficial home move, and you always have self-storage options for any excess items.