Prioritize What Matters: Downsizing with Purpose
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Many of us reach a time in our lives when we realize we have too much space and too much stuff and need to prioritize our space. It can be time-consuming and expensive to maintain a larger home if you no longer need the room, and we all know clutter accumulates with more square footage.
Rather than spend time and money keeping up with a big house and storing a bunch of unused things, it often makes sense to downsize to someplace smaller.
The tips you’ll find below will help you to prioritize what’s important to you as you start to downsize and make the process much more bearable.
Why Is It Important to Prioritize When Downsizing
When you start to declutter, it can be overwhelming to figure out what’s important to you and what can be left behind. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to decluttering, but it is important to prioritize what’s important to you.
Some things that may be important to you include your memories of the items, the sentimental value they have for you, and how often or use they are. If a item isn’t used often or doesn’t have a lot of sentimental value, it may not be as important for you to keep it. It’s also worth considering how much space the item takes up and whether there are other items that would fit better in the space.
There is no one right way to declutter, so take your time and figure out what works best for you. Start with the areas of your home that are most cluttered and see how much space each item takes up. Once you have a better idea of what’s important to you and which items can be given away/discarded, it will become easier decluttering overall.
Get in the Right Frame of Mind to Prioritize
When beginning a decluttering project, it can be helpful to approach it with a positive mindset. First, identify the areas of your home where you tend to accumulate more clutter than other areas. For example, if you tend to pack more things into your bathroom cabinet than any other room in your home, start by decluttering just that area.
This will help you feel less overwhelmed and motivated to tackle the entire house at once. Second, take some time each day to focus on one area of your home that you have designated as a “declutter zone”.
This might be a specific cabinet or drawer in your bedroom, for example. By setting realistic goals for yourself and focusing on specific areas of the house each day, you will become more successful in completing your decluttering project.
It’s imperative that you move past the overwhelm. Otherwise, you’re not going to get as far in your progress. Instead, try to change your mindset.
Remember why you’re downsizing in the first place. Think of all the benefits that come with the process. Write them down, if necessary. With a smaller home, you’ll have less to clean with fewer costs.
You’ll also have more free time to do the things you most enjoy, and you’ll get more fulfillment out of the possessions you keep. These will be the things you truly love, use, and appreciate.
Determine How Much Space You Have
When you know where you’ll be moving, be sure to take stock of your new space. Knowing how much room you have will help you to better determine just how many of your possessions you will want to keep.
Take measurements and make a drawing of your floor plans to further inform your decisions. Photos are also helpful, if possible.
Decide What You Can’t Live Without and Prioritize Them
This is probably the trickiest part of downsizing. To make it easier, take some time to reflect on your priorities. Write down three to five areas that are most meaningful to you with regard to your possessions.
For example, this could be your family keepsakes, books, electronics, and jewelry. Some of these things take up a great deal of space and will need to be pared down, but at least you’ll know you can be more lenient in these areas and will need to be stricter when it comes to purging everything else.
For example, I know our family loves rescuing and fostering animals, so even though I’m not currently able to rescue for a variety of reasons, I definitely want to hang onto the items that are useful for that (dog crate, litter box, spare leashes, etc.) That means I have to set those as priorities and work on paring down other areas.
Start with Small Steps
Hopefully, you’re beginning to see that this process doesn’t have to be agonizing. Moving onto a new stage of your life can be exciting. To keep from being overwhelmed, start small.
Take just a half hour or so each day to begin making lists, sorting into piles, prioritize the piles, and pack up belongings. Soon, you’ll gain momentum as you start to see the progress you’re making.
Downsizing can be broken down into steps that make the whole process less overwhelming. These steps will get you started on your way to comfortably downsizing and enjoying your new minimalist lifestyle.
