How To Downsize Your Stuff When Moving To A Smaller House

People tend to fill their houses with stuff they don't actually need. This is why you will find a lot of superfluous stuff when moving from a bigger house to a smaller one. If you are in such a situation, use the following tips to downsize your belongings:

Shred Old Papers

If you have been living in the same place for many years, then you are likely to have a few boxes of papers or books that you don't really need. The best thing to do with such things is to shred and get rid of them. Examples include utility bills that are several years old, notebooks that you no longer need, and old newspapers that you have read and reread.

Sell Useful Items You Don't Need

Just because you have no use for something, it doesn't mean that nobody else can use it. Therefore, hold a yard sale or go to craigslist and post those things that you don't want to carry with you but think others can still find useful. Old cabinets, computer desks, and even chairs usually fall into this category. You can even use the proceeds as part of your moving expenses. Just remember to do it early enough to increase your chances of making a sale.

Donate Useful Items

You don't have to sell your useful items; you can also donate them to those who can find a use for them. Most people think of charities when thinking about donations, but it doesn't have to be that way. If something is useful, then you can donate it to a neighbor, the homeless guy down the street, or even your friends in need. Just make sure the item you are donating is really useful, and the person you are donating it to will find a use for it; don't use donations as a way of getting rid of garbage.

Make Use of Self-Storage Facilities

Lastly, you can also take advantage of self-storage facilities to store some of your stuff. This is especially useful for your "maybe pile," the items you can't carry but also can't bring yourself to throw away. A self-storage facility may also help you to keep items that you were planning to sell but haven't managed to do so yet. Lastly, if your downsizing is temporary, you can store some of your stuff in a storage facility and retrieve them when you change house again.

Don't forget that the more things you have, the costlier your move is likely to be. Therefore, think about downsizing your stuff the next time you are moving even if you aren't downsizing your house. For more information, contact local professionals like All Points Movers, LLC.