After spending years in your family home, you might wonder if you have more house than necessary. It’s possible you’re maintaining a house that no longer fits your needs, which could be affecting your finances, free time and happiness. To help you get a better understanding of how much house you require, we’ll suggest our favorite “Do I actually use it?” downsizing trick. But first, here are some advantages of moving to a home that better fits your lifestyle.
Six Benefits of Downsizing
- Improve your finances: Even if your current home is paid off, having more house than you need comes with larger upkeep and maintenance bills. Plus, property taxes and utilities on a larger house are going to be higher. Downsizing saves money and can help your retirement nest egg go farther.
- More free time: Think of the amount of time you spend tidying up or even just trying to find things. Having a smaller home minimizes organization and cleaning. Better yet, moving to a maintenance-free independent living community with housekeeping, like Edgewood Summit, means you can leave the cleaning and home maintenance to a dedicated team.
- A cozier feel: A smaller living space can feel warmer, cozier and more intimate.
- Cut the clutter: Downsizing is an opportunity to pass on heirlooms and pare your possessions down to the items that you use, value or have meaning. In fact, you may be surprised by the emotional lift decluttering can provide.
- Want what you have: A smaller space places a higher premium on what you choose to keep, and you’ll put more thought into the new things you buy.
- Add to your bank account: Selling your home and any unwanted items can free up money to do the things you want to do like travel or pursue an interest or hobby.
The Sticky Note Method: Figuring Out How Much Space You Need
The Sticky Note Method is like the popular wardrobe hack called the “reverse hanger tick.” When trying to decide which clothes in your closet to get rid of, turn the hangers of your entire wardrobe backward. Then, over the next year, every time you wear something and put it back in its place, turn the hanger around so that it is no longer reversed. This will show you what you really wear and help you decide what to discard, consign or donate.
The Sticky Note Method works like this:
- Add a sticky note to every drawer and door or entryway.
- When you go into that room or open that drawer, write down the reason you were there and remove the sticky note as you use that space.
- Keep the sticky notes you remove.
- After 5 days, check which areas of your house still have sticky notes. These are the rooms and areas of your home you aren’t actively using.
- Review the sticky notes you collected and see if any are places or things that could be stored someplace else or combined with other areas.
The Sticky Note Method is about awareness, which is the first step to making positive changes. Regardless of what you decide to do, you now know more about how much of your space you use and can make a more informed decision from there.
The Upside of Downsizing
Wondering how you can best right-size to a fun-filled, maintenance-free life at Edgewood Summit? Give us a call. You’ll love talking to our team – Cherie has been at Edgewood Summit for over 15 years and Holley loves meeting future residents. Both have a wealth of experience and have helped hundreds of residents figure out how to downsize and add more enjoyment to every day. Let us help you see how our community fits perfectly into your life. Call us at 304-346-2323 or contact us here.
