Decided To Downsize: Now What?

Are you thinking about moving from that 2,500 square foot suburban home to that 500 square foot one-bedroom apartment? Are you having feelings of empty nest syndrome? Is the Toronto housing market straining your wallet to upkeep your home? There is a lot of work that comes with downsizing, but it can also be a fresh start.

Why downsize? 

Leaving the Nest – Your children are making their first steps into adulthood and have temporarily moved out for university or college. Fast forward a few or several years later, they have saved enough money to permanently move out of your home to start independently living on their own. Most people, when downsizing, struggle with deciding where to put their children’s belongings. It is hard to either pack away their whole childhood into a box or get rid of their things even though you may not have touched them in years.

The Rising Housing Market – It is no secret that the Toronto housing market is getting expensive. The market is constantly fluctuating, and it is getting more and more difficult to afford homes in Downtown Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. This becomes one of the many reasons someone decides to downsize to a smaller and more affordable home especially when they do not require the space anymore.

Time to Head Up North – Did you recently retire? Maybe you and your significant other are thinking about moving out of the City of Toronto and looking for a cute, small, and inexpensive place up north. The houses are a lot cheaper and obviously quieter being away from city life. Retirement can be one of the reasons for choosing a change in lifestyle.

The Stressful Split – Another huge lifestyle change is divorce. Divorce causes unnecessary stress and brings up the question: where do I keep all my belongings? This often forces people to downsize and think about where to put all their belongings they no longer have the room for.

Helpful Downsizing Tips

If you decided to downsize, a big question you may have is, now what? There are a few ways we would like to share with you to help make the downsizing process go as smoothly as possible with minimal or no complications. The goal is to stay organized, stop buying, and consider customizable storage solutions.

Stay organized

From beginning to end, the goal is to stay organized to ensure that your move is as smooth as possible. Make sure you plan out what you need for your move and when everything needs to be executed from now until move out-in day. For example, any moving and packing supplies, consider renting a truck, paying professional movers, and etc. It would also be a good idea to start labelling all your boxes, so you know what is in each box, so you can unload at your new home as efficiently as possible.

Stop buying

As soon as you decide to start downsizing, stop buying more stuff. This just means more things you have to decide to keep, throw away, or store. You don’t want to cause yourself more trouble than it is worth. Or, if you see that new throw pillow you just can’t bare to part with, make sure you toss two things for every one item you purchase. Otherwise, save the shopping for after the move!

Storage Solutions

When it comes to downsizing, you are reducing the amount of space in your home. This means less space in your new home for all your belongings. Storage is the ideal solution so that you can keep all the belongings you want to keep without throwing them out. For example, if the reason why you are downsizing is that your kids have finally left the nest, however, you want to keep their belongings for the nostalgia. You can always store their belongings in a storage unit.

We at XYZ Storage know that your life is big, and you should make space for it. With our help, you don’t have to worry about not having enough room. We want you to live your life to its fullest even if you are downsizing. If you are interested in using our customizable storage solutions during this process, then check out one of several of our secure and clean facilities here: https://dev1.xyz.pop.ca/storage-locations/. We look forward to helping you make space in your new home!

Not planning to downsize, but want to make space in your home? Read our blog post on decluttering for more information.