Moving Tips for Downsizing

When we stay in larger homes, we tend to worry less about storage space. We accumulate drawers full of magazines and unused gifts, and garages full of sports equipment and forgotten hobbies.
 
However, when the kids grow up and leave the nest, and it's time to move to a smaller home, it may be difficult to part with things that hold so much familiarity, despite the fact that they no longer serve a functional purpose. 
 
By getting rid of all the unused items, you will be able to fit into your new home with all your most beloved things, and you will save on furniture removal costs.
 
When there is no other way other than to get rid of excess baggage, since you have to downsize, you can follow a few of our moving tips as below to make the process easier.
 
1. Consider What You Will Need in Your New Home
 If you have not used your bulky home gym equipment in years, but would still like to get back into a fitness regime, you might want to consider selling the treadmill and use the money to buy a yoga kit or a pair of quality running shoes.
 
Go through the entire house and consider when the last time you used each item was. If it has been a while, consider calling in a secondhand dealer from the likes of a Cash Converters to come around and buy it all up. Then use the money towards your move or something new and more useful.
 
2.  Measure Your Furniture
 Large homes usually have big pieces of furniture that can take up a lot of the floor space in a smaller home.
 
Get a copy of your new home's plans or floor plan and measure whether your furniture will fit in comfortably - there are also some great Apps you can download to help you with this.
 
You can use online room arrangement software  (the likes of RoomScan or MagicPlan are very useful) to give you an idea of how your furniture will fit in, and what you will have to sell.
 
3.  Assess Your New Home's Storage Space
 One of the most common mistakes people make during big moves, is to assume that a new home has the same amount of storage space as the old, and often larger one.

Some complexes and apartment buildings have personal lock-up store rooms that come in handy in storing unused items that you don't want to get rid of.
 
Make a deal with yourself:  If it's too hard to get rid of some items, agree to put them in storage for 6 months; if, during that time, you have not used it, get rid of it.
 
4.  Ransack the Kitchen
 We've all bought things in 'cute' or handy containers that could be used again, but in most cases, those containers ended up in the back of a cupboard never to see the light of day again. Grab a black refuse bag and toss away those cute containers, margarine dishes, ice-cream containers and plastic bottles.
 
Put all the unused pots, pans, utensils, appliances and crockery in a box and give it to friends or family who could use it.

Moving to a Smaller Home: The Process
Once you have established what's being sold, stored and moved, it is time to draw up an inventory list for the furniture removals company and get a quote.
 
It is a good idea to label everything by room and to move the large items first. These items will require the most energy and will help you figure out where the smaller items should go.
 
Upon arrival at the new home, some people fill the first room with everything, expecting that they would sort it out later, but this can be very cumbersome to navigate later on. It will be much easier to ask the furniture removal company team to place the larger items in their dedicated rooms and then sort the small things out afterwards.
 
It can take some time to get used to living in a smaller space, but the benefits of saving time and removing the financial drain of maintaining a large house far outweigh the drawbacks. Life becomes more meaningful when you are surrounded by the things you value most.

Our sincere thanks to Afriworld Furniture Removals for the moving tips above. Should you require any further information or need a free quote for your upcoming move, please do not hesitate to contact Afriworld Furniture Removals on 0800 237 496 (Toll-free).