Month: December 2020

Downsizing into a more affordable and easy to manage living space can provide wonderful benefits for aging community members. Less maintenance and fewer repairs allow more time to relax. And the lowered cost of a smaller home, apartment, or condominium opens the door for improved quality of life activities.

While downsizing has many proven benefits, the process of reducing personal belongings and transitioning can be stressful. Living in a larger home usually means you have the material goods to match. 

If the possibility of downsizing and moving into a more manageable space seems unwieldy, consider these five ways to transition smoothly.

1. Consider the Square Footage Differences

When moving to a modest living space, it’s essential to have a firm grasp of what will fit comfortably. 

Start by taking detailed measurements of your current rooms and comparing them to the downsized counterparts. The key to effectively transitioning revolves around everything you bring fitting with room to move around. 

Downsizing typically requires less bulky furniture or space-efficient replacements. Knowing how much room you have to work with can make a big difference on moving day.

2. Stage Your Furniture and Belongings To Fit

Now that you know how much square footage you have to work with consider rearranging your current living space as a model. 

Gather a few friends or family members and mark floors with tape to reflect the new space. Now spend a little time arranging tables, chairs, couches, and other belongings as if they were in the downsized residence. This process gives you a true sense of what to keep and what won’t fit.

3. Ask Yourself Which Belongings Matter

Not all material items are equal in a person’s eyes or heart. Just because an oversized chair is past its prime, it may hold greater sentimental value than a brand new recliner. The same holds for many items that bring back memories of good times, loved ones we miss or have lost along the way. 

Rather than set aside those emotions, and pack what will fit, ask yourself these important questions.

• Is this something I need, or want?
• What is the sentimental value of this item?
• How often do I use it?

Based on your answers, you can decide what your moving professionals transport to the new home. The other items may have different destinations.

4: Consider Alternatives For Keepsakes and Valued Items

Pre-planning aspects of how to manage personal belongings tend to be increasingly important for seniors when downsizing. With that in mind, items that may not fit into a smaller space can be handled in several suitable ways. These may include the following.

• Consider storing sentimental items with children or relatives.
• Consider inexpensive self-storage until you are ready to part with personal items.
• Consider passing on family heirlooms so that others can enjoy them.
• Downsizing your household does not necessarily mean that you will no longer have cherished items. It merely means those that might clutter your new place need to be safely stored offsite or with loved ones.

5: Preparing For Moving Day

After you have boxed up goods and pre-planned, it’s essential to label each possession and note where it will go. Professional movers like getting it right and making your transition seamless. By marking boxes by room and indicating furniture placement, moving day can be stress-free. Planning and communication with your moving company mean you will get settled in quickly and enjoy an enhanced quality of life.

Moving Made Easy

If you need moving help, contact us. We can help with packing, storage, transport, and even unpacking. We can make your downsizing move as stress-free as possible.

Is your household move starting to feel overwhelming? Are you imagining your new home, full of boxes, and if they have all ended up in their intended unpacking location? And, do you know what’s inside each one?

When tackling a move, your labeling approach makes a big difference in the way you unpack. It can set the mood for the first month in your new home.

You’ll need a way to know exactly what each box contains. If you use a combination of these five ideas, that’s what you’ll get.

1. Buy Labels

Most official moving boxes come printed with a square for labeling. That doesn’t mean it’s the best or only choice when it comes to labeling.

Investing in moving labels can make the marker ink show up better, making it easier to read.

Aim for products that have some weather resistance. That way, if they get wet, the ink won’t run.

2. Print Big

Once you stack the boxes, you’ll be looking at them from a distance. That means you and the movers will need to be able to read it.

Imagine you work for a moving company. You would need to know what to do with the box within a second or two.

Choose a permanent marker with a broad tip in a dark color. Write clearly and keep the words short. Simple language is easier for workers to decipher.

3. Use Color-Coding

Writing the designated room on the box may not be enough. If you want to make sure every box ends up in the right room, you may also want to use a color code.

You can buy boxes of moving labels with color-coded stickers for each room. You can also purchase different rolls of duct tape and put a strip along opposite edges of the box.

Color coding may not make as much sense on a large scale. If you have to distinguish between three different shades of blue, you probably need another system.

4. Identify Location and Contents

Make sure every label includes the name of the room that each box should be placed in. 

Keep in mind that some of your labeling efforts help you more than the movers. When you’re ready to unpack, you don’t want to guess which of these 20 boxes has the item you need.

While you pack, give yourself enough time to write down the general theme of each box. If you have five boxes of dishware, outline which one has the plates and which one has the mugs.

Detailed labeling is even more important if someone else is unpacking for you. They’re less likely to damage or misplace stuff that way.

5. Write on Multiple Sides

By the time you finish packing, you may have many tall stacks of boxes. Perhaps you’ll have a whole room or storage unit full of them.

Do you have any idea what’s inside? How would you get to them if you needed to read the label on top?

Put the most basic information on at least two sides, as well as the top. That way, you can tell at a glance where it will need to go. Make sure you label more than the top of the box. When the boxes are stacked, you won’t be able to see the label at all!

Make the Move Right

If you’re going to live amongst boxes for the next couple of months, you might as well do it on your terms. With these labeling tips and tricks, you’ll know just where to find everything you need.

Contact us today. We can help with your moving logistics.