5 Strategies For Moving To A Smaller Home

5 Strategies For Moving To A Smaller Home: Given the economic situation, some families may opt to move to a smaller home. No sweat. Just follow these five simple tips.

Transferring to a smaller space may feel like a sacrifice to some parents. However, it may be the best choice for the moment. And the operative phrase is “for the moment.” So, given that the family has decided to move, here are some strategies to help the family cope with not just transferring, which is already stressful by itself, but transferring to a smaller place.

Prioritize And Streamline

5 Strategies For Moving To A Smaller Home

A bigger place might accommodate a lot of extras but moving to a smaller place allows the family to really prioritize what matters to them. Do they really need a lot of the crockery? Can they make do with just one refrigerator? This process might be the most heartbreaking one because the family has gotten used to the things that surround them. Here are a few things, in order of priority, that the family can do to streamline:

1. Get the floor space and measurement of the new place to estimate what type of furniture and household appliances will fit.
2. Make a list of what can fit in the new place, based on the specifications. Anything outside of what can actually fit should fall into the category of things to be streamlined.
3. Sell whatever can be sold. If the family is concerned about saving money, then they might as well make some money while they are in the process of moving. They can hold a garage sale or have an online auction.
4. Whatever cannot be sold should be donated or given away. The local church or the family’s favorite charity will surely appreciate donations. Whatever the family also considers treasures can actually be given away as heirlooms to other relatives. This might even apply to the family pet. Children may balk at parting with their beloved dog but parents should explain that the new place cannot accommodate a pet and that they will find a loving home where their pet can stay.
5. Lastly, there things that can and should be thrown away.

Shelves, Shelves and Shelves

5 Strategies For Moving To A Smaller Home

Given the smaller space, the family needs to prepare a lot of creative storage room. One way to do this is to have a lot of shelves. Shelves save a lot of room for the family by using up all the space against a wall or door. The family just needs to keep a step ladder handy so that items on the top shelves are accessible. This is also one easy way of keeping things away from the toddler to avoid mishaps.

Another way of creating storage space is to ensure that some furniture double up as storage space: beds, side tables, benches, refrigerator tops.

Proper Space Assignments And Labeling

5 Strategies For Moving To A Smaller Home

One way a family can move in a stress free manner is by already knowing in advance what things go where in the new place.

1. Rooms or room assignments must already be chosen for family members. So that each child can contribute, they can be assigned to be responsible for packing their own things.
2. For easy identification, labeling should be on all sides of the packing boxes. This way, even if the boxes are stacked, the contents are easily identifiable.
3. Family members can even have their own “codes” for labeling like “Jan’es dresser table contents and books.” This is one way for family members to adjust to the new space. They get to transition from the old place and re-imagine where things go in the new place.

Packing A Suitcase For Transition Living

“5 Strategies For Moving To A Smaller Home”

Boxes won’t be unpacked right away. To save the family from the trouble of stressing out over not having things ready because they are still packed away, each family member must have a transitional suitcase. This suitcase must contain a week’s worth of clothes, bed linen, favorite toys and toiletries. As soon as the family arrives in the new home, they aren’t immediately pressured to unpack everything. They can prioritize and clean up and not have to worry about what to wear and what soap and toothbrush to use.

What To Unpack First

“5 Strategies For Moving To A Smaller Home”

Given that the family has moved to a smaller space, they need to unpack only the essentials first as they navigate around all the boxes. Some recommendations, in order of priority:

1. Kitchen Stuff and snacks. No one will want to work and unpack on an empty stomach. So, it would really be helpful to make sure that the refrigerator and stove are one of the first appliances up and running upon arriving at the new place.
2. Beds or sleeping cots. Everyone will be tired and cranky on the first day of the move. Family members need to have a place to rest. Parents should remember to make sure that each person in the family has packed away some bed linen in their transitional suitcase.

While moving to a smaller place might be a stressful and sad time for the family, it is also the perfect opportunity for them to prioritize what’s important to them: having each other and having a roof over their heads. To work out the logistics of moving to a smaller place, a family just needs to remember to prioritize and streamline, have some creative storage space, properly configure and label boxes, pack a transitional suitcase and know what to unpack first.