The Upside to Downsizing Sooner Than Later

Have you been thinking about cleaning out the hall closet, purging the garage so you can park a car in there again, or moving to a smaller home? But the thought of sorting through everything you own is too overwhelming, so you put it off until the next weekend or the next year.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my own experience — downsizing from 2,400 square feet to 1,800 square feet to a 700-square-foot accessory dwelling unit (ADU), then moving overseas with a few suitcases — it’s that downsizing is a process, and one that doesn’t happen overnight.

Whether you decide to downsize to a smaller home next month, next year or in 10 years, the sooner you start the purging process, the better. And here’s why:

1) You have the energy now

A few years ago, a friend told me about a woman in her eighties who had lived in a large house for decades. She was looking for someone to help her sort through her stuff so she could downsize to a smaller home. I hope she found someone. For me, it was a wakeup call. Because I didn’t want to wake up in 25 years and realize I needed to purge all the extra stuff in my life. No matter what your age, isn't it better to get started now while you have the energy and the motivation?

2) You won’t leave a burden for your family

Some folks I’ve talked to about purging and downsizing say, “That’ll be my children’s problem.” But do you really want to burden your children that way? Sorting through everything in your household, having an estate sale and managing your financial affairs could take months away from your child’s job and family. And it’s especially burdensome if your children live far away.

Why not downsize now and experience the joy on your children's faces when you give them a few of your treasured heirlooms. Or ask your children now if they even want these items. This way you'll know the things you value most will be going to someone who appreciates them.

It's also a good time to go through old letters, diaries and personal items to decide whether or not you want to keep them. None of us know when our final hour might be, and you could be holding on to things you wouldn't want your children and other family members to see. You'll sleep better knowing you've taken care of these tasks and you're not leaving a huge project for your grieving family members.

3) You’ll be more organized

No matter what size house you have, an overflow of clutter and lack of storage can leave you tripping over things left and right. Is your garage and attic bursting at the seams with sports equipment, baby clothes and items you haven’t laid eyes on or used in 10 years? By purging and ridding yourself of items you no longer need, you'll be more organized and efficient in your daily life. And a more organized and less cluttered house can lower stress levels and help you think more clearly.

4) You’ll make room for what is important to you now

Downsizing can help you create space for what’s truly important in your life right now. So many of us — me included — hang on to remnants of the life we were living 20 or 30 years ago. I don’t know about you, but I’m a different person today, with different interests, wants and needs. I didn’t need to hang on to all those furniture projects I was never going to get around to doing. Nor all the paint supplies for craft projects I no longer enjoy. Or the boxes and boxes of videos I produced when I had a production company. Those were things from a past life, and it was time to let them go. It doesn’t mean you can’t hang on to something for sentimental reasons. That’s a personal choice. But by releasing the things that no longer serve you, you’re creating space for what does.

Clearing off your dining table may enable you to have friends and family over for dinner more often. Once the extra bedroom is no longer a storage closet, you can have an Airbnb accommodation or a craft room. Once you empty your garage, it could be a rec room for the grandkids, an ADU for your mom or the she shed or mancave you’ve always desired.

5) You’ll build momentum for the next downsizing project

Downsizing is like exercising a muscle. Difficult at first, but once you clean out one closet and see how good it feels to be more organized, you’ll want to tackle another room, have a yard sale and take one more carload to Goodwill. Downsizing and streamlining your life is a continual process. But the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Get started by figuring out what to Keep, Sell or Give Away.

While you don’t have to do it all at once, the sooner you start, the sooner you will reap the rewards of a more simplified, organized life with more time for what really matters.