The Answer : Start Now!

It’s time to stop making excuses, it’s time to take the mess,the clutter, and the stress that comes along with them OUT of your life.

Downsizing, getting-your-house-in-order, de-cluttering, clearing out. organizing – by any other name is just as wrought with confusion, regret, disappointment, and plain old anxiety. “Whew!” It had to said.

Want to make it more palatable? Start now. There is a weight to all that stuff, seems like the less necessary the clutter the heavier it is. If you find yourself really resistant (or have a spouse that is) start by reducing just a little “20 out in 10” The goal is to remove  20 items in 10 minutes, to the recycle bin, to the charity box, and yes, even to the trash.

Do it, it’s FREE-ing  AND can build momentum.  When? Now!

Chunk-it. (not chuck, that may come later). Focusing on one area at a time – let’s start small, first area will be your mind. You need to be in the mind set to make these life changes.

Katie Roberts: 303-956-7134 ~ movingonwithstyle@gmail.com

Yes, there is an “UPside to downsizing your home & possessions!©”

RightSizing Tips help Baby Boomers and Seniors Wade Through Years of Possessions

Downsizing focuses on the physical aspects of relocation – de-cluttering, letting-go and dealing with less. Moving-On with Style brings you the “UPside to downsizing – Rightsizing!™

RightSizing accepts the past and its fond memories, and when you use the “UPside to downsizing©” we’ll keep the good things that can be gained in mind, (yes there are – dreams you’d could revive, hobbies you haven’t had time for, energy that can be spent on grandchildren & friends). The process will be less painful and move more quickly. Seniors and Baby Boomers moving from the home, where they raised children and the focus was on family, to a smaller space, will need to downsize considerably and that’s disagreeable at best.

So, the method we use whether we are working with –

Boomers moving, making a condo their retirement residence, OR
A Senior moving to an assisted living facility, OR
A mature newly married couple, combining households is RightSizing.

“RightSizing is the Up-side to downsizing!©” and our company, Moving-On With Style offers the following tips for baby-boomers and their elder relatives faced with downsizing, by taking the RightSizing approach you will:

1) Start with a Vision of the life you want to embrace. What could you gain? What will there be room to do now? Let your mind imagine the possibilities, dream be positive, then write down. Refer to your vision often, especially when the going gets rough!

2) Start Early. Plan ahead for the move – You’ll need time to decide. The shorter the notice, the more stressful & difficult. Begin with a notebook, with pockets, collect your information, thoughts and ideas, for easy reference.

3) Start Small. Pick one-two-hour project, a paper-stacked desk, a giant pile of stuffed animals, the ever-present “junk drawer.” You’ll get a quick win and become familiar with the process of sorting and tossing. Don’t spend a lot of time deciding, if you get stuck? Put those items aside, labeled Undecided, for now.

4)Strategize the larger projects. Map them out, on paper. In the “old place” the desk was in the office – now, what will you do at the desk. What files will you really need now. Hobbies may take up more space now than it did, so what will the trade off be?

5) Score your stuff. On a scale of 1 to 10 ask these questions for each item. Love it? Use it? Space it takes? Condition/$$Value, Sentimental value? For example, consider collections,(say angels) and it’s Love it?/10, but you plan to store except at Christmas – that’s a 2 for use it and so forth.

6) Slice it. As you begin, think in terms of percentages. What percentage of your clothes can you keep? 3000 square feet has less closet space than 1100. Do you still have to have 10 business suits or 20 pairs of pumps? Using masking tape, mark out the size of the new closet or consider the size of the living room you may be going to and mark that off. Now, you’ll have a clearer idea of what will fit in THAT space.

7) Sort it. Putting like items with Like. Put colorful dots or different colored sticky notes on items, denoting where the items will go (i.e., blue to son, red to keep, yellow to charity). Don’t move things that are cracked, worn or don’t work (i.e. that chair you’ve been meaning to fix/paint for 7 years). Remember, whatever you keep you will sort TO an assigned in a specific Clearly label, the room it will live in & what’s in it.

8) Showcase or Sow it. REMEMBER with some items, it’s the memory that’s precious not the thing itself. Creating a showcase that honors the memory, or the person who gave it, instead of keeping the vase itself, that Aunt Jane gave you for your wedding, will mean more and take up less space.

9) Share the Process, Share the Stories. Even can be ripe with stress, “a burden shared is lessened and joy shared is doubled” is especially true now, Respecting the emotional need to share stories that will come to mind in this process, is good for everyone — that item that you think trivial, can have immense meaning to your children, just as telling the story attached to old statue can make it more dear to them.

Finally, It’s not about how much stuff you keep, but about the Those special objects, from critical periods of the past, imbued with the values that will help you make the most of the new life you’re about to begin – that’s “UPside to downsizing – Rightsizing!™

Life’s Third Act.