Making Your Move Easier, One Step at a Time

Downsizing isn't just about square footage, it's about rightsizing your life for this new chapter.

Here's how to approach it with clarity and peace:

Start With the Emotional Stuff First

Two people looking out of a window in a room with several cardboard boxes and a potted plant.

Before you touch a single box, acknowledge what this move means. You're leaving a home full of memories, and that's significant. Give yourself permission to feel whatever comes up.

Try this: Walk through each room and simply remember. Don't pack yet… just appreciate what happened there.

The Three-Category Method

Keep

Items you use regularly, truly love, or have irreplaceable meaning.

Gift

Things that would bring joy to family or friends — pass them on with love.

Let Go

Everything else (donate, sell, or discard)

Be honest about "someday" items. If you haven't used it in two years, you probably won't.

Room-by-Room Strategy

  • Modern kitchen with white cabinets, black countertops, and wooden flooring. There is a wooden dining table with four chairs, a vase with sunflowers, and various kitchen appliances and utensils.

    Kitchen

    Keep one good set of everything. You don't need 30 coffee mugs.

  • Bright bedroom with large arched window showing trees outside, beige upholstered bed with white bedding and pillows, two beige armchairs with throw pillows, wooden side table, and a dresser, decorated with a chandelier, mirrors, and lamps.

    Bedrooms

    If kids are grown, they can claim items now or you can donate them.

  • Attic with a window, stacked cardboard boxes, potted plants, and vintage furniture.

    Garage/Attic

    The hardest spaces. Consider hiring help for these… you don't have to do it alone.

  • A cozy attic scene with stuffed animals, old papers, a wooden box, shoes, and a tissue box on a wooden floor

    Sentimental Items

    Take photos of things you want to remember but can't keep. The memory matters more than the object.

Get Help (Really)

You don’t have to do this alone.
Whether you're overwhelmed or just not sure where to start, the right help can make all the difference—and take some of the weight off your shoulders. 

  • Estate Sale Companies

    They'll handle everything from pricing to selling to hauling away what doesn't sell.

  • Professional Organizers

    Specializing in senior transitions, they've seen it all and can help you make decisions faster.

  • Family

    If they want great-grandma's China, let them claim it now. If they don't, you're free to let it go guilt-free.

*** Visit our Trusted Partners page for a list of trusted advisors and services. ***

Timeline That Works

  • Start with storage areas and rooms you rarely use

  • Tackle main living spaces, make big furniture decisions

  • Final packing, donate/sell remaining items

  • Only essentials remain

Remember: You're not erasing your past. You're making room for your future.