Don’t let Downsizing be the ultimate overwhelming stressful event.

For anyone further along their life journey who is farewelling the family home after many years, the “items” challenge can be very confronting.

It is often claimed that moving can be “one of life’s most stressful events”, so a downsizing move can be the ultimate overwhelming and stressful event.  For many, sorting through a home with years of possessions can open emotional ‘floodgates’ and, sadly, often holds people back from moving on. For some it is more emotionally challenging than others.

Change is rarely easy and sorting through decades of stuff and everything we have accumulated involves lots of tough decisions. Consider that each year we have lived has provided the opportunity to accumulate more so it maybe not necessarily be a hoarding situation, just decades of accumulation. As we age we sometimes fail to let stuff go, develop new habits as times change and fail to let old out-dated habits go –

• Items comes in, yet little goes out (failure to turn over)
• Lack of tidying up and clearing out stuff (possibly an inability to change habits as we age)
• Not understanding the abundance of stuff available for us to purchase, a “gadget for everything” – most of us can buy what we want when we need it!
• Feeling emotionally connected to items makes it harder to let items go …

• So if you have a lot of items and want to downsize, you will need to get sorting. Keep your items in perspective –
  • you are more important than your possessions
  • many items you have will have served a purpose in your life and are now possibly no longer needed.

Please do not underestimate how challenging dealing with a house full of items can be, the physical and mental input required nor the importance of planning. Developing a Transition Plan can help you focus on your priorities, objectives and keep you on track when you get bogged down. 

• Developing a timeline for the move (including preparing the house for sale and settlement)
• Identifying and planning – what to take (what suits your new lifestyle in your new home) and what to let go (sorting into Functional, Favourites or Farewell
• Packing, moving, unpacking (small moves)
• Presenting the property for sale to maximise its sale price
• Preparing the property for settlement

The ultimate goal is to ensure you are equipped to enjoy your new lifestyle and protect your health, happiness and welfare.