There are many reasons why people downsize. Perhaps they’re moving to a new city where housing costs are higher so they can only afford a small apartment. Maybe there are new budgetary restrictions in their lives. Or, perhaps, they want to simplify and have a smaller home that’s easier to maintain. Whatever the reason is, the downsizing process can be difficult. Here are a few tips to make it easier.
Sort Through Items First
While you may be tempted to move all your stuff to your new place first to see how much of it will actually fit, this isn’t a great idea. Not only will you be filling your brand-new home with stuff you know you can’t keep, but you’ll be increasing your residential moving cost as well. So, sort through your things before you move and get rid of anything you don’t use regularly. This will save you a lot of time and the cost associated with packing up and moving things that you’re ultimately going to have to get rid of.
Measure Your Furniture
Find out the dimensions of the rooms in your new place, then draw or print up a floorplan and map out where you want your furniture to go. Measure your existing furniture to make sure it’s going to fit into the smaller space. This can save you a lot of hassle and headaches with trying to shove an overly large sofa into a tiny living room.
Disassemble Your Furniture
While your furniture might move about in your current home with no trouble while fully assembled, it could be a different story in a smaller space. Disassemble your furniture before loading it up. Of course, not all furniture can be disassembled completely, but do what you can, even if it just means removing the legs from your dining table. These small steps can make a big difference on the other end of your move and can help you to avoid banging up your new walls and doorways.
Move Large Items First
When you get to your new, smaller space, move in your larger items (typically your furniture) first. You’re not going to have as much room to maneuver in this new space as you did in your old home, so you want to make sure you get these large items into your new home before you begin filling the space with boxes and smaller pieces.
Color Code Your Boxes
When it comes to moving into small spaces, precision matters. Having people standing around in an already small living space that is becoming crowded with boxes, asking where items belong, is just asking for a bottleneck in your moving process. Keep the traffic flowing by color-coding your boxes when you pack them. Buy some colored labels and assign a color to each room of your new home. When you get to the new place, post a paper on the front door indicating where each color belongs. This keeps people moving along, prevents a buildup of boxes in a single front room, and makes the move much more efficient.
Moving into a smaller space can seem difficult at first, but if you prepare properly and take the right steps during the move, it doesn’t have to be. Contact Wolley Movers to get assistance with moving in Chicago. We’ll help you get moved into your new place is quickly and easily as we can.
