If you’ve decided on tiny living then you know that your next step is downsizing. This can be quite difficult and you want to be aware of all that it entails. You may not be sure of what to keep and what to get rid of. You will need to know the size of your home and whether you want to have guests sleep over. You need to decide if the furniture you own can fit in your new tiny home or whether you will need to buy smaller furniture.
Want vs. Need
These are just some of the things you will need to figure out. You will need to decide what you need versus the things you want. You will need to do this process a few times until you slowly whittle down your possessions to the things that you really need.
You can give some of your possessions away or even have a yard sale to make some extra money. If you have children, you can ask them if there is anything they’d like to keep as a family heirloom. Donate, sell or give away the things you don’t need.
You have to decide if there are things that you cannot live without. Are there specific heirlooms that you have to keep? Are you planning on having grandchildren or guests over to stay overnight?
Go Room by Room
It would be best to go room by room and decide just what you need. For your kitchen, you don’t want duplicates of anything. If you have a favorite set of dishes, if they aren’t valuable, only take enough for the people who will be living there. If there is something that you haven’t used in a long time, don’t keep it.
You aren’t going to have room for luxury appliances such as food processors, choppers, or other kitchen gadgets. Have boxes for each room for the things you are donating, the things you are throwing away, the things you are selling, the things you are giving away to friends and family and the things you are taking with you.
Go through your linens and bathroom items next. Take only four towels for each person and only two linen sets for each bed.
If you are a collector or have a hobby that means you have a lot of equipment, you have to choose only your favorite. You could always rent a storage unit if you own a valuable collection. It’s a matter of personal choice.
If you have family heirlooms or sentimental items, you may want to keep them. You may need to make some hard choices to decide what you are going to keep. If it’s a sentimental item that involves your children, you can ask if they would like to have it.
Books
Having a smaller home means that you may not be able to keep hard copies of books. Instead, look for online books that you can download onto an electronic reader or laptop. All of your pictures can be scanned and saved. You can do the same with many of the receipts and papers you may have kept over the years. Very important papers should be kept in a bank safety box.
Clothes
This can be one of the most difficult things to sort. First off, if you haven’t worn it for at least a year, do not keep it. If you are struggling with making decisions on what to keep, having an objective person there to help might be best. Once you move into your new home and determine the actual space available for storage, you can make the final purge of your clothing.
Electronics
Fortunately, TVs can be mounted to the wall which will help to save space. Smaller devices are now available that have as much power as a large computer system used to be.
Holiday Decorations
If you are like many others, you probably have a ton of holiday decorations. If you own a huge artificial Christmas tree, you will need to get rid of it and get a smaller version if you get one at all. You are going to have to get rid of much of your decorations for all holidays because you aren’t going to have any place to store and there will be no room for it to be displayed.
Use these tips to determine the things you are going to want to keep and what you need to get rid of. Don’t wait until the last minute to start purging. Decide the essentials and then decide where all the extra stuff you own is going. You will be making someone quite happy, whether it’s you donating your extras, selling it or giving it away.