Downsizing Your Home Can Provide Many Different Benefits
Downsizing your home can be a difficult decision, or an extremely easy one. It all depends on what you need at your current stage of life!
There can be many reasons for deciding the time is right to downsize your home. Maybe you’re empty nesters in your formerly bustling family home, perhaps you want to reduce your mortgage payments and free up funds for adventuring, or maybe you are moving to a different location where your budget means a smaller property.
Whatever your reason for downsizing, you can look upon your move as an opportunity to declutter and refresh your possessions. It will also give you the chance to enjoy creating a new home that better suits your needs and style.
The Benefits of Downsizing Your Home
More and more people are choosing to downsize their living space - just look at the rise in popularity of tiny homes. Whatever their primary reason for the change, homeowners who downsize are able to reap many benefits including:
Financial freedom:
Buying a smaller home can mean lower payments or even zero mortgage payments. It may even result in an equity lump sum to help pay debts or fund your retirement activities, like world travel.
Smaller homes generally have lower property taxes, insurance and utility bills and cost less to maintain. This frees up money for debt reduction, vacations or hobbies.
*Do remember to leave room in your budget in case of any HOA (Home Owners’ Association) fees, moving costs and storage space.
More free time:
Smaller homes, especially new builds, will have much lower maintenance requirements, including less cleaning and yard work. Now you can spend your Saturday mornings on the golf course instead of doing yard work.
The reduced stress of a more minimal lifestyle:
Although letting go of possessions can be hard at first, many people enjoy the more minimalist lifestyle and find a less cluttered environment calming.
If you’re wondering whether downsizing is right for you, this article by HGTV gives some thoughtful insight that could aid your decision.
How To Prepare Yourself and Your Belongings for Downsizing:
As soon as you have made the decision to downsize, you should start the process of decluttering. Aim to keep only one third to half of your belongings. This can be especially daunting if you have a large former family home to sort through. Take as much time as you can and follow one of these decluttering ideas, or the suggestions listed below:
Create an inventory of what’s in your current home and note whether it's something you absolutely can’t live without. If you haven’t used it for ages, there’s no point in keeping it.
Utilize ‘Keep’, ‘Sell’ and ‘Donate’ boxes to help with organizing your items before you move. Donate as much as you can to keep items from the landfill. Let family members choose anything sentimental or practical they would like to keep.
Prepare to let go of some of your sentimental items. It’s OK to part with family heirlooms or gifted items if they will not fit into your new home. Pick only your favourites to keep.
Take an honest look at your current furniture: What will you need? Can you replace items with a multipurpose piece? Create a floor plan for your new home and only take what will fit.
Do a wardrobe review: If you’re going to have limited storage in your new home now’s the time to do a clothing clean-out. Don’t forget to go through your seasonal items of clothing too.
Small kitchen appliances take up a lot of countertop and storage room. Only keep the tools you use regularly, or switch out for multi-functional equipment. Review your crockery; how many plates will you need if you can only seat four people in your new dining space?
Purge your paperwork and digitalize where you can.
Don’t forget your garage and garden shed. If your outside space is reducing then you probably won’t need many of those toys and tools.
How to Retain Style and Organization When Moving into a Smaller Space
It may take some time to get used to living in a smaller space, but if you use some of the style and organization tips below it will soon feel like home sweet home.
Use multifunctional furniture: For example, ottomans with storage inside, coffee tables that expand and rise to become a dining table, or murphy beds for guests.
Use your walls. Choose shelving and wall mounts to free up floor space. This gives the illusion of more square footage and prevents surface clutter.
Maximize kitchen storage by using the space above your cabinets. Use rolling butcher block carts for extra work surfaces that can be hidden away. This will help you save counter space.
Consider a space saving dining set that folds open for when you have guests.
Expand your living area by creating an outdoor living space on your patio or deck.
Create activity zones in multipurpose rooms using rugs, furniture or screens.
Bringing your own style into your new home is important too. These stylish design ideas for smaller spaces will help to keep your new home looking as spacious as possible, while still expressing your own taste.
For example:
Using mirrors will give the illusion of space.
Hang floor length curtains above your window to give an impression of height.
Keep furniture light and simple where possible but incorporate your favourite family heirlooms or antiques so it still feels like home.
Show your style and personality through artwork and accent décor
Downsize to a Brand-New White Wolf Home
Downsizing or relocating to the Victoria or Saanich, BC area? Make it an easy choice with a gorgeous new home from White Wolf Homes.
Buying a new build home makes downsizing hassle free with little to no maintenance required, and a blank canvas for all your design ideas.
White Wolf has been designing and building custom homes since 2015 and we are now shifting our focus to developing homes in our local communities. For instance, we have plans for a full 17-unit townhome development in the Westshore area!
If you would like to know more about the homes we are building, contact us today, we’d be glad to talk.
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