Is it Time to DOWNSIZE?
By Jeanie Marten
MANY OF OUR CLIENTS are entering a phase
of their lives where downsizing their home and belongings is a priority. Even if you aren’t downsizing, purging is currently on trend and will make the future move easier … so why wait until spring or a life event? While downsizing a lifetime of belongings – often sentimental – can be daunting, here are some tips to help. • Start as early as you can to avoid feeling crunched for time and stressed. It’s never too soon to begin! • Managing this process into smaller projects will help considerably. Break your items into four categories: keep, sell, donate/give away and trash. Make a decision and only handle items one time to prevent getting bogged down. Use clearly marked boxes or tarps and begin room by room to sort. -- If you have a large collection of items, try to only keep the most prized and cherished of the items. -- Books? These are very heavy and can be expensive to move. Try donating to the library or selling to Half Price Books. -- Pay attention also to your appliances. Will the new place have a washer and dryer? Is the refrigerator provided? -- Exercise equipment is another expensive item to move and often sits unused.
-- When cleaning out your office, a shredder may be your best friend. Remember what to keep: seven years of back tax records; medical records; current receipts for this year’s taxes, and warranty information and owner’s manuals for appliances and electronics you currently own. • You don’t have to do this alone. Time to have friends, family or professionals help. Think of hosting a garage sale, utilizing a local consignment store or just giving to family and friends. Having help can make the time fly and you’ll get so much more done than what you could do on your own. I recently had a friend help me clear out my storm shelter of all the art we had from my mother-in-law. We had a blast! • Measure and use some creativity! Measure your furniture and the areas at the new space to see what will fit well. Maybe it’s time for new furniture that is a better fit. Make use of creative storage that performs double-duty. Maximizing your personal space is hugely popular right now as the Marie Kondo trend shows. Decluttering and careful editing of your possessions can provide you with more peace and joy with your surroundings. Selling your current home and finding your new perfect space requires the expertise of a professional real estate team! Call Jeanie Marten Real Estate today for some expert advice!
Jeanie Marten Jeanie@MartenRE.com 972-588-8363 6406 Highway 78, Suite 212 • Sachse, TX 75048
www.MartenRE.com 18 • The CONNECTION • August/September 2019
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