Are you ready to get rid of some clutter and cultivate more peace of mind? Mather Place is offering their expertise to make the process of downsizing easier.
As a boutique rental residence for those 62 and better, the community regularly assists new residents with support in decluttering, organizing, and planning their move. Now they’ve created a handy guide full of “pro tips,” available at matherplacewilmette.com.
Take the First Step
Downsizing an entire home—such as before a move—is a daunting idea. Experts say the hardest part is taking the first step. “Finding a place to start can be a stumbling block,” says Gale Morgan, Senior Vice President at Mather. “You need to find a method of breaking it down into manageable chunks. Once you find a place to get started, it will snowball.”
After a very short time, it will get easier to make decisions about what to keep and what to let go of. Mary, who is a resident at Mather Place, agrees, saying, “Each time I moved things out to the garage to sell or donate, I felt a burden lifting. With the help of Mather Place’s move-in coordinator, downsizing and moving to my new apartment home has been a very liberating experience.”
Indeed, Mather Place provides new residents with one-on-one advice on clearing any clutter they may have, and even helps with space planning so they know what they want to bring to their new home. And when moving day comes, they make sure the day goes smoothly.
Move to the Next Level
To ease the emotional aspect of paring down belongings, start by going through the attic, garage, and junk drawers. Areas like these will offer good practice at choosing what to donate, sell, or dispose of—without the emotional toll of family heirlooms or treasured artwork.
After that, you can move to the next level: rooms that you use the least, or that are less personal, such as spare bedrooms, the laundry room, the dining room (if you’re a kitchen-table family), or the formal living room. “I’d say set a goal of organizing one room a day—some may not take that long, so you can take some time off,” says Gale. “But if you find a particular room is a challenge, consider taking a break or even move on to the next one. It’s usually easiest to keep going and come back to it later.”
Whenever you approach downsizing your home, keep one final tip in mind: “Everyone who goes through this tells me they’re glad they did it,” says Gale. “I hear things like, ‘I should have done this five years ago!’ or ‘What were we waiting for?’ I know it’s tough to go through, but it’s definitely worth it!”
For more tips and to get started on your own downsizing or decluttering journey, download a free copy of Simplify Your Space: A Guide to Decluttering, Downsizing & Uncovering Some Serenity from Mather Place.