There are many reasons people opt for a smaller space. If you've decided to downsize to a smaller home, you'll reap many benefits, including a lower mortgage payment (if you still have one), lower utility bills, and a smaller area to maintain and keep clean.

Before you downsize to a smaller home you have to downsize your belongings. It's important to declutter your current home so your new home can be well organized with items that fit your new lifestyle. Our REALTORS® suggest the following tips help for downsizing to a smaller home:

• Consider Your New Lifestyle
  As you prepare to move, consider what your lifestyle will be like in your new home. Do you see yourself pursuing an old hobby? Or maybe you won't be pursuing a sport you still have your old equipment for, but you'll have plenty of room to ride your bicycle. Imagine living in your new home and determine what items will help support this lifestyle.
  
  
• Evaluate Your Furniture
  Furniture takes up a lot of space in a home and is difficult to move. Consider your smaller home and how many rooms it will have. If, for example, you'll have fewer bedrooms, you won't need as many beds, chests of drawers and other bedroom furniture. Check with your friends and relatives to see if anyone needs your excess furniture.
  
  
• Go Through Everything
  Go through everything in your home, because you may have boxes of items that you no longer use or want. Open all of them and sort through their contents, so you don't blindly move them to your new home. This also lets you eliminate duplicate items, such as extra sets of drinking glasses.
  
  
• Apply the One-Year Rule
  If you haven't used an item in a year, seriously consider donating it, selling it, or giving it away. After this amount of time, chances are good that you won't need it in the next year, either. This tactic works exceptionally well in your closet, where you'll come across items that no longer fit, aren't worn often, or that you're hoping come back in style.
  
  
• Choose Quality Over Quantity
  Put a higher premium on quality rather than quantity. A beautiful statement piece of furniture, for example, will make more of an impact in a room that's not cluttered with too much other furniture.
  
  
• Digitize What You Can
  Everyone probably has more papers, photos, CDs, DVDs, and other similar items that they want to keep. Transfer what you can to digital files and save them to the cloud or on a computer hard drive. This lets you keep what you need without it taking up unnecessary space.
  
  
• Ask Your Kids
  If you have grown children, chances are good that they still have some of their belongings in your home. Ask them if they want what's there. They may not want to keep most things, and if they have sentimental items, they can keep them at their own homes or share them with their children.

Contact us today if you'd like to downsize to a smaller home. We can help you find a new home that fits your lifestyle and proves that bigger isn't necessarily better.