Going from big to small in just a month takes focus, and the work isn\u2019t just physical. According to Alex Lehr<\/a>, a top-five agent in Redwood City, CA and author of The Unexpected Sale<\/i>, one of the toughest parts of downsizing is emotional.<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority of it is sorting, physically and emotionally,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n You\u2019re not just getting rid of \u201cstuff,\u201d you\u2019re getting rid of objects with memories attached to them.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what slows down the process,\u201d he says. \u201cReliving memories.\u201d<\/p>\n Your first task is to take all of your stuff out and sort it. Sorting can be a daunting process, especially if you\u2019ve been in your home for a long time and accumulated lots of stuff. For the sorting phase, you\u2019ll need to go over everything you have\u2014including what\u2019s in the attic, garage, shed, or storage space\u2014and put each item into one of four categories: keep, sell, donate, or recycle\/trash.<\/p>\n Lehr suggests making stickers for each category, and labeling everything as you go. This is the time to have stakeholders weigh in. If you are an empty nester, have your adult children label anything they want to take, with a strict deadline for removing it. If you\u2019re moving in with a partner, make sure to look at your things together so that you aren\u2019t duplicating kitchen essentials or furniture.<\/p>\n In Lehr\u2019s experience assisting with over 2,200 sales, many involving downsizing or estate processing, one of the biggest difficulties of the sorting phase is figuring out what to do with items that are not functionally useful but carry the weight of memory. He describes helping a client with multiple sets of old family china, none of which they actually used or had space to store, who nonetheless didn\u2019t want to part with it.<\/p>\n He suggests using a digital camera to shoot good photos of meaningful items, then getting rid of them. The photos can be used to create digital or even physical scrapbooks, preserving the memory without having to continue storing the item. \u201cIt\u2019s not the stuff, it\u2019s the emotion it stirs when you see it,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n He tries to help clients understand that, \u201cYou have the opportunity to free yourself from your possessions, things that your kids are going to look on and curse you for.\u201d Because of changing home sizes, more frequent moves, and minimalist aesthetics, millennials are rejecting their parents\u2019 heirlooms.<\/a> Preserving memories free of stuff keeps you from becoming a \u201cfunctional hoarder,\u201d clinging to bulky, useless things and ruining your ability to enjoy your new, smaller space.<\/p>\n Once everything has been sorted, pack and store as much of the \u201ckeep\u201d pile as possible. This clears space for staging everything else and ensures nothing you want is accidentally gotten rid of.<\/p>\n Hiring professional packers and movers can speed this step up dramatically. Packers will make sure all of the special items you want to keep are properly stored, and will help you stay focused on the next steps\u2014conserve your energy, you\u2019ll need it!<\/p>\n Next, we deal with the sell pile. Decide how you want to sell your things. Options include a garage sale, eBay, Craigslist or Nextdoor, Etsy, or a consignment shop. Selling household items takes time and effort, so make sure it\u2019s actually worth the money you will make, especially with a limited timeline.<\/p>\n Depending on where you live, selling furniture may or may not be worth it, unless you\u2019re selling exceptional pieces. In cities like New York and San Francisco, where people move frequently and living spaces are small, the resale market for non-designer furniture is sluggish. Since most people don\u2019t have large vehicles, the cost to move a piece could be higher than the cost of the item.<\/p>\n Less dense areas have much more vigorous resale markets, and consignment shops will be less picky about what items they\u2019ll accept. However you\u2019re planning on selling your things, the best way to make a quick sale is to price things low. Remember, you\u2019re on a four-week deadline: you don\u2019t have time to sit around waiting for the right buyer.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re considering a garage sale, that especially applies. The average price <\/a>of a garage sale item is $.85 and 43% of frequent garage sale shoppers\u2019 biggest turnoffs is overpriced items, so if you want to move the stuff, price on the low end.<\/p>\n Craigslist publishes 80 billion classified ads<\/a> a month, so the market is there for the right kinds of items. Browse your local listings to get a sense of pricing and what buyers are looking for.<\/p>\n The downside of Craigslist is that you have to create a listing and negotiate the sale and exchange of each piece individually. Craigslist also has a problem with scammers<\/a>: if you\u2019re going that route, absolutely do not accept any payment other than cash.<\/p>\n Nextdoor is similar to Craigslist, except that users have to be verified residents of your neighborhood. That cuts down on the potential for scams, but also limits your reach. Some areas are more active with Nextdoor than others. Facebook classifieds is another online option for selling things locally.<\/p>\n Vintage or collectible items can be sold through eBay or Etsy, though you will be required to go through the extra step of packing stuff up and shipping it to the buyer.<\/p>\n For especially niche collections, Lehr recommends contacting hobbyist or collectors\u2019 groups to find interested buyers. They are more likely to pay a fair price, and you\u2019ll know your things are going to people who really appreciate them.<\/p>\n You\u2019re getting so close! Now it\u2019s time to donate as much of what\u2019s left as possible. If you are donating anything to family or friends, be sure to give them a firm deadline to come and get their stuff (and, to be safe, pad that deadline a bit if you have to be out of your current home at the end of the month).<\/p>\n Like with selling items, the ease of donating things will depend largely on where you live. In the affluent Bay Area, where Lehr lives and works, there is so much high-quality stuff being donated that even charities have to be picky about what they accept.<\/p>\n If this is your situation, he suggests seeking out smaller, more grassroots organizations that work directly with local people in need. Homeless and domestic violence shelters, refugee assistance organizations, religious organizations, and local service organizations all often need furniture, clothing, kitchen items, and other essentials. Here is a directory<\/a> that can help connect you to a local nonprofit.<\/p>\n In some areas, large national charities like Goodwill are willing to come to pick up donations or allow you to drop off donations at stores or central donation locations. For clothing and shoes, many organizations have donation boxes in parking lots and gas stations.<\/p>\n Used bookstores will often take donations of books. You could also seek out nonprofits in your area that connect donated books with classrooms, libraries, children in need, or incarcerated people. The American Library Association has listings of organizations<\/a> that accept donations and suggestions for other places to give away books.<\/p>\n As a last-ditch effort, before you recycle or trash stuff, put what\u2019s left out on your driveway or stoop and post a \u201ccurb alert\u201d for free items on your local Craigslist.<\/p>\n Dumping large amounts of trash may be more complicated than you anticipate. Most municipalities have rules about bulk trash pickup, and putting too much on the curb could leave you with a sanitation violation. Make sure to check your local ordinances.<\/p>\n You may want to rent a dumpster if you have a large amount of trash. There are also trash removal services that will haul away large amounts of trash and bulk items for a fee. If you have a large vehicle, you can take trash to the dump yourself.<\/p>\n Depending on what you\u2019re throwing away, portions of it may be recyclable. Most electronics and textiles can be recycled, though you will probably have to take the stuff to a drop-off location\u2014curbside recycling won\u2019t usually pick up these items.<\/p>\n Be careful disposing of paints, chemicals, and other potentially toxic items<\/a>. Not only is it illegal to throw in the the dump in many places, it\u2019s harmful to the environment and groundwater. Make sure you\u2019re responsibly disposing of anything toxic.<\/p>\n![\"downsizing](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/downsizing-checklist-sorting-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Week 1 of Downsizing Checklist:
\nSort All of Your Things!<\/h2>\n![\"downsizing](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/downsizing-checklist-sell-stuff-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Week 2 of Downsizing Checklist:
\nSell Stuff Off<\/h2>\n![\"downsizing](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/downsizing-checklist-donate-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Week 3 of Downsizing Checklist:
\nDonate What You Can’t Sell<\/h2>\n![\"downsizing](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/downsizing-checklist-recycle.jpg\")
<\/a>Week 4 of Downsizing Checklist:
\nRecycle or Trash What You Can’t Donate<\/h2>\n