{"id":5149,"date":"2018-08-16T13:07:52","date_gmt":"2018-08-16T20:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=5149"},"modified":"2026-03-26T12:15:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T19:15:33","slug":"downsizing-apartment-from-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/downsizing-apartment-from-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Downsizing to an Apartment for That Simple, Carefree Lifestyle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Americans love their square footage. For the past 20 years, homes across the nation have been growing larger at a rate of roughly 5%<\/a> annually.<\/p>\n

At some point, though, all that space starts to turn on you. Constant maintenance, empty bedrooms, and steep monthly bills have you seriously thinking about selling your home and downsizing (all the way down!) to an apartment.<\/p>\n

But with great freedom comes\u2026 well, some sacrifices. Going from a spacious, private single-family to a unit with shared walls is one of of the most drastic housing changes you can make.<\/p>\n

You want to be logistically and emotionally ready for the road ahead or your move to apartment living will be like a bad case of whiplash.<\/p>\n

With the advice of real estate pros who’ve helped homeowners with decades worth of clutter successfully fit their stuff into a one bedroom, we put together an essential guide to downsizing to an apartment with everything you\u2019ll need to know to make this transition a smooth one. That way you can let go of all the stuff holding you back and enter this new phase with confidence.<\/p>\n

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Source: (Matthew Henry\/<\/a>\u00a0Burst<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Start Decluttering and Simplifying Your Belongings<\/h2>\n

When it\u2019s time to move into your new, much smaller abode, inevitably some of your things will have to go. So it\u2019s best to start the process of downsizing to an apartment sooner than later\u2014while you\u2019re searching for the perfect pad.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll have to do this to get your house on the market anyway and ready for showings. Consumer Reports says there\u2019s a 3-5% value increase for a clean, decluttered house<\/a>\u2014so paring down is only going to benefit you from every angle.<\/p>\n

According to Psychology Today<\/em>, parting with the belongings you\u2019ve accumulated over decades is easier said than done, as our material possessions over time come to \u201csupport our sense of identity like scaffolding<\/a>.\u201d But letting go of the clutter can actually be freeing, if you can get over the strong sense of attachment and move on.<\/p>\n

Two of the best rules of thumb for downsizing stuff are to employ the one-year rule<\/a>, and to go digital<\/a> with as much paper as possible, which includes magazines, bills, and other stacks taking up precious space. And have you heard about the Marie Kondo method of decluttering<\/a>? It helps you decide what to toss and keep based on whether or not an item \u201csparks joy\u201d for you.<\/p>\n

Or take the strategy of Laura Matthews, who downsized from a three-bedroom in Massachusetts to a one-bedroom apartment on the beach<\/a> in Santa Monica, as reported by Time.com.<\/p>\n

Matthews found comfort in downsizing by selling or giving away items that held sentimental value to others that could really use them. A vintage chest of drawers went to a family who planned to restore it; a theater company took her grandfather\u2019s desk (a great play prop no doubt!) She connected with these recipients online through sites like Craigslist and Freecycle.org.<\/p>\n

Sell Your Furniture on Craigslist<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t be fooled by the plain and rudimentary design of Craigslist, which still looks like it came straight out of 1995 (when the site first launched.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s arguably the best place on the web to sell furniture (though not so much decor<\/a>). To post your bulky couches, La-Z-Boys and platform bed frames for sale on Craigslist, click on \u201cpost to classifieds\u201d in the upper lefthand corner of your city\u2019s homepage (start here to find your local Craigslist site<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Source: (Craigslist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Select \u201cfor sale by owner,\u201d and then you\u2019ll be directed to specify what you\u2019re selling. From there, you can fill out the specs and price of your item and get your listing live. You\u2019ll communicate with potential buyers via email.<\/p>\n

To effectively sell on this platform, keep an eye on your post and if you haven\u2019t received any bites, repost your listing a week or two later to bump it to the top of the search results. Always include multiple high-quality photos that show your item clearly, and be specific in describing its dimensions and condition.<\/p>\n

Give Your Items Away Through Freecycle<\/h3>\n

Got possessions you no longer have use for and would like to give away rather than sell? Donate your items through Freecycle.org<\/a>, a nonprofit network made up of thousands of groups and millions of members that collectively are the \u201clargest internet-based gifting community<\/a>\u201d in the world.<\/p>\n

Through Freecycle, you can gift any item that can be reused. Simply join your local Freecycle community<\/a> to post your \u201cOffer,\u201d and you\u2019ll receive emails from groups or individuals in your community who are interested in the item. You get to select who you\u2019d like to give it to and arrange the exchange.<\/p>\n

While you\u2019re starting this next stage of life with more stuff than you know what to do with, another person somewhere just bought their first house and has a bunch of empty rooms to furnish. The internet has made it easier than ever to find a great home for the items you\u2019d rather not set out at the curb. Another hot place for selling stuff on the web is Facebook Marketplace<\/a>, which allows you to post and sell items right from your Facebook account (no extra app download necessary).<\/p>\n

Just remember to mind your safety when organizing drop-offs and pickups with strangers. Use the buddy system, or arrange to meet in a public place.<\/p>\n

Go Small to Dream Big: Make Your Apartment Wish List<\/h2>\n

Top real estate agent Dawn Rushton<\/a> of Maple Valley, WA, always begins with her conversation with clients wishing to downsize by asking them about their main motivations.<\/p>\n

Rushton, who ranks in the top 1% of local selling agents says, \u201cI always want to determine why a seller is considering a move. When a seller’s goal is to go into a smaller…they are doing so because they are looking to lower their monthly debt, simplify their lifestyle or often, because of advancing age, they are looking to find a home that requires less physical maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now\u2019s the time to dream big about all the freedom and flexibility that you\u2019ll enjoy with nothing but a small space (and maybe just a lease) tying you down.<\/p>\n

Apartment buildings are everywhere, meaning you have more control over your location and can choose to be close to urban centers for much less than if you had to pay for a full house\u2014that\u2019s not to mention the access to maintenance-free amenities many complexes offer.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, you can make a list of must-haves and nice-to-haves to guide and narrow down your apartment search<\/a> by asking yourself:<\/p>\n