Are you helping to downsize for a senior, or is a senior yourself needing to downsize to move into an assisted living facility? If so, it can be hard to part with various things for many reasons. However, downsizing is a must for many, and if you’re in such a situation, such challenges need to be overcome.

Fortunately, downsizing doesn’t have to be hard. Here are some things you can do to make downsizing easier:

1. Know the Reason to Downsize

Why do you need to downsize? Is it due to health reasons? Or is it due to a change in life situation?

Knowing the reason behind downsizing will help you to have a better idea of what you’re going to do as you declutter and downsize. For example, if you’re not able to take certain items with you to your new home, perhaps you could find a family member or other individual who can use them. In this case, either you’re moving to a senior living place or helping someone else to do so.

2. Evaluate the New Space 

After you know why you’re downsizing, you need to evaluate the space and how it will be used. For example, if you’re downsizing to a smaller house, perhaps you’ll need to get rid of many of your bedroom and bathroom items. But at the same time, if you’re downsizing to a smaller house and living by yourself, perhaps you should keep a few extra items in case of an emergency.

If you’re downsizing to an assisted living home, you should consider what the staff will need to have easy access to, as well as what the other residents might need to have access to for safety reasons.

3. Hire Professionals to Help with Downsizing

If you’re downsizing a large home with many items and many rooms, it may be wise to hire professionals to help with downsizing. This can be particularly true if you have health issues and can’t get around easily. You may also want to hire a professional to help you if you’ve accumulated a lot of items that you can’t use or if you’re simply unsure how to downsize properly.

Since professional organizers will be going through the items you want to keep, they can help you to determine if certain items are really worth keeping and if you really need to keep them.

4. Set Up a System to Declutter

One of the most important things you can do to make downsizing easier is to set up a system to declutter. Pick a room in the house to start with and get started on it. If you set up a system and organize the items in a specific way, it can be easier to determine what items you need to keep, which ones you want to donate and which ones you want to get rid of. 

You can store the items you want to keep in boxes or bags as you go, and you may even want to label them with the date they were sorted.

Conclusion

Downsizing doesn’t have to be extremely difficult. As long as you know why you’re doing it, are organized with your downsizing efforts, and can ensure that essential items are available to you, you should be able to make the downsizing process an easier one. That said, always remember that you don’t have to do it alone. Your friends and family are here for you, and they can help you through this process!

Rosedale Senior’s Living offers deluxe assisted living residences to give seniors a safe and comfortable place to live in. If you are looking for a retirement home in Edmonton, reach out to us today!