Moving is stressful for many people, but downsizing your house is a great way to save money. You won’t be doing it often, so if it’s the time for you to downsize and save money that you can invest it into something else, it’s better to have an idea of what would help you with the process. Here are 5 tips for downsizing your house in Arizona.
Pro Tip #1: Use a Tape Measure
The first tip to downsizing your house is to make sure the furniture you want to keep will fit properly into your new digs. Using a tape measure to plan the layout for your new Arizona house also allows you to make sure the furniture will fit through the door and navigate any hallways or corners you may encounter when moving your furniture to its its new home. It would be a great waste of effort and moving costs to move a large sectional couch into your new house and end up seeing that it is ridiculously oversized for the new space.
Pro Tip #2: Get Rid of Duplicates
Another tip for downsizing your house in Arizona would be to organize all of your belongings. Gather similar or related objects will help you determine if you have an overabundance of objects like kitchen utensils or extension cords. Don’t be too hasty though; if you are known for your annual light display, maybe you do need 12 extension cords. Getting rid of duplicates will allow you to declutter your new house. Keep only the items you will use in the near future and don’t hang on to things you don’t need. If you will be going through an extreme downsizing like moving to a new house with half or less than half of your current house square footage, you will also have to let go of less sentimental items in favor of your exceptionally sentimental objects. Consider taking pictures of some of the less sentimental items and keep them in a special album, that way you will still have the memories without the physical objects. By choosing to let go of some items, you can save money since you won’t need to rent storage space just to keep items that won’t fit in your new house.
Pro Tip #3: Sell Your Stuff
Moving to your new Arizona house will cost money. Selling the items you are willing to let go of will be a great way to drum up some extra funds for the move or add to your savings. You can use the funds to maybe do some landscaping, fresh paint or add other decorative elements to your new house. You could hold a garage sale to make some extra money, or consider selling in online bulletin boards. You will want to start selling things early, finding buyers for specialty items may take some time, especially if you are listing your items one by one. A yard sale is a great way to sell your stuff a little faster. You can also advertise your yard sale on the online bulletin boards too if you don’t have time to post or give out flyers. This will also open up your potential customers well beyond your neighbors.
Pro Tip #4: Give Your Stuff Away
The fastest way to get rid of extra stuff is to give it away! You have multiple options on how to give your stuff away. You could simply chuck it to the curb. This might be the best solution for some older and worn-out stuff. You could also put usable items at the curb with a sign that reads “free stuff.” You can also post a curb alert to the online bulletin board. You could also donate the items to your local thrift stores and help out a great cause. Giving the items away means they disappear instantly and you don’t have to store them or try to barter with anyone about pricing. It is also a very freeing feeling. This also allows you to save money by not having to hire a disposal or removal service or a storage unit just to keep things that you no longer need.
Pro Tip #5: Fill Your New Space
If you can make it happen during the downsizing process, it would be advisable to have some overlapping time between your current house and your new house. Instead of buying new stuff for your new Arizona house, save money by making a few trips over to the new house with items you are keeping. Make sure they all fit in their intended homes, fill out the closets and garage. Take measurements of your new space and current furniture to make sure they fit before getting new furniture to replace the ones that don’t fit. This will be the best way to save money by keeping what fits and making sure extra stuff doesn’t get to the new house.