1. Planning Stage (Reduce Stress):

• Create A Plan: without a plan you lack direction, so plan your work and work your plan!
• Make a List: make a list of every room that needs work and things you’ll need to keep.
• Plan Ahead: consider paring down furniture, clothing, papers, books, kitchen items, décor, holiday decorations and so on.
• Planning New Space: if you know what size place you are moving to, plan for it.
• Schedule Time: set a schedule for when you will work on the decluttering process.

2. Organizing & Decluttering Stage (Make Decisions):

• Separate Items into Categories: keep, donate, sell and toss.
• Decide What You’ll Keep or Sell: make an inventory of what is sellable and what you’ll need to keep.
• Decide What You’ll Donate or Toss: donating to places like the Goodwill will give you a small tax credit. And, purging what you don’t need will give you space.
• Create Labels & Take Notes: do not forget to label things for their new destination as you sort through them.

3. Packing, Selling & Disposing Stage (Start Purging):

• Pack Items: into labeled boxes, and keep a running inventory list of what the boxes contain.
• Sell Your Stuff: plan your strategy ahead of time.
• Dispose of things Properly: designate a person to make a donation run and keep a running list of items you’re giving away.

4. Storage & Moving Stage (A New Beginning):

• Take Things to Storage: if you can’t find a way to get down to the level you need rent a storage unit for the overflow.
• Streamline Your Move: change your address, arrange a change in utility providers, and get prescriptions in advance.
• Enjoy the New YOU

Whether you are moving across country or across town, the key to downsizing is keeping the things that bring you joy.