A friend of mine’s parents recently sold their home and moved into a retirement home, going from a split-level house to a two-bedroom, two-bath condo. She relayed to me how emotional it was for her parents to make decisions on what to do with all of the items that they’d gotten over the decades they’d lived in their home.
Below are some of the tips that they found to be useful.
Minimize & Organize
One of the first things you should do is learn to minimize what you have. Go through your rooms, closets, and drawers and take everything out. Look at what you have and decide if it’s needed or wanted. This is going to be hard, but it’s necessary.
Make three piles – keep, throw away, and donate/sell. Then make decisions on what you can let go.
Be Smart with Furniture
There are a lot of options these days for furniture that has storage in it. So, see what you can get that will give you storage as well as useful furniture pieces.
Here are some options to get you started.
- Ottoman with storage built-in
- Bed with drawers underneath or a bookcase in the headboard
- Bed that sits high enough to have storage space underneath
Use Lighting to Make Rooms Look Bigger
Placing vertical lamps on the floor in your room’s corners can draw eyes to the whole area. Wall lamps are also a good idea, since they can help with freeing up floor space However, you want to also use natural light from the room’s windows. All light will help with reducing your space’s cramped feeling.
These are three tips that my friend’s parents found useful when they were downsizing. If you are looking for something special for your small space, I create customized décor. Contact me and I’ll be glad to talk with you!