Downsizing Archives - SOS: Simple Organized Solutions LLC

How to Downsize Your Belongings Every Day

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-08-02T16:25:11-05:00August 10th, 2021|Categories: Downsizing|Tags: donate, eliminate excess, mindfulness, proactive, purge, recycle|

We all have an over-abundance of things. As I’ve mentioned in the past, at some point in your life you will have a need to downsize your belongings. Waiting until it becomes a necessity is not a good approach. Don’t wait until that time comes because it’s inevitable that you will need to downsize your belongings at some point. Be proactive, start before it becomes a necessity because if you wait, you may not have the physical or mental capacity to get the job done. You want to be able to make decisions for your things, you don’t want others [...]

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How Much Trash Can I Find?

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-02-15T12:46:41-06:00February 17th, 2021|Categories: Downsizing|Tags: discard, donation, downsizing, purging, recycle|

The answer to this question is, a lot! Depending on the size of the items and the amount, a junk hauling service may be in order. Whether you’re moving to a smaller home or not, it often surprises my clients how much trash we find when downsizing. However, when you’re downsizing to prepare for a move, the purging process is more involved. Since you are moving to another home, you have to literally touch every item you own and look in every nook and cranny in your home to determine what to keep and what to discard. Your home needs [...]

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Using Tags During Downsizing

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-01-16T17:43:43-06:00January 20th, 2021|Categories: Downsizing|Tags: categories, clutter, estate sale companies, organizing process|

Using tags to mark items during downsizing is so important. When you’re downsizing to move to a smaller home, it can get confusing if items are not tagged correctly. Something may be moved that should not be, or vice versa. The first part of the organizing process is sorting, or putting like items together using tags for various categories. This first step allows you to see all the items in one category, so you know what you want to keep. You may have multiples of one item so you know the rest can go, or you may not need the [...]

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Creating a Staging Area to Downsize For a Move

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:11-06:00September 2nd, 2020|Categories: Decluttering, Downsizing|Tags: donation, downsize, move, recycling, stored|

So just what exactly is a staging area? Here is the definition according to the Merriam Webster dictionary – ‘an area in which participants in a new especially military operation or mission are assembled and readied’. Of course, downsizing for a move is not a military operation, however, some similarities can be drawn. A staging area is a designated area, and the participants are actually items that are stored until they can be removed from a home. The first step in the downsizing process is to designate space for a staging area. As mentioned above, this area is where [...]

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4 Reasons Why Attic Storage is Not a Good Idea

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:11-06:00August 19th, 2020|Categories: Downsizing, Storage|Tags: downsize, move, organization, solutions, storage|

There are many companies that provide attic storage solutions. Most of what I’ve seen in these solutions look like good ideas in terms of storage and organization. Installing these solutions, and then accessing the items, may make you rethink the solution. As with anything in life, there are pros and cons with attic storage. In my experience, there are not many pros that I could find if I decided to actually make a list. Most of my clients that use attic storage, put items up there and then forgot about them. Many years later, when they’re in their golden years [...]

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Navigating The Waters of Estate Sale Companies

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:11-06:00August 12th, 2020|Categories: Downsizing|Tags: downsize, move, overwhelm, reduce stress, resources|

Estate sale companies are not used solely when someone passes away to clear out a home. The name is actually a misnomer since many people use them as a resource when they move. Most everyone that I know downsizes, or reduces the amount of their belongings when they move to a new home. A lot of times when people downsize to move to a smaller home, they have excess that they feel could be sold instead of donating to a charity. However, they may not know how to, or want to do all the work associated with conducting a sale. [...]

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Use Up a Product Before Its Shelf Life Expires

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:13-06:00June 10th, 2020|Categories: Downsizing|Tags: consume, discard, expiration date, perishable goods|

The term ‘shelf life’ is really when a product expires, or an expiration date. According to Wikipedia – ‘An expiration date or expiry date is a previously determined date after which something should no longer be used, either by operation of law or by exceeding the anticipated shelf life for perishable goods.’ All perishable products have an expiration date. Fresh and frozen food products have them, but also other products like vitamins, first aid products and makeup include expiration dates. The idea is to use up the product before it expires. The implication is that the product is no longer safe. That is not necessarily the [...]

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Discarding Regrets – How to Avoid Them

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:14-06:00May 6th, 2020|Categories: Downsizing|Tags: decisions, donate, downsizing, important papers, sentimental attachments|

As a professional organizer specializing in downsizing, I have yet to come across a client that had discarding regrets. A lot of their spaces are consumed by things that can’t be donated or sold. Things like broken items, clothing with stains, or rips, or boxes they held onto instead of recycling them. These items are the no-brainers. They engage my services because they need to reduce the amount of their belongings for various reasons. The most common reason is that they are moving to a smaller home. They understand that they can’t take everything with them because it won’t all [...]

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Is Your Fitness Equipment Used as Storage?

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:16-06:00February 5th, 2020|Categories: Downsizing, Storage|Tags: clutter, donation, new years resolutions, storage|

Many new year’s resolutions include getting in shape, or physically fit. For home work out routines, it makes sense to purchase fitness equipment. Asking for a stationary bike, treadmill or all-in-one home gyms are common Christmas gift requests. Maybe it wasn’t a gift request or a new year’s resolution. You may have inherited a piece of fitness equipment. Maybe a family member wanted to downsize, so they asked if you wanted their elliptical trainer. You thought, yea I want to get in shape and this may provide the motivation to get me going. Your intentions are good going into this [...]

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8 Tips to Help You Help Your Parents Downsize

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:16-06:00January 29th, 2020|Categories: Downsizing, Organizing Tips|Tags: discard, donation, move, purging, storage|

There are different reasons why your parents downsize their belongings. They may want, or need to move to a smaller home. They may have difficulty navigating through all their things, or maybe they just want to free up space to stay in the home they have lived in for so many years. Depending on their age, physical and mental condition, they may not be able to do it themselves. They know they need to do it, but are not able or willing to do it themselves. Some don’t ask for help even when they need it. Others may ask their [...]

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