Downsizing Guide for Seniors

Expert tips on how to downsize your home and simplify your life

If you’re downsizing your home or helping a senior downsize, this guide will inspire you to get started on decluttering and to keep going when you’re facing tough decisions about what to keep and what to donate, sell or toss. Senior downsizing services and companies are available, but the expert advice in this guide will empower you with practical ideas for minimizing you may not have considered.

Before you move, try these tips for downsizing from professional organizer Marie Kondo, Swedish best-selling author and grandmother Margareta Magnusson and the Minimalists; together, they’re inspired millions with tips on how to downsize your life and find more happiness with less stuff. Home downsizing for retirement takes time but it can be a pleasure instead of a chore if you turn it into an exercise in deciding which of your possessions actually add value to your life instead of clutter.

The best way to downsize is to organize by category instead of by room. You’ll find tips for cleaning out your closets and sorting your clothes, deciding which books and furniture to keep if you’re moving to a small space, and solutions for minimizing years of paperwork. Plus you’ll also learn practical ideas for dealing with sentimental items and mementoes, such as downsizing photos. We’ve got advice on how to let go of stuff that makes you feel guilty instead of happy, like gifts you never use. Plus, find out how to deal with stuff you’re not keeping, such as selling, donating or giving it away to friends and family.

Use this checklist and learn how to downsize for a move.