From Clutter to Calm

Downsizing Tips from New Horizons Senior Transitions

After decades—or longer—in the same home, stuff accumulates, and chaos ensues. Studies show that all that stuff can cause anxiety. Too much stuff makes environments unsafe to navigate. Moreover, as my daughter said, it makes simple tasks, like baking, difficult.

I spoke with Diane Kidwell, the Marketing Director at New Leaf Senior Transitions in Roseville, about how to tackle the job of sorting through the clutter.

New Leaf Senior Transitions assists older adults who want to declutter their homes or who are thinking of moving to a smaller home or apartment and need to downsize. As Diane said, “We can do anything from A to Z with packing, unpacking, floor planning, and planning what to do with all the stuff.”

New Leaf Senior Transitions can handle the entire process or partner with families on a specific part of it. The goal, Diane said, is that “When they walk into their new space, they feel like they’re home at the end of Move Day.”

Moving to a smaller home or apartment is the perfect opportunity to go through one’s collected items and decide what to keep. For many people, keeping items they don’t use is costly to their mental health and wellness. When moving, that cost can have a real financial impact, as it can be expensive to move items only to pay again to get rid of them.

With time, discipline, and motivation, decluttering and downsizing are things anyone can do. If you want to get started, New Leaf Senior Transitions’ experts share the following tips:

1. Start with an area that will be least disruptive to your daily routines. Leave the kitchen and bedroom for late in the process.
2. Create a sorting system. Have boxes for different categories, such as keep, give to family and friends, recycle, donate, and dispose.
   

   A clear organization system is one of the first steps in downsizing or decluttering. Image from New Horizons Senior Living

3. Start small—pick a reasonable timeframe to work, maybe 15 minutes or up to an hour. At the end of that time, pause and evaluate. Take a break and then come back for another little bite of time.
4. As you are sorting, some questions to ask are: Do I have duplicates? Would I buy it today? Is it obsolete? Have I used it recently? Am I keeping this out of obligation? Does it fit my lifestyle?
5. Recognize the emotional journey involved in cleaning out things and plan your time accordingly. For example, allow time to read the box of old letters you uncovered or look through the photographs. Alternatively, know that when hiring a company like New Leaf Senior Transitions, the process is much faster because they can sort items appropriately without requiring time for emotional work. You’ll see a lot more progress more quickly.
6. Think about the items you use daily and prioritize these. Have a coffee maker you love? Items to support your favorite craft or hobby? Set aside space for these things first.
7. Focus on the new space and imagine what your life will look like in that new space. Do you need your exercise equipment, or is there a gym there? Will you be cooking multiple meals a day, or is dining available? Do you need your own cleaning supplies, or is housekeeping included?
8. Understand the new space. Know the measurements of the rooms. Know where heating/AC units are located. Where are the doors and windows? If moving to a senior living community, know details such as where the emergency call cord is. If you received a floorplan, confirm it is accurate to your specific unit and not a model apartment.
9. If you have a piece of furniture you want to bring but aren’t sure it will fit, measure it and the other pieces in the room. In your new home, use painter’s tape to measure the spaces on the floor to ensure everything fits.
10. Pay attention to details. How many drawers do you have now in your bathroom or kitchen? How many will you have in your new home? Make sure what you are packing will fit into that new storage space.
11. What about those sentimental items? Recognize that your family—and your new life—may be different than what you have known. You may not need a 12-place-setting China set in your new home. Your family may prefer to use dishwasher-safe dishes for gatherings. We live differently now, so think about what fits into how we live today. Then, ask friends and family if they would like any of the items you cannot take with you. If they accept, give them a timeframe to pick up the items.
12. For items that are difficult to part with because of the memories they elicit, take a photograph of them and post the photographs to a digital frame. You will likely see the item and get to relive the memory more often when it is displayed on a digital frame than when you were storing the physical item.
    

    Curating a digital library of photographs and keepsakes lets you enjoy them more often. Image from New Horizons Senior Transitions.

13. What about the items you don’t have room for but can’t bear to part with? Try renting a storage unit for 3 or 6 months. You’ll likely be more ready to part with items you haven’t returned to retrieve in that timeframe.
14. Once you sort all your items, stick to your decisions. Also, don’t let piles accumulate in the hallway or garage. Take the items to the appropriate place.

I asked Diane how people felt at the end of the process. Did they miss their things? Long for their old life? “Most people feel lighter,” she assured me. “Most people say things like it feels so good. They couldn’t make the decision to let it go, but now that they are supported, letting go is possible. They feel very free.”

In addition to helping her clients look forward to a new chapter and feel the freedom of not being weighed down with stuff, Diane loves working with older adults. “They have lived some serious life, and they have such great stories. I love to hear where they have traveled. What was their career? It’s just fun to listen to their stories.”

Diane and her team recognize that moving is not just a physical job. “It’s not just about getting them moved and doing the job,” Diane said. “It’s that personal connection.”

Whether you are thinking about moving or just want your current space to work better for you, investing in decluttering and simplifying your surroundings is a gift to your future self. If nothing else, you’ll be able to find the flour and make those butter tarts!

If you’d like to learn more from New Leaf Senior Transitions, please reach out to Diane and her team of amazing moving and decluttering specialists. Many of our residents at Prairie City Landing have greatly appreciated their help and highly recommend them. You can learn more on their website.

Is it the right time to downsize? Learn more about how to make that decision in our Guide: Should You Stay or Should You Go?