Downsizing: Where to Start

Downsizing: Where to Start

When it comes to downsizing an entire lifetime of items in your home, the task can feel very overwhelming. By breaking down the project into bite-sized tasks, downsizing will become much more manageable.

Be sure to ask (and answer!) a few important questions as you get started: Are you moving with young children? Are you moving nearby or across the country? Will you have overnight guests in your new home? Will you be working or retired when you downsize? Having clear goals in mind will make the entire process that much easier and will help to guide you as you decide what to keep and what to discard.

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Daring to Downsize: You can’t take it all with you!

Daring to Downsize: You can’t take it all with you!

The proof is in the numbers. Did you know that the average home contains 200,000 to 300,000 items? Shocking, I know. But just take a look around you. Your kitchen has plates, cups, eating utensils, serving dishes, cookware, small appliances and so much more. Your home office has all the paper files you’ve collected over the years. Closets are filled to the brim with clothes, shoes and accessories. And then there are toys, sports equipment, home improvement items, craft items, seasonal home décor and so much more. When you really think about it, 200,000 items in the home doesn’t seem so far-fetched after all.

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Questions to Ask Yourself When Decluttering or Downsizing

Questions to Ask Yourself When Decluttering or Downsizing

Have you recently decided that it’s time to downsize or maybe just get your home in order? You are not alone! There comes a time when we realize we don’t need to be taking care of a large home when only two people live in it. And what happens with all our stuff? Over time, we all accumulate so many items…we buy new sneakers but hold onto the old ones. We purchase a black t-shirt only to discover we already have six others. We bought a new kitchen appliance that we don’t like but we hold onto it “just in case.”

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How to Host a Yard Sale

How to Host a Yard Sale

Spring is in the air, we’ve spent time decluttering, and now we must decide what to do with all of our unwanted items. Maybe during your decluttering process, you’ve sold a few items and donated others. But if your collection of unwanted items is large, trying to offload pieces one by one can be very time consuming. Enter the yard sale!

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Kids' Room Organization Product Guide

Kids' Room Organization Product Guide

Now that you’ve been working on decluttering your kids’ bedrooms and playrooms, now is the time to determine if you need to purchase any products to help keep the organizing systems in place. Here are a few of Living. Simplified.’s favorite products.

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Your Guide to Kids’ Room Organization

Your Guide to Kids’ Room Organization

The best way to teach your kids life-long organizing skills is to start early. Whether it’s putting the socks in the right drawer or placing toys back in the appropriate bin, these simple tasks can lead to a life-long habit of staying organized. In the long run, having organized spaces for your kids, whether they have their own bedroom or share one, will save you time in the long run. Imagine spending less time searching your home for the soccer cleats/permission slip/cell phone/favorite jeans because you and your child know exactly where they are. Sounds dreamy, right?

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7 Tips to Getting Your Photos Organized

7 Tips to Getting Your Photos Organized

Everyone I know has a box (or two, or three) of photos in their home that are uncategorized and jumbled together. Chances are, they aren’t stored safely which can lead to fading and damage due to mold and mildew. If the photos are worthy of being saved, then they need to be taken care of properly.

Keep these tips in mind as you go through the albums and boxes of photos.

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