It’s finally happened. Your little baby chicks are all grown up and have finally flown the coop! Now that you’re officially an empty nester, you may find yourself rediscovering old passions, or creating new ones. Maybe you’re finally ready to scratch that travel bug or relocate to a new city or new state you’ve wanted to explore. Whether you decide to stay in the family home or find yourself in a new place, your space probably feels empty without teenagers rustling around, leaving backpacks, soccer equipment, and empty soda cans everywhere. Here are three ways to simplify your life so you can enjoy this new and exciting chapter ahead of you!
1. Declutter
Downsizing doesn’t necessarily mean picking up and moving to a smaller place. If you’re not ready to leave the home where you raised your kids, taking stock of your possessions and paring it down to the bare necessities can free up your mind and spirit for new adventures.
As an added benefit of going through the decluttering process, if you do decide to move later, you’ll have fewer items to pack into those moving trucks. Not only will your current home be more welcoming, but you’re also setting yourself up for an easier potential move somewhere in the future. Win, win!
2. Preserve memories
In the process of decluttering, you may find sentimental items that you don’t wish to part with. Keeping things that have emotional significance is completely fine and understandable. Downsizing, after all, doesn’t mean leaving behind the life you built with your family. Rather, it’s taking the best parts of that life and giving them pride of place so that they can stand out and remind you daily of all the great times you’ve had — as well as the great times to come. Prioritize the items you do decide to keep and decide where you’d like to put them. For instance, you might designate a decorative bookcase or credenza to be the home for all your treasured memories.
3. Consider a smaller place
If you’ve pared down your material possessions and find yourself swimming in extra space, it might be time to downsize your home. Not only is less square footage practical at this stage of life it also has other benefits. Without a large yard to maintain you can gain back time on the weekends to spend time with friends and family. If you decide to rent a smaller place as part of your retirement downsizing strategy, you can save on property taxes and maintenance costs. In sum, less space can result in more quality time with the people you love most — even if they don’t necessarily live with you anymore.
Downsizing doesn’t mean sacrificing your quality of living
When looking to downsize to a smaller space and limit your possessions, CORT can help. We offer furniture rental packages that allow you to get rid of large, house-sized furniture and rent stylish furniture that fits your apartment or small home.
We offer everything you need for your smaller place, all the way down to housewares, while our high-quality, fashionable Move-in-Ready furniture packages make it possible to downsize for retirement without downgrading the quality of your furnishings. To ensure a less stressful experience, we’ll deliver and set up your furniture and take them away when you no longer need them. Find a package that suits your lifestyle online or in-store at your local CORT showroom!
