How Downsizing for Seniors Can Be a Win-Win

Downsizing to a smaller home is a common experience for seniors. The lump sum of money you often gain enables investment for the years ahead or helps other family members. But what about your reduction in living space? With careful planning, you can still have anything you need to hand, a more suitable home and fewer worries.

One thing downsizing seniors may welcome is the reduced cleaning duties! But more than that, moving always presents opportunities for reconsidering how you live. A smaller residence, renovated for senior living using money generated from the downsizing, can be made to be very efficient indeed, and there is also the possibility of new horizons that come along with your new lifestyle.

Downsizing Is an Opportunity to Make an Ideal Senior Space

Your new, smaller home can be considered a fresh start in your life as a senior! Now is the time to say goodbye to furniture and fixtures that might cause frustration in the years ahead. Get professionals to replace all the knobs and other opening mechanisms with levers that don’t require a lot of pressure to operate. In the bathroom, put up rails and consider installing new flooring with a non-slip surface.

Lighting may now be more important if your eyesight is a concern. Revamp your new home so all areas are as bright as can be, perhaps fixing pot lights to ceilings and strip lights in hazardous places such as stairways. You could even install larger windows to get more natural light — and maybe also a great view — and make sure to get them as thermally insulating as possible. All such renovations are more easily and cheaply done in a smaller residence.

Your Reduced Space Doesn’t Have to Be a Headache

While you are getting your new home ready, think about how you will live there going forward. It is likely you will not be able to easily fit everything in from your old home. Try creating extra storage space, perhaps under stairs or by putting up more shelves. However, accessibility to your things there might not be ideal, so plan well so you can have important possessions near to hand where you don’t have to bend or stretch too much.

Moving to a smaller home is also a good time to go through your belongings to see what you really need. Some furniture may be too bulky for the new place, but it can be donated to charities — who may also come and pick it up — or sold for a good price if it is antique. In this way, you can get new furniture that is more appropriate for your life going forward, and the same can be true for other household items such as kitchen appliances and electronics.

Rent Self Storage to Maximize Your Senior Lifestyle

Even with planning your new space well and letting go of some belongings, you may still have too much for your new home. However, you are not going to throw away treasured ornaments or the grandkids’ paintings! Fortunately, renting a nearby self storage unit can really help. A 10’x10’ storage unit, the most popular size, can hold a large array of items. And getting one with climate control would be ideal for keeping delicate items such as photographs and wooden furniture safe from extremes of temperature and humidity.

A self storage unit could also assist any new activity you fancy doing in retirement. There would be space for golf clubs, bicycles, or the materials and finished works from your new career as an artist! As downsizing generates variable amounts of money depending on where you move to and from, self storage costs also vary by region, though they are always much less than rent for residential space. So, for example, if you are moving to Colorado to take advantage of the great outdoors, consider renting a Denver self storage unit so you can pick up your gear on your way out.

Downsizing is more than just an excellent way to generate finances. With careful planning, living in a smaller space can mean you have a more suitable home and fewer worries as you enjoy your senior years, and you don’t have to give up too much. Plus, by renting a nearby self storage unit, you can not only ensure you don’t have to let go of favorite possessions but also that you can try some exciting new lifestyle options. Downsize with confidence and enjoy a win-win!