Tiny homes have rapidly risen to the forefront of housing trends over the past ten years and a recent survey by the National Home Builders Association shows that more than half of Americans would consider a tiny home lifestyle.

There are many reasons why this way of life is so appealing as they are environmentally friendly, very affordable, and offer a simpler, less cluttered way of life.

However, the less cluttered lifestyle can make some newbies a little anxious, but don’t worry, we are here to share some of our best tips to make the process a little easier and even more satisfying than you may have expected!

Get into the Right Mindset

It’s important before you begin to really get yourself into the right frame of mind as there can be a lot of emotions with letting go of things we may have had for years along with all the other attachments.

Susan Santoro, professional organizer and owner of Organized 31 shares some valuable advice…… “ Instead of focusing on regret, experience memories and emotions and cherish them………letting an item go does not mean that you are losing experiences or memories associated with the item, letting items go means you are free to move forward rather than being held back by things………focus on the person that will benefit from receiving your item and on your new future.”

Then, as you focus on what to keep or toss, it is always helpful to take the minimalist approach and ask yourself these two simple questions

Have I used this in the last year? 

Does this item bring me joy?

If the answer is no…………….let it go!

Make a Plan

Decluttering your current home in order to downsize can be overwhelming at first but there are tons of resources available to get you started and having a plan will keep you motivated and focused.. 

Create an outline 

Jot down goals and a timeline to work toward, keeping your goals realistic and tasks small enough that they can be accomplished in a day or two.

Start Early

Begin the process several months before you make your big move and start with just one room at a time, keeping in mind what things will work in your new space and what definitely will not.

Organize and Categorize!

This is the part where you can really get serious about what you truly need in your life and what are things that are simply no longer useful or necessary like that closet full of clothes that might fit again someday!

So get out your boxes and garbage bags, turn on some great music (nobody said you can’t have fun), and break down everything in each room into 4 categories of either Keep, Dump, Donate, or Sell. 

Inventory

Begin by taking inventory and letting go of any duplicates you may have and look for single items that have multiple purposes that could take the place of several items.

Ask for Help

Enlist the help of friends and family members to help in the process and who knows, they may be taking some things home with them!

Donate/Sell

Sometimes it can be hard to figure out the proper way to dispose of, donate or sell items but we found some really great resources to help in that process as well.

If garage sales are your thing, this is the ultimate guide to making that happen or you  can sell online with sites like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist- 

It’s easier than ever to trade your stuff for cold, hard cash!

Dump

Start with old paperwork and remember to shred anything with personal information.

Then move on to clothing that is worn or stained, things that no longer work and expired meds, cosmetics you no longer use, broken electronics and beat up old furniture.

Remember to dispose of items properly and safely recycle when you can.

Keep

Make sure you really love the things you are planning to keep and have a place in your plan for where they will go in your new space.

Digitize Everything You Can

Wondering what to do with all the old photos, CDs, DVDs, and paper documents?  

All of that can easily be saved to the cloud or local hard drive, and remember, it’s not the paper the photos are printed on it’s the photos themselves that have meaning so storing them digitally frees up tons of space and keeps those memories safe.

Final Thoughts

Many people find that decluttering and downsizing possessions can be so much easier than expected because we begin to realize how tied down and overwhelmed we can be by our  “stuff”. 

Letting go and clearing out can bring a whole lot more peace into our lives and isn’t that one of the best things about choosing a tiny home lifestyle…… Enjoying what matters most like spending time with the people we love and doing more of the things we love.

Do you have any downsizing tips? We’d love to read all about them in the comments below!