Sometimes more stuff is just more stress. Whether you’re on your first house or your fourth, downsizing can be a good idea at any age. In fact, statistics show that approximately 60 percent of people who live in a large home (over 2,000 square feet) would choose a smaller home for their next purchase. One of the first tests to see if you’re ready to downsize involves taking a simple look around your current residence. Which rooms do you rarely go into? Which can you not live without? Practicality aside, there are other benefits to your bank account as well as your mental health. 

Reasons to Downsize 

• You’re Buried In Debt: Whether it’s student loans, previous job loss, medical bills, or poor spending habits, debt is one of the best reasons to downsize. Recent data shows that 73 percent of Americans die with debt—a shocking average of $61,554 which includes mortgage debt. By selling your home and downsizing, you’ll substantially reduce your mortgage (or, if you’re lucky, be able to pay for your new home in full), while lowering utilities and maintenance bills in the process.

• You Don’t Have Any Savings: You’ve probably heard that it’s important to pay yourself first, but if you’re overextending yourself, that can be an impossible task. Studies indicate that more than half of Americans just break even or live beyond their means. The money you’ll save by downsizing can be tucked away into a Roth IRA, 401(k) plan. 

• You Can’t Keep Up With Home Repairs: If you go by the one percent rule, that’s how much should be set aside each year— based on the value of your home—for repairs. So, a $300,000 home should budget $3,000 for repairs. If you’re finding that amount hard to save on top of taxes and other applicable costs, downsizing to a space that requires less work can eliminate a lot of stress while ensuring you’ll always have a home that’s aesthetically pleasing and in working order.

Changes That May Be Needed at a Smaller Home 

Even if you find the perfect home, keep in mind that you may have to make some adjustments to make your smaller living space more suitable to your lifestyle. 

• Accessibility Changes for Seniors

Whether or not you downsize, if you’re a senior, it’s likely that you’ll need to make some modifications in order to make your home more accessible. This can include creating wider doorways and making the sink and countertops lower in the kitchen so appliances are easier to reach. The bathroom is another important area to address, as you may need to replace a bathtub with a walk-in shower or walk-in tub and add safety rails and a bath/shower seat if necessary. At this juncture, you may want to revamp other areas of the space so everything matches. 

• Room Changes for Families 

You didn’t think you’d have any more kids, and then life happened. There’s no need to pick up and move into a different space, though you may need to be open to turning another room—like an office, for example—into a nursery. Even if the space is small, you can get creative with features such as a drop-down changing table (or a crib with a built-in version), hidden storage, and taking the doors off a closet and placing the crib there (you can frame the closet with curtains so it looks like a stylish and cozy nook). You can even transform a large, walk-in closet into a nursery—yes, really!

If you’re considering downsizing, do yourself a favor and start to declutter your home. Keep only practical and nostalgic items and consider what furnishings won’t fit into your new place. Gradually purging can eliminate a lot of stress during the period when your house is on the market and you’re looking for a new residence. 

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A clean space is a heart-warming space. Housekeeping can be a tiring chore that you have little time to complete but keeping your home tidy doesn’t have to be difficult. The key is to develop small, regular habits that keep your home organized and clean without a lot of extra effort. You’ll feel more relaxed in your home once you learn these simple tips.

5 Simple Tasks To Get Started

Organization is key before you clean. Start with these tasks first:

1. Create a Checklist
   List out what needs to be cleaned and how often for each room. For example, in the kitchen, sweeping, cleaning dishes and scrubbing counters are daily chores. You can mop and clean the microwave weekly and clean cabinets and the refrigerator monthly. 
2. Schedule Your Cleaning
   Pick a time of day for each cleaning project. Other than after-dinner cleanup, most simple chores can be done whenever you have a few spare minutes. If you have kids, this is a perfect opportunity to schedule regular chores for them.
3. Easy Daily Habits
   Create regular daily tidying habits. Quickly fix your bed in the morning. Hang up your coat when you get home. Clean the shower before using it. What other simple tasks can you tack on with the things you already do around your home? 
4. Use Organizers
   Bins, containers and draw separators are excellent tools to organize your home but don’t be afraid to get creative. For example, old canvas lunch bags work great as containers for lids or cookie cutters. Use a pretty pitcher to hold your spatulas and large utensils. If you don’t have a coat closet, your entryway should have a coat rack or hooks, umbrella stand and a box for shoes.
5. Keep Multiple Tools On Hand
   This is especially important if you have an area of your home that is problematic. For example, if your toilets easily clog, keep a plunger and toilet brush stationed in each bathroom. Messy mudroom? Have a dedicated mop and cleaning gear. If you have it on hand nearby, you won’t need to run back and forth for cleaning supplies.
   

Need more hacks? Try multitasking your cleaning with related downtime tasks, such as unloading your dishwasher while making coffee. Learn more great cleaning hacks at Food52.  

Helpful Tools

Cleaning can also be made easier with the right tool. Keep a variety of these on hand:

• Old toothbrushes can be disinfected and used to scour grout.
• Buy bulk food items to use when you run out of brand name cleaner. These include coarse salt, lemon, baking soda and white vinegar, all of which are great DIY cleaning hacks.
• Microfiber cloths provide an effortless way to clean everything from tubs to countertops to dishes. Some brands don’t even require soap or cleaning fluid. 
• Buy a steam cleaner. There are plenty of options, from low to high end. These come in handy for “unexpected messes” such as spilling red wine on your carpet. 

Cleaning Day

When it’s cleaning day, these hacks can make your life easier. 

• Kitchen Cabinets: BHG recommends using your vacuum attachment when cleaning the interior of your the cabinets. Their article on cleaning hacks has more tips for every room of the house.
• Hard to Reach Areas: Use a cleaning wand to attack hard-to-reach places, including behind appliances and ceiling fans.

• Baseboards: Save the backache of bending by using your vacuum attachment to clean dusty baseboards. 
• Pet odors: Remove pet stains and odors from your home using these tips. 

Photo credit by Pixabay