Your Step-by-Step Guide to Downsizing from a House to Apartment

In 2022, the average single-family home was 2,299 square feet. The average apartment size during that time wasn't even half that. And the average apartment size continues to drop.

If you're moving from a house to an apartment, you probably need to downsize. That is, you need to get rid of a lot of your possessions. This can be hard to do.

Are you struggling to downsize from a house? If so, read on. You'll gain some steps to take for this process.

Think Positively

People don't always downsize for positive reasons. You may be having trouble with finances or have another less positive reason to move. These types of situations can hurt your heart.

Negativity Weighs You Down

While you're in this bad mood, you may be more prone to negative thoughts. You may take up a habit of lamenting (mentally or verbally) about how cramped your space will be and how little you can keep. These thoughts can weigh you down and make the downsizing process harder to handle.

Find the Good Things

Try to think more positively instead. Consider the good things that moving to a smaller space will give you. This may brighten your mood a bit while you work.

Repeat the Good Things

For example, you will spend less time cleaning a smaller space. You may also become great friends with your neighbors. Think of positives like these and repeat them if you find yourself brooding about your situation's issue.

Take Your Time

Start your whole downsizing process as soon as you've found a new place. This should give you plenty of time to take a house inventory, sort through your possessions, and make the hard decisions on what to part with before you hire movers. Trust me, you're going to need this extra time.

Downsizing Is Hard

Downsizing can be incredibly emotionally taxing. You'll have to throw away a lot of sentimental items. If you rush through this process, you could end up having an emotional breakdown.

Slower Is Easier

Therefore, you need to take things slow. Your sanity will thank you. If you need to temporarily use a storage unit before you get rid of it all, do so.

Don't Wait to Sell Possessions

As soon as you know you want to sell something, start the process immediately. It can take time for items to sell on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc. If you try to sell them a week before the moving company arrives, they may not sell.

Losing Money

You can still take these items with you and put them into a storage facility. However, that can increase the expenses of your move. You may end up having to give or throw away items so that you can at least save money.

Organizing and Downsizing

As soon as you decide to keep an item, put it in a moving box that's labeled appropriately. Doing this will save you packing time. However, you probably don't want to seal these boxes too soon as you may change your mind later.

Have a Friend Present

Your friends likely won't have the emotional attachments to items that you do. This can make them a highly important tool in your downsizing process. They can give you a different perspective on the items you're sorting through.

Contact Friends Before Downsizing

Before you start downsizing, contact some of your friends. See if they'll be available to help you with your downsizing process.

Available With a Call

They don't need to be there from the start, but you should have them available with a call. Don't run into roadblocks in the middle of downsizing, and try to drop a request on them then. It's less likely that they will be available.

Get New Home Measurements

Don't get rid of items that you could've kept. Your new apartment may be bigger than you think. Get the measurements first to get an idea of how much stuff you can keep.

Check the Floor Plan

You should be able to get the dimensions from the apartment floor plan. If not, ask your new landlord for the measurements. You can then measure your possessions and figure out how they can fit in your new space.

Walk Around the Space

If the new landlord lets you into your new space (this might not be possible), consider picturing where all your possessions can go. You may also want to take pictures and doodle your possessions into the space digitally. This can help you figure out what items can have a purpose in your new space.

Create a Good System

Just make sure that you create an adequate organizational system ahead of time. You don't want to end up struggling to find certain items after you get into your new space. Organize by room, room item categories, etc.

Use Empty Space

Also, consider putting some items inside of items with empty spaces inside them. You can put silverware in cooking pots, clothing in empty suitcases, books in ottomans, etc.

Settle in First

After you move into a new place, you don't have to set up everything perfectly at once. Give yourself and any family members or roommates you have time to settle into the space. This will take some of the pressure of moving into a new space off you.

Changing Your Ideas

Also, it may be that your perfect organizational solution wasn't so perfect after all. Notice how everyone interacts with the space. You may find that you don't need certain furniture items, and certain storage solutions may be better off in other places.

Moving From a House to an Apartment? We'll Help!

Moving from a house to an apartment can be very difficult, but it isn't impossible. Make sure that you set up a great game plan before you downsize using the steps above. This should help the process go a lot smoother.

Also, are you looking for a new apartment in Wichita? Then check us out at Cross Creek Apartments and Townhomes. We have spacious 1, 2, and 3-bedroom apartments with incredible amenities and on-site maintenance available.

Schedule a tour with us today!