Cleaning & Organizing
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Downsizing

Good Morning,

 

We are downsizing big time, from 1400 SQ condominium with two bedrooms, den, finish basement, 2-car garage, and 2 bedrooms. To a 900 sq apartment with two bedrooms, small storage area, one bathroom, and no garage lol. I gave away about 15 bags of things; the majority of the items in our den have been given away. Any recommendations on how to store many things in a small space and still keep the house somewhat organized.

 

TIA

Re: Downsizing

  • We went from 3,000 square feet to 840 square feet.  At least we have a basement for storage, but you'll probably have to make some hard choices on what you really need to keep. 

    Use the space under the beds wisely for storage.  I store my bed linens in plastic bins under the beds they go with and I store the shoes I don't wear often under the bed in containers as well. 

     It took some adjustment at first, but I really love our small house now.  It's really easy to maintain and clean and we aren't wasting money heating a huge house. 

  • JNL$LSMJNL$LSM member
    Fifth Anniversary
    Thank you, I am going to try to see what we really need and what can be given away. You all truly downsized.
  • MNVegasMNVegas member
    Fourth Anniversary

    Our new build house is being started today. We are going from a 3700sf house w2 car garage to a 1650sf house w/2 car garage, Yikes! We are doing major purging/decluttering. I think we have already stocked a full Salvation Army store and still have more things to get rid of.  

    We are downsizing from a house that has tons of large closets to a house with only 3 closets. Agree w/pp about underbed storage and will be putting extra linens, off season clothing, shoes etc. in those flat bins. We will also be putting in some extra shelving in the closets.

    Fortunately we will still have a garage for storage. 

     

     

  • I lived with DH in his 900 sq foot condo for 20 months.  It was a shock to my system after my 1600 sq foot house (not including all the storage in the basement).

    Use every inch of vertical space.  We stored infrequently used items in the six inch space above the cabinents. 

    Learn to stack everything.

    Underbed boxes can be used under some couches.  Check yours out. 

    Give away more.  If you haven't used it in a year, ditch it. Get receipts for the donation and claim the tax deductions.

    Organize every drawer, every cabinet, every closet.

    Find a use for every square inch.  We had this narrow (9" wide closet).  DH added a pegboard and stored his tools on one side with the brooms and vacuum). 

    Repurpose what you can.  A vase I loved became a pencil holder on my desk. 

  • I live in a 900 sq ft.2 bedroom condo with no garage and no storage aside from our closets. When we found out I was pregnant we gave up our office/music room/craft room since we're using the 2nd bedroom for the nursery. We donated EVERYTHING we don't use on a normal basis to family, friends, and Goodwill. Everything was donated from clothes we no longer to wear to baking pans I've only used once or twice.

    We use our closets to their maximum potential. I also use under the bed (and crib) as storage. Outdoor items that fold up and don't take up a lot of space (camping chairs, etc.) we store in the trunk of our car since we never use them inside.
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
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