De-stressing By Downsizing For Older Adults

Is the stress of living alone or maintaining your home mounting? If so, downsizing may be the solution. But what are the benefits of downsizing?

Living and maintaining a house can be stressful for older adults, not to mention the costs associated with homeownership. Downsizing can be a great way to eliminate much of the stress in your life, but why is that? How can downsizing help you de-stress?

In this article, we will look at how downsizing can help with stress, why you should consider downsizing, some tips for downsizing your household, how to cope with the stress of downsizing, the various benefits of downsizing your household and how to downsize to move into a life plan community.

How can downsizing the size of your home help with stress?

Downsizing can help you eliminate much of the stress in your life. By eliminating the need to clean and maintain a large home, you'll be freeing up of time that you can spend doing other things you enjoy much more. You'll also be able to save money because of the reduction in property taxes, utility bills, or any of the other unexpected expenses that pop up when you own a larger home.

Why downsize?

There are several reasons for why many older adults decide to downsize. Many retirees are on a fixed income, and cutting costs is one great reason to downsize to a smaller home or condo. Others prefer to downsize so that they can start new hobbies or travel more, while others downsize so that they can be closer to family or medical care. In any event, downsizing can be a great way to reduce your stress and make the most of your golden years.

Tips for downsizing a household

So, you've decided that you want to downsize and eliminate the stress in your life; great decision. Here are some tips for how you can downsize your household.

Make a plan and stick to it

By making a plan, you'll be able to set things into motion. Once you've made the decision to downsize and remove the stress from your life, it’s important to remember why you're doing this and stick to the plan.

Gift things to family or friends early

Think about the things you would like to give to family and friends and then do it. Why wait until after you've passed on? By gifting things early, you'll be able to see the enjoyment that your gifts bring to your loved ones, and you need to declutter your home when downsizing anyway, so it's a win-win scenario.

Sort items into three piles (keep, gift, and donate/toss)

Sorting items into three different piles can help. Make one pile of the things you want to keep and take with you to the new space. The second pile is for all of the things you want to give as gifts to family or friends. The third and final pile is for all of the items for donation or trash. Working with these three piles is a great way to stay organized when downsizing your household.

Tackle one room at a time

Don't try to take on too much at once; that will only lead to more stress, and you're downsizing because you want to eliminate the stress from your life. Take one room at a time, and always start with the room used the least.

Know the floor plan in your new space

Knowing the floor plan of your new space can help you plan accordingly. Do you have space for this item in your new home? If not, consider moving it into one of the other two piles.

How to deal with the stress of downsizing

Downsizing can be stressful but remember why you are doing it. There are a few ways to cope with the stress. First, take the time to remember all the fond memories you’ve shared in your house or with your treasured items. Allow yourself to feel any emotions that come up when you think about leaving your house or giving way your possessions; this is perfectly natural. Ask your adult children or a friend to help you; they will probably be happy to lend you a helping hand.

Downsizing to move into a life plan community

Moving into a life plan community is one of the best decisions many older adults can make. Living alone can be very difficult, especially as an older adult. Living in a life plan community is a great way to ensure that there will always be someone around to help with one’s needs, whether it be medical, physical, emotional or all three. Many life plan communities include housekeeping and home maintenance so you won’t need to spend much of your time looking after a household with never-ending chores; instead, you’ll be free to spend your days doing whatever you want to do – what could be better than that?

Naturally, living in a life plan community will be an adjustment because the space is smaller, however, if you take into consideration all the communal areas in a life plan community, i.e., dining room, library or lounge, you’ve extended your living area footprint. The use of common areas frees up your living quarters to only keep the items you truly cherish.

Need help downsizing?

If you are interested in moving into a life plan community but need help with downsizing, contact the experts at 15 Craigside and Arcadia at (808) 533-5416. They have helped hundreds of older adults easily make that transition to moving into a maintenance-free apartment.