Vickie Dellaquila is a Certified Professional Organizer®, Certified Relocation Transition Specialist and owner of Organization Rules®, Inc, located in Pittsburgh, PA. Her company provides senior downsizing, relocation and residential organizing services. She is also the author of the book, Don’t Toss My Memories in the Trash-A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Seniors Downsize, Organize, and Move and the Moving Workbook. Rated as one of the top 100 best books on Aging on Amazon! For more information, visit www.OrganizationRules.com or call 412-913-0554.

Harry and Doris lived in their beautiful 2 story home for 46 years. Their home used to be filled with growing children, the neighbor kids; now it is empty. At some point in their life, they were able to race up the stairs in their home.

Now, the staircase has become difficult to manage. Their adult children worry about their safety. The house is too big and requires too much work for Harry and Doris. Perhaps it is time to move to a smaller home. They have made the decision to downsize and move to a smaller home. Where do Harry and Doris begin to downsize 46 years worth of stuff?

Many seniors have a 2 story, 5 bedroom home with several decades of dishes, furniture, slides, collections, and adult children’s past term papers and toys.  You realize that all of these things are not going to fit in your new home.  How do Harry and Doris begin to start the process of dealing with all of this?

Consider these points when starting the process of downsizing and moving on:

• A good way to start is to get someone to help you through the downsizing process because it can be overwhelming. You need help and support.
• Think about what you really need and will use. Will you need place settings for 12 or will 6 be enough? Do you really need a turkey roaster? When is the last time you made Thanksgiving dinner or do you always go to your son’s home for Thanksgiving?
• Why not give pieces of furniture or other items to family members or friends that have admired them for years? If your granddaughter has loved your china hutch for years, why not give it to her now and see the joy and happiness that it brings her?
• Adult children need to get their stuff out of your attic or spare bedroom! Unless you have decided to go into the rental storage business, adult children need to get their stuff out of your home.
• Do not overwhelm yourself. Start with small steps. Work a little each day on a section of your home: a drawer, or a closet shelf.
• If you feel overwhelmed looking at a pile of papers that you need to sort through, start with just 15 minutes. Set an egg timer for 15 minutes, sort through the pile and then stop working when the timer goes off. You will make some progress and can start again the next day. Before you know it, you will have sorted through dresser drawers!
• Gather resources that you will need such as a charities, antique dealers, real estate agents and movers.
• Remember every item you own requires your time, energy, maintenance, and money. Decide if the item is worth keeping.