Downsizing Your Space

A little over two months ago, my boyfriend and I realized that our lease was ending on our apartment. It came the tough choice: Stay at our location, find a unit in the same complex or move somewhere different. We weighed our options and pricing and came to the conclusion to move somewhere else and downsize.

Why did we choose the latter? For one, our loft was huge, giant ceilings and an extra bedroom that we used maybe twice when guests came over. Another, that it was a such an A/C and heat waster because of the tall 20 ft ceilings as well as just plain loud. From this, we decided to not only move to a newer complex but to go from our 2 bedroom/2 bathroom space to a 1 bedroom/1 bathroom.

Going from such an enormous space with a lot of storage to a small space with limited storage was tricky. Once we made the decision to downsize and which apartment we wanted to move to, it was about comparing what we needed to keep with what we didn't. I began selling/giving away the items we didn't need and was incredibly surprised by the outcome - almost all of them sold! You would seriously be shocked by what people want/need that you might have.

Downsizing also made moving a breeze. We hired movers (If you're going to spend money on one thing during your move, I 1000% recommend hiring movers) and the process took 3 hours exactly. Quick and painless, plus no extra bedroom furniture to have to move and assemble.

This is the first time I've ever really downsized my space. I've lived with roommates before in a house but always kept my furniture to my one bedroom. That being said, I wanted to share some of my major takeaways for anyone looking to downsize their space. Again, I've always rented so I don't have the experience with having to move items from a place you own but most can still be applied.

1. Assess what you own

Odds are, you have items that you haven't used in years. Make a checklist of things you use vs. things you don't use - that way it's easier to see what you need to sell or give away.

2. Sell, sell, sell (or gift/donate)

Like I said, you would be very surprised what items you might own that people will buy off of you. I sold most of my items through my personal Instagram and Facebook page and offered the chance for those people to pick up the items or for me to drop them off during my free time. If you can't sell the items, then think about giving them away to friends, family or a place like Goodwill. One person's trash could be another person's treasure.

3. Downsize the space but upsize the quality of life

Our old loft was aesthetically awesome but from a sustainability or eco-friendly standpoint, it was definitely a D-. We wasted so much money as well energy to heat or cool the place. If you have an issue similar to this, find a location that offers greener options. Our new place has a Nest that we can control with our phone without even being in the same room. The space is also smaller with shorter ceilings making it easier to heat/cool in a shorter period of time.

4. Be conscious of space for storage

Our new place has two big closets that we didn't have before but our old loft had a laundry/storage and a second bedroom to store all of our boxes and extra items. When moving to a space small, scope out any and all places you can use as storage. We bought a few storage containers that we plan on using for years to come and placed a lot of our clothes/shoes, boxes and extra items in these containers under the bed as well as on high to reach areas of our closet. This was a great use of space that otherwise would have just been empty.

5. Buy plants

Because why not? You worked so hard to sell or gift those not needed items, plus in a smaller space, plants make the air quality noticeably better. Also, who doesn't love the way plants can make spaces seem bigger than they are.

The featured photo on this post is our new living room. Let us know what you think!