It’s not a gimmick or a lie. Minimalism can help you prepare to move!
I’ve been talking a little bit about moving here on the blog and I know that minimalism is helping me to prepare for our move. Even if we don’t know when that is.
My first post about moving was how to reduce stress when moving. These are some of my favourite tips. Moving is hard enough, without loosing yourself in a sea of boxes. So if you’re ready to move and haven’t packed yet, pop over there and get some great tips.
For us it’s been a much longer process to get our house sold. We’re nearing the one year mark of having our house listed and it’s been tough. This is the third house we’ve placed on the market in our marriage and the previous two sold in under a week. So we have to keep reminding ourselves that the housing market was in an upswing in previous years and that we are currently in a recession here.
So I’m trying to remain upbeat and hopeful. In the mean time I’m working hard on our house.
This is why Minimalism can help you prepare to move!
Get Show Ready Quicker
When you own less stuff, you can get your house show ready super quick.
A year ago when we would get the call for a showing it was a full on 4 hour (maybe longer) process to get the house prepped and ready to view. There was so much stuff to tidy and put away. Everything always seemed to be pulled out and it was an overwhelming process to clean.
After the toys, clutter and clothes were put away I had to start the actual process of physically cleaning the house. I was exhausted before I even got to the cleaning.
I needed the entire household to help me get ready. Often I’d get it almost close to finished and then plop the kids in-front of a screen so I could finish without a mess being created behind me.
Now I can get the house ready in about 1 hour. If I haven’t vacuumed that day, it might push me to an 1-1/2 hours. This includes getting the kitchen and living room floor washed.
I have cut down the prep time by hours!
Your House is Staged
Have you ever toured through show homes? They are all staged, which means they look put together and pretty. By making them look great it helps people to see themselves in that house. The same thing goes when you stage your home for sale.
If done right, you will create a welcoming home that helps a potential buyer feel at home and start to imagine their own furniture in your home.
When you own less your home is naturally staged. All of the things on display are valued and showcased in a more natural way.
Your Home Feels Larger
You can have a super small home, but with less furniture and clutter it will feed much larger than it is.
Have you ever visited someone and felt a bit claustrophobic? But you didn’t know why? Maybe there was just too much stuff in the room. By removing excess it lets your home breathe and those who share your home will be able to breathe as well.
When you overfill a home you are limiting your home from sharing it’s full potential.
Less to Pack
When the day comes and the SOLD sign is on the end of your driveway you will need to start packing.
In previous moves I packed up a pile of items before we listed the house to make the house all pretty and staged. But what happens is that those boxes ended up moving with us filled with items that we really didn’t need.
I didn’t value those items enough to keep them out in the open during the sale process so they quickly became out of sight and out of mind. When you are working towards a more minimalist life you need to address these items before you pack them up and move.
Every week I work on different areas of the house and ask myself the questions from Marie Kondo, Joshua Becker or The Minimalist Mom. I ask myself if I really need this item? Can I use something else to do the same job?
Every week I remove more items from our home making it easier to breathe.
It’s simple math. If you own less, you are going to pack less. Your moving helpers are going to appreciate the effort you went to!
Less Stress
Moving is stressful. There is no way around it. From the pressures of actual selling, possibly new jobs, new schools…. the list goes on. If we can remove some of the stress by removing excess it will all go smoother.
Reduced Stress is one of the best benefits of minimalism I’ve experienced. This doesn’t mean I live stress free, just that my home is no longer one of the areas of my home that brings me stress.
It can help you downsize to a small home (if that’s your goal)
I know not everyones goal is to move to a smaller house. Yet, if you are downsizing it will become much easier.
When we sold our second house we moved from a 1100 sqft home with a basement, to a single wide mobile home. I thought I had downsized a lot, but once we moved into that trailer, we still had too much stuff. Then we moved from that trailer into the home we live now.
We quickly acquired more furniture, more toys, more, more…… I’m happy to say that with all the effort I’ve been doing in the last 6 months we have significantly reduced our “stuff”. Minimalism is allowing us to downsize once we move.
We don’t know where we will be living after our home sells, so knowing that we aren’t going to have to purchase a Sea-Can or rent a storage facility once we sell is a huge relief.
Wether your moving or not……
Minimalism will give you freedom to live and love your home. It will bring you peace and will make your life simpler. Take the risk and start to declutter. The pain of letting go of your excess and the of guilt of over purchasing will hurt. But when compared to the joy it will bring you the pain will fade away in the past.
If you do have a move in your future know that Minimalism can help you to prepare to move!
