How to approach downsizing with a positive mindset

Downsizing the family home can be a positive and “liberating experience” that allows people to scale back and retain the “best essence” of themselves, says Marni Jameson, syndicated home design columnist and author of, “Downsizing the Family Home: What to Save, What To Let Go.”

Her advice:

▪ Accept your life will get smaller. Enjoy the lightness of moving into smaller space. You’re going to need fewer things. There is a downsizing up that happens if you get the right mindset of letting go, for example your children’s things. Don’t become a warehouse of their scout uniforms and hockey sticks.

▪ We tend to attach so much meaning to our things because we associate so many memories with them. In evaluating your possessions, keep in mind old is not (necessarily) valuable.

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▪ “Go on a treasure hunt with your things. Think about a small number of items that represent your most important memories. If everything is important, then nothing is important. If you try and keep too much, it dilutes the specialness of everything else.”

Michael J. Solender

This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 5:53 PM with the headline "How to approach downsizing with a positive mindset."