

Simplifying the Stress of Streamlining

 Posted by Joseph Abbascia on April 23, 2021 at 11:00 AM

Simplifying the Stress of Streamlining

As life happens, we cycle through different necessities, wants and uses of space. No matter where you are in life, at some point you may realize you've ended up with too much stuff. And the idea of going through it all to decide what should stay and what should go can be frustratingly stressful. You can simplify the task of sorting through it all by taking it one step at a time with the tips below:


Inventory your clothes, shoes and accessories by trying on as many pieces as possible. Don't just guess that it fits and keep it. If you don't fit in it anymore, can't remember why you bought it, or haven't felt like wearing it for the past year, it needs to go.


A collection of appliances aren't handy if they're collecting dust or never leaving the box. If you can't remember the last time you plugged something in or you know you haven't used it in the last year, it's taking up space for something you may find more useful.


When was the last time you read that book, watched that DVD, or displayed those old photos? Just about everything can go digital, especially if you haven't read or watched it in the past year. To keep your media from taking over your place again in the future, decide which digital streaming accounts or electronic reading services will work best with your needs. You can find almost all of your favorite books and movies digitally. Your photos can be digitized and uploaded to cloud storage to create space as well.


Look at all of the furniture in your home, one piece at a time, and ask yourself two things: is this a piece I use regularly, and is this a piece that easily contributes to the room's ambiance and style? If you can't answer "yes" to one of these questions, the furniture is likely not useful to you and should be sold or donated.


If you or a loved one you care for is not driving anymore or otherwise find yourself with more cars than people, you'll want to start thinking about selling. If one or more cars are just sitting in your garage or on your property taking up needed valuable space, insurance and maintenance fees may begin to stack up without much benefit. Deciding to sell or donate the cars can be a great first step to reclaiming space that will help you streamline.

Off-Site Storage

Storage units can add up monthly. Ranging on average from $75 – $250 monthly per unit, some units can cost thousands of dollars to maintain annually. Anything in off-site storage should be assessed, and in most cases, automatically sold, gifted or donated. If it doesn't fit in your home, then there's no reason for you to keep it. There's a reason you took these things out of your home in the first place. The general rule here is if it wasn't important or essential enough to keep in your home, then it's not important or essential enough to hold on to.

Streamlining your possessions can be simple once you know what to look for. Invest the time to go through everything and always keep your desired end result in mind. If you feel overwhelmed by the labor or decision-making process, remember there is always expert help available. Caring Transitions and one of our friendly, knowledgeable professionals can help ease the stress by simplifying the streamline process for you.