Plan Your Move with Tiny steps

I’m reading the book “One Small Step Can Change Your Life – The Kaizen Way“by Robert Maurer. The book talks about making small, sometimes tiny steps to make major changes in your life. I began to think about this in how real estate could use this book. One such way is to use this happens when someone needs to sell their family home. You know the one, it’s the one that they have lived for 40 or 50 years; the one that’s loaded with possessions, let alone memories, of those many years. What often stops people in their tracks is the thought of having to sift through everything. It is overwhelming.

By taking tiny steps, changes can be made in our mental thought patterns according to Maurer. Why not do the same thing with your house? When we have too much to tackle it’s easy to become paralyzed with fear and the thought of selling the family home can be frightening.

Where to begin?

You begin with one small step. Start with one room at a time. Take one corner of that room and begin. Sort your items and make four piles of things.

• Pile One: items to keep
• Pile Two: items to give to family or friends
• Pile Three: items to donate
• Pile Four: items to throw away.

Before you throw anything away bring the family in and let them see what you want to throw out, just in case. There might be a treasure in there that someone wants, even though you don’t.

This first small step, and first corner may take a while to complete. No worry. Take your time and once you’ve finished that corner, move to the next and the next and finally the last corner. Hopefully, the middle of the room is now filled with the four piles and then you take the next step.

Throw out the junk. Donate the items in that corner. Have the family take their items away with them. Finally pack the items you want to keep into boxes. Label the boxes and have them put into your garage for the move.

Repeat this process with each room of your home. As you move around your house it will become a little easier with each room. You’ll have a clear idea of what is in that space. What you want to keep and what you don’t. Continue on with the same four piles and clear out each room as you go.

Be ruthless. If you are downsizing you can’t take everything with you so you must decide exactly what it is you want to keep. What furniture will fit in your new home? What pictures and knickknacks. What will go and what will not.

The two year rule

A good rule to follow in this process of thinning down your life is the two year rule. Have you used this item, garment, kitchen utensil, pot or pan within the past two years? Yes? Keep it. No? Out it goes into one of the three piles for family, donation or garbage.

This whole process takes time. If you are getting ready to sell the family home, begin this process well in advance of putting your home up on the market. Your friendly Realtor will tell you to get rid of clutter and the earlier you can do this the more you’ll be able to do this with thought and consideration . If you can have another pair or two of hands to help, a child or friend or spouse, it may go a little faster. But more than that, it will be a wonderful time to reminisce about old times when you used that thing and tell family stories.

One small step at a time in the house clearing process not only makes it more manageable but relaxing and maybe even a little fun. Sure you may shed a tear here or there, but you also will have laughter and conversations about your life’s memories in your family home.

After all, this move will allow you to shed the burden of things and possessions and let you move into your new home with everything you really want and that really means the most to you. What an uplifting feeling!

1. The Two Year Rule.
   If you haven’t used it in the past two years it’s time to give it away, sell it or toss it.  Unless the item has significant value to you, get rid of it.
2. Be Selective In What You Keep.
   Sentimental value is subjective.  Wedding dress?  Have it professionally preserved and keep it.  High School Letterman jacket?  Really now, what do you need it for?  Toss it.  The kids toys?  If they have out grown them and you don’t plan on having more kids, out they go.  Toys take up a lot of space but if it is special and handmade by Grandpa, keep it to pass on to your children’s children.
3. One in and One out.
   Buying something new?  Toss something old.  This is especially true in the bedroom closet so when you go shopping keep in mind what your closet holds that you are replacing and replacing means
   giving the old item a new home.  Outside of yours.
4. Storage Options for More Space.
   Find items for storage that serve dual purposes like a coffee table with drawers under it, or an ottoman that opens up to hold things.  The space under most beds is sitting empty and there are
   many different kinds of storage containers designed to sit under the bed and hold out of season clothing or bedding, toys and other items you use infrequently but annually.
5. Organize in Small Increments, One Room at a Time.
   If you have a house full of stuff that needs to be removed it will seem overwhelming unless you take small bites room by room, or even area by area.  Tackle the smallest room first.  Once you’re done move on to the next room and so forth.  The garage is generally the hardest and most cluttered space in a San Mateo County home.  Tackle that last.  DO NOT move things from your house into the
   garage.  You must be brutally honest in your selection of things to toss.

The, hopefully large group of items that you want to sell, can be sold through a garage sale, Craigslist, eBay or yahoo auction.  Post it on Smalltown, a website for our local communities.

If you want to donate your items, I like to give things to PARCA, but there are many charities and non-profits in San Mateo County that need items.  You help someone in need and clean out your clutter.  What’s better?

The average home built in the US in 1970 is about 1400 square feet.  Most of the homes in Foster City
were built around then.  The homes in San Mateo built after WWII are around 1000 square feet unless added on to.  Burlingame homes were built in the early 1900′s on up and unless the house is fairly new
your square footage is about 1800 if you’re lucky.  We all need to reduce consumption and make room for our daily lives.  Won’t you join me in my effort to do this?  Let me know how you’re doing and what you are giving away.