The desire to downsize your home and simplify your life is very popular among many generations right now. Some are looking to sell their family home since the kids have left the nest while others are interested in a van or tiny home lifestyle. 

But downsizing is not easy. It’s full of hard decisions, lifestyle changes, and getting a little closer to those you live with.

How Small Do You Want to Go?
 

Getting a home smaller than your current place is technically downsizing, but likely, you are doing something deliberate. Maybe you’re an empty nester with a big house that’s just collecting dust and want to move into a two bedroom home or condo more your size. Perhaps you want extra freedom to explore and are downsizing to a trailer or motorhome. 

How small you want to downsize is going to impact everything you do, keep, and have available. The smaller you go, the more limited your space and resources you are. If you want to keep a relatively similar lifestyle, you can’t go too small. But if you are looking for a big change, going tiny may be what you are looking for.

Choose the Essentials, Discard the Rest
 

When downsizing, you’ll need to get rid of a lot of your stuff. The simple fact is that you just won’t have as much room as you did before.

First, identify the essentials you need for your downsized home. This is likely appliances, cooking tools, things for important hobbies, a bed, and other things you need to live and be happy. This list needs to be strict with must-haves, not want-to-haves.

Then, depending on how much you can fit in your new home, figure out what free space you might have left after the essentials. This could include storage in an attic or garage, a spare bedroom, or something similar. This space can be filled with those want-to-haves.

Finally, you have the stuff you are just holding on to for no particular reason. Boxes full of old paperwork, old kids toys your adult children don’t want, and just junk that you can’t bring yourself to get rid of. It’s finally time to throw those out. If you have any sensitive paperwork you don’t need anymore, bring them to a Pioneer branch and we can shred them for you for free.
 

Downsize Your Essentials for Your New Home
 

Likely, what you deem as an essential might be too large for your smaller home. Maybe you have a massive television that won’t fit in the new living room, or a king size bed that goes wall to wall in your new bedroom. 

You likely will need to downsize some of your stuff to fit your new home. Don’t try to force and make it fit or else it will just make your smaller home feel even tighter. Get the right kind of items for the size of home you are getting.
 

Going Extreme? Do a Trial Run First
 

If you are going to go extreme in your downsizing, like living in a camper, a van, or a tiny home, it could be a major shock once you actually start doing it. Many attempted tiny home lives have ended in failure because they just didn’t feel comfortable or happy with their living conditions.

If you are going to go extreme, consider doing a test run first. If you have the means, you could block out space in your current home to match the size of your future home and try to make it work. Try living just in that space for a few days and see if it works for you. 

This can help give you a sense that you may need a little more space or indicate extreme downsizing might not be for you.
 

Build Your Ideal Downsized Home
 

When it comes to downsizing, it doesn’t all need to be sacrifices and settling. If you have the means, you can build the dream home you’ve always wanted, just to the right size for your needs. Whether that means a space for your hobbies, land to grow a large garden, or maybe a hot tub on the back patio, you could build your dream home while downsizing at the same time.

Pioneer offers Construction Loans to our members to help build your dream home, that then becomes your mortgage loan once the home is built. Working with the Pioneer mortgage team, you can find the right fit for your situation and get you into the right home for your needs.

Learn More about Pioneer Construction Loans