Right-Sizing
What is Right-sizing?
When people discuss senior housing decisions, they often use the term "downsizing" to describe the process of moving into a smaller home and taking on a simpler life. While downsizing is certainly an option for many people, it doesn't make sense for everyone. Instead, many seniors look forward to a journey of self-development as they get older and have fewer responsibilities to both career and family. Rather than downsizing, they want to find a living situation that makes the most sense for the lives that they want to lead.
Right-sizing vs. Downsizing
Think about rightsizing versus downsizing this way: When someone downsizes, may move into a smaller, simpler dwelling that is available at a lower cost. This process typically also involves giving away or selling many of one's possessions.
On the other hand, a good rightsizing definition is entirely more positive. When you decide on rightsizing your life, you are opting to maximize opportunities for health, happiness, and self-development by choosing a living situation that matches your current needs and lifestyle.
For example, you might opt to rightsize to a home that has less square footage than the one you have now, but that is located in a community with multiple amenities, including a fitness center, clubhouse for entertaining, separate guest suites for visitors, and even an on-premises movie theater. Your residential space may be smaller but your living space has expanded significantly.
Whether you prefer the Konmari approach of decluttering or hold tight to your keepsakes, the time has never been better to right-size as you transition into your carefree, lock-and-leave lifestyle. We understand your possessions are valuable to you, and that the transition from home-ownership to a maintenance-free, active adult apartment home is a big one. We want to help you enjoy the simplicity of a minimalistic and resort-inspired life at Everleigh—that’s why we’ve curated pro-tips that will provide you with the information you’ll need to begin your next chapter.
The Right Questions
- When should I list my house for sale?
- What is my home worth today?
- Does my current home need sprucing up in order to sell it?
- How do I condense a house full of my belongings into an apartment home?
- What do I do with the rest of my treasured things?
- What are the tax and financial implications?
The Right Decisions
- List all the things you absolutely can live without and are willing to work around—like books, dishes, and art.
- Re-think your decorating style.
- Only keep pieces you absolutely love. Get rid of the rest.
- Enlist your family to help go through the memories.
- Give things to family and friends and donate to nonprofit organizations. Many of them will pick up from you for free.
- Sell things on Craigslist and eBay, or put things in storage.
- Use every inch of your space. Items that are just for show don’t have a place anymore. Things should be either loved so dearly they are a necessity or functional.
- Sentimental pieces are the hardest to give up, so try to find ways to work them in, converting a special armoire intended for the large television—now replaced by a flat-screen TV—into some kind of storage, for instance.
The Right Place to Start
- Room by room.
- Day by day.
- Item by item.
- Start with the easy things like clothes that have not been worn in years, dishes that are only used once in a blue moon, furniture that would obviously not fit into your new life.
The Right Reasons
- What is on your “bucket list”? Travel? Relaxing? Adventure? New experiences and new friends?
- You’ve grown impatient with waiting for a plumber or electrician to arrive and fix the latest household woe…
- Or maybe it’s just time to live MORE with LESS stuff...
Discover Everleigh Active Adult Communities
Everleigh active adult communities offer a residential option to active adults who want to continue personal growth and development while rightsizing to homes that suit them best. Our properties offer resort-style amenities to residents that encourage development in all aspects of wellness, including physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional growth.
In fact, our communities offer another aspect of rightsizing, and that is the ability to get to know neighbors who share your values and commitment to wellness. Whether you choose to enjoy a complimentary continental breakfast in the mornings before heading off to the gym or relaxing together after a craft class, you have the opportunity to form new and continuing friendships.