Struggling To Downsize; Practical Downsizing Strategies That Work

‘Yeah right, downsizing strategies that work.’ My heart is feeling the pain of the challenges of going tiny.  My despondent voice protests,

‘Really (downsizing strategies that work), impossible, it is too hard, there is too much to do, and we are running out of time!’ 

All of the above is true. It was for me. And I really struggled to downsize. It helped when I learnt some of the reasons why it was so hard. If you are anything like me, jump into my previous two posts; ‘Struggling to Downsize; The Never Simple Truth Of Why’. In my first post I explore my own self-realisations and why I struggled to downsize. In my second post; ‘Struggling To Downsize; How To Get Your Head In The Game’, I take you through strategies that helped me get my head around downsizing.

Now I share the strategies that helped me break out of my inertia and into action. It was not easy and there are one or two regrets, but for the main these strategies got me through the challenges.

Practical downsizing strategies that worked for me

As your downsizing coach (aka me) here are the practical strategies that helped me shift from inertia to downsizing action.

1. Get help
2. Have a goal and strategy for each downsizing task
3. Be kind to yourself – it is tough

Practical Downsizing Strategy #1 – Get help. 

Seek help. For me this journey was much easier with the right help. Help could come from a friend or a professional. I have used both, friends and professionals. Yes, there are downsizing and decluttering experts out there. 

When it comes to working with a friend, choose carefully. You don’t want that friend who will say, “You can’t get rid of that”, or “I don’t know how you do it. I couldn’t.” They are not the right person to help you. You need someone who can guide you, be firm and compassionate all at the same time. Part of their job is to guide you through your procrastination and keep you focused..

Practical Downsizing Strategy #2 – Have a strategy before you start

It is easy to say have a strategy, but what does that mean. For me, at the time, I drew blanks. A wall of nothing. Da nada… My brain did not work. 

Fortunately, the help I got came with their own strategies and they guided me through the strategies and processes. I thought the best way to help you understand was to ‘keep it real’, share the strategies and how we went about it. In my below explanations I may have blended a couple of processes together but what I share is as best as I can recall how we went about specific downsizing tasks.

Sorting my professional book collection

Some of my professional colleagues had visited and selected a couple of books to add to their collections. I always love it when a good book goes to a good home. From there I had two large bookcases full of work-related books. You would think it would be easy to say goodbye. Alas it was not. I had read all of them. Why I even considered keeping some of my professional books is a good question. I probably told myself that I was still working in my corporate career, even if it was part time on my way to semi-retirement. My work also formed part of my identity. But that is another topic to unpack another day.

Goal – 5 to 10 books would go with me onto the boat.

The Approach – Rapid decision-making sorting strategy 

I believe this strategy was loosely based in the Marie Kondo Method which is premised on “Does this spark joy?” If it does, keep it; if not, discard it. This approach focuses on keeping items that positively impact one’s life and discarding those that don’t. What follows is our adaption of it.

The decision-making criteria, Love, Let Go or Maybe

Step 1. – Emotional response

• Girlfriend takes a pile of books off the bookshelf.
• Girlfriend shows me the cover on the first book. 
• I respond, Love, Let go or Maybe (any hesitation meant the book went straight in the maybe pile and my girlfriend grabbed the next book.
• Girlfriend creates three piles and places books in one of the three piles based on my response

Step 2 – Actions 

• Go to the, ‘Let go’ pile – ideally these are placed in boxes as identified as Let Go. If not place in box now or put them out of sight. 
• Go to the ‘Love’ pile – repeat the decision-making process to attempt to truly identify which books you truly love. 
• Again, with the ‘Love’ pile – Identify which books you may want to purchase as an e-book and create a second ‘love eBook pile’
  • Put these books aside for now.
    Note: It is amazing how purchasing an eBook that you have previously purchased the hard copy shifts the book to the ‘let go’ pile.
  • Once the eBook is purchased place the physical book in the ‘let go’ pile. Resist the temptation to put it back in the love pile.
• Put the two ‘Love’ piles aside for now
• Go to the ‘Maybe’ pile and repeat the process of sorting strategy, Love, Maybe and Let go. The second time round you are getting a clearer idea of what you really love and what can let go.
• Revisit the ‘Love’ Piles. This time look at the pile to identify which boxes to keep. These boxes should truly make your heart sing, be a joy to touch and ones that you would bring out regularly.
  • Rember the Keep pile is no more than 10 books. 
  • Go through the ‘love’ pile again to see what book makes it into the select few to Keep. You may need to repeat this a couple of times util you get to the goal of 10 or less.

My girlfriend arrived armed with snacks. She insisted we go for a walk first and grab a coffee. During this walk she talked me through the strategy/method. When we got back to the house, we were straight into it. At some point we had a break, I put the kettle on, and she placed the ‘Let go’ books into her car boot. Already the piles seemed less daunting. 

This strategy meant I still had access to the books I needed via Kindle, I had a copy of books I truly loved, I could not revisit my decisions as she took the books away and did not tell me where she dropped them off.

Sorting my art supplies and art portfolio

Once again, I had a friend rescue me and helped me navigate the sorting of my art stuff.  Again, this is a 30+ year collection of paints, brushes, easels and paintings and an art portfolio that goes back to my high school years

This time, fully aware of what was pending, I went through a lot of my work the night before she helped me. I knew that there was no way our new home had the space for these much-loved items which in many ways formed a part of who I am. In one form or another my art has been the one constant in my life

Goal: To rehome what I cherish and take with me a small collection of art supplies that will fit in our new lifestyle.

The Approach – Guideline driven strategy

Guidelines were the key. We used the following.

The first was a girlfriends’ adaption of the famous designer’s quote,

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

-William Morris

Our adaption of the above was,

“Everything (in your home) should be functional, beautiful and have a home.”

-Beth and Tess

The other guideline was first taught to me by my brother, being the Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) ‘Away from and towards’ strategy. The adaption of this for me was,

“What am I moving away from and what do I want to create for my future.”

-NLP

More precisely, the away was my life in a rather large house and the towards was living small on a 15m yacht. 

My girlfriend and I came up with some rules before we started; well mostly she did and then she kept me focused. I don’t recall the rules as clearly as with sorting the books. It was very much about letting go for new opportunities, the things I wanted to move towards. 

The big stuff was easier. There was no room on a boat for 3 standing easels. They were to be sold. 

My acrylic paints and brushes went to my very artistic niece. Again, an easy decision. One of her paintings ‘Blue Moon’ is on the boat. I commissioned that painting for Marty’s birthday. Some of my favourite paintings (that I painted) became gifts for friends, while other paintings we asked friends to look after for us. 

Marty (my hubby) and I were clear, we did not want paintings stored in basements or cupboards. Afterall they were created to be viewed and appreciated.

The hardest decisions centred around my art portfolio that goes back to when I was at school. My friend helped me realise that it was most precious to me (and me alone). The most effective way to keep it close was to photograph or scan my pieces and save them digitally. That is what I did. My sister offered to store my portfolio at her place, however I found myself thinking to what end. I am sure I will not dig it out for many years. I am more likely to go through my photos to see the pieces. As I photographed them, I spoke to my husband about some of the pieces, it was in a way saying goodbye.

I took on the boat my Windsor and Newton watercolour pan set that I had saved up for as an apprentice, my brushes, my conte pencils and sticks and a couple of sketch pads. It was small, compact, easy to store and I can easily pull them out when I want to sketch or paint.

My girlfriend made this process fun, a tribute to my past and had the right balance of oohs and aahs as I looked at my artistic journey in my art portfolio. As did my husband when I was photographing my portfolio later that evening. The process had shifted from what was daunting and stressful to an enjoyable wander down memory lane to pave way for my new future.

And I did not need counselling afterwards. 

Sorting my personal mementos from family and friends.

At the beginning of my downsizing journey I had started following a professional organiser, Virgina Wells. She founded The Well Sorted Group. I had enjoyed her posts and her daily challenge, most of which I read but did not do. I like her writing, her non-judgmental style and her practical suggestions. I resonated with her. Ultimately, I engaged her to help me through the toughest part of my downsizing journey.

Goal – Letting go of seriously personal mementos and treasures.

It was too hard. I did not know how to let go of these things, cards and gifts I treasured above all else.

The Approach – Seek Professional Help

I got professional help. 

I mentioned in my first Struggling with Downsizing post that I was able to reduce these much-loved items into a small box. From there I was stuck. While I could share the process, it may not make sense to you as the connections to these items were deeply personal. Some were of friends and family past. Some were of magic moments in time. Some of personal triumphs and life lessons.

Virginia Wells of the Well Sorted Group gently took me through her process of exploring why these items meant so much to me and how to honour them moving forward. Each piece, each item a significant part of me that I wanted to carry forward.

Even as I write, I tear up, not for pieces gone but for the love and care Virginia showed and the joy she gave me by giving me my path forward and how to maintain these connections in my heart. 

I highly recommend engaging a professional to help you get unstuck. You can join her Facebook group, follow their blog, find one that resonates with you and if you need to, engage them in a coaching session. From memory, I had two sessions with Virginia and I was on my way.   

Practical Downsizing Strategy #3  – Be kind to yourself

This process is not easy. Expect the good days, the bad days, the days you can’t drag your bones out of bed because you are over all of it and your sister turns up and helps you out. Thanks Sissy…

There will be:

• Downsizing regrets – one particular pair of shoes, leaps to mind.
• Well intended comments – “I don’t know how you can do this, I couldn’t” said on a day when you also don’t know how you can do it.
• Times when you question yourself – ‘Why am leaving a perfectly good house and getting rid of all these things I love?’
• Family members who don’t want your great aunties chairs – but you want them to have them anyway.
• Late nights and restless sleep as you question is it all worth it.

In time you will accumulate more things, and you will need to downsize again, but nothing like the scale of the first time. You are also armed with practical downsizing strategies that work and how to handle the downsizing process. 

Downsizing is it worth it.

You can never truly know what’s next. But you won’t know unless you try. If you are thinking about change, moving to a tiny house and trying new things, from my experience the pain and the tears of downsizing was ultimately worth it. 

I was anxious and yet ready for change. I embraced the joy of saying goodbye to my corporate life. I made it easier by going part time for two years. During this time, I enjoyed lazy days with my head in a book, completing boat projects and I started sketching again. 

I tried a couple of part time jobs. I ended up being back on the tools working for a shipwright and I loved it. I worked for a spray painter, then a sales assistant at a marine shop and now blogger. I loved the freedom of trying new things.

My happy ending

I was ready for the change and was increasingly becoming more comfortable to explore new possibilities. Possibilities that gave my husband and I the freedom to explore and travel. We sailed from Australia to New Zealand where we embraced being grandparents. Two years later we sailed to Fiji which is where I write to you from now. In a couple of weeks, we sail to Vanuatu. In a couple of months, we sail back to New Zealand. 

We are making new friends and still catching up with old friends at home and overseas. Who knows what’s next? What I do know is;

“Downsizing released the anchors that held me to my old life and gave me the freedom to try new things.”

-Tess Brook

I also know that sailing is not for everyone. But I do know that your tiny home adventure is waiting for you.