So, you’re an empty nester now. Congratulations. Your kids have moved off to live their separate lives, and now, you and your spouse will have to deal with what they’ve left behind – empty rooms and a house suddenly too big for just the two of you.
With that said, now is the perfect time for you to downsize your house so you don’t have too much on your plate every day.
Here are a couple of tips to help you downsize your home in preparation for life after kids.

1.     Consider what kind of life you’re going to live going forward

Back then, you needed the big house. You needed extra rooms and all that extra storage, because, well, you’ve got kids. But, now, you don’t need all of those anymore, which means that you’ve got some serious thinking to do as far as the kind of house that you’re going to want to be living in during the latter years of your life.

2.     Slowly start decluttering your home now

You’d be amazed as to how much stuff you really have at your house.
Start with the decluttering process as early as you can, and eventually, you’ll find yourself having gotten rid of most of the unwanted stuff inside your home.

3.     Get help

There are professionals who will either, help you move your stuff into storage, or appraise your antiques and buy it off from you for a fair price.
If you’ve got tons of antique stuff inside your house, it’s best to try and get some money out of them while you still can. Otherwise, you might end up forgetting about them later on.

4.     Start with one room at a time

You don’t really have to downsize all at once. Sometimes, it’s okay to do it slowly. What’s important is that you have a bit of progress, no matter how small it is.

5.     Keep, sell, donate

As you scour through your home for all of the stuff that you might no longer need now that your kids are away, it will help to have three boxes ready that you can use to storage stuff that you want to keep, stuff that you might want to sell, and stuff that you’re better off donating to someone.

6.     Call a local charity

Chances are, there’s a local charity that’s willing to drive up to your house and pick up some of the stuff that you no longer want to keep around.

7.     Take photos

Just because you’re getting rid of some of the stuff inside your house doesn’t mean that you don’t want to keep memories of them anymore. There are just some items that, although may have some sentimental value, are just too impractical to keep around.
So, snap photos while you’re packing before the items go into storage or to someone else.

8.     Sell your house

Now, this might seem like a drastic move, but if your house really is too big and no one else is around to help you maintain it, then it might be a lot more practical to just sell it.
A cash buyer can and will help you sell your house without having to make you go through all of the hassles of selling that might be what’s putting you off of putting your house on the market for sale all these years.