In tough economic times, in Denver and all across America, people want to be more energy efficient and more environmentally conscious.  Downsizing to a smaller home is a growing trend for small families, empty-nesters, and seniors, due to lower mortgage costs, maintenance issues, or energy concerns. Smaller tax and utility bills follow the smaller mortgage, so moving to a smaller home is a great way to cut monthly costs.

The downside of downsizing for most people is that reducing the space also means "reducing the stuff."  People tend to fill up the space they have with things that soon become "necessities," so it's hard for most people to pare down their possessions to what will fit in a smaller space.  Half the space usually means half the furniture can't make the trip to the new home, while other things such as clothes, appliances, TVs, sports equipment, gadgets, and other things will have to be evaluated in view of the amount of space in the new home. 

Another consideration is that the new space might be configured differently so that a couch or wall unit that should technically "fit" just won't go through the door, down the stairs, or look right in the room given where the doors and windows are placed or how the wall is angled. Measuring the new space, eyeballing the angle of the staircase, or laying out the furniture on a blueprint should help facilitate the decision about the fate of some furniture.  Even big screen TV's might be a casualty of the move.

After a brief period of mourning, a downsizing strategy will help pare what's moved down to a manageable size and help reduce moving costs as well: purge, purge, purge is the goal.  This can be accomplished by selling what's not making the move through garage sales, eBay, Craigslist, or signs at the grocery store, donating it, or throwing it out - or a combination of all three.

People sometimes make the mistake of moving much more than they need in anticipation of making choices about what to keep once they have moved or sorting it all out later.  This not only increases moving costs, but either clutters up the new space or postpones making a decision to get rid of unused items. The age old rule-of-thumb in deciding whether to keep or part with things is "if you haven't used it in a year, you don't need it."

When people move, they are often charting a new course in their lives.  The upside of downsizing the "stuff" is the new home starts out uncluttered.  It's hard to do that in a warehouse of old furniture!  Often, getting rid of non-used items is a ritual cleansing that makes the move to a new home even better.