Downsizing remains a hot topic for many Americans. For some, moving from a larger home to a smaller one is due to life events, both happy and sad, including when children leave the nest, or in the aftermath of a divorce, or a death in the family. For others, life in a small apartment or condo is just meant to be a temporary stopover on their life's path, such as during college or when taking a short-term job to gain experience in a career field.

There are still others who simply opt for a smaller home to complement their frugal or minimalist lifestyle. No matter what your reasons are for choosing to downsize, you can use the following tips to make the transition from larger to smaller living spaces with ease and simplicity. 

Shed non-critical possessions well before moving day

Once you know you will be downsizing into a smaller home, it is important to make significant reductions in the amount of personal possessions you have in order to make the move work well. This should be done several weeks ahead of the actual moving date, if possible, in order to allow you time to sell, give away, or donate the excess items you own. If there are items that you simply cannot part with, even though they will not fit into your new, smaller home, renting long-term storage space is an excellent option. 

Verify what will fit and what will need to be replaced

Before making a final decision about which furnishings you plan to keep and use after downsizing, take time to visit your future home or obtain measurements to make sure they will fit. For example, a dining room table that works perfectly in your current home may be far too large for the eat-in kitchen of your new home. Even if the furnishings you want to take will fit perfectly into your new space, it is important to also make sure they can fit through the doors, elevators, or stairwells to get them into your new home. Those that are too wide or unwieldy to do so will need to be replaced with a smaller version. 

One important exception to this rule if to use a reputable couch disassembly service, like that available from The Couch Mechanic. These professionals are able to quickly disassemble large upholstered furnishings so that they can be moved through narrow doors, hallways, or difficult stairwells. Once this has been done, the couch disassembly service reassembles the upholstered furniture without damaging it or making any visible or structural changes with the piece.