The Stress Of Downsizing

We hadn't thought too much about downsizing until Mike's step mother decided to sell the big house after his father died. People accumulate "stuff" over 30 to 40 years. When the house just becomes too big or maintenance overwhelms, a smaller place is logical. Then the stress builds. It's not just the elderly, but 80 million boomers will retire over the next ten years. Many will want to move to warmer weather and smaller quarters. It can be painful to worry about all the collectibles, the furniture, and clothes in the smaller space. Naturally, the person downsizing wants to make the smaller space look bigger.

This is my cue to mention how an interior designer can help you in this situation. Interior designer Donna Overly, ASID, of Vogue Interiors in Bonita Springs, Florida helps relieve the stress. She's mentioned in an article in The Naples Daily News.

An interior designer can show you how to make a space look bigger by using colors, arranging furniture, and picking a few of your precious articles for display. How about closets? An interior designer can help with closet systems to "...triple the usable space and storage capacity of any closet..."

Until now, I hadn't given any of this much thought. This article opened my eyes.

For more on downsizing, WikiHow has 12 steps to downsize your house.