Moving to a New Home? Learn from an Expert about Smooth Transitions.

Susie Danick is devoting her career to helping seniors shift to smaller quarters. As a consultant for retirees facing a move to new digs, she has a knack for helping them break free of the ties to material things that bind them.

As a person goes through life, they accumulate more and more possessions. According to Danick, their biggest worry becomes, “How am I going to find a place for everything in my new home?”

Instead, Danick says she helps clients think about their anticipated move in reverse. She asks two questions, “What are you going to take with you?” And, “What do your children want?” Once you make these decisions, there is not much of value left. Then, you can then find a new home for your cherished belongings.

Most unnecessary items can be donated (be sure and take a tax deduction) or given to neighbors or friends. Yard sales are also a popular way to find your good used items a new home. In the DC area there are also a number of consignment shops that would love to try and sell your good used furnishings for you (check out this one in nearby Bethesda, Capital Consignment).

It seems that space planning is the key to a guilt-free move. Danick uses a drawn to-scale floor plan of their soon-to-be home and diagrams where their furniture will go in the new space. “This is a great way to insure you don’t have regrets. You won’t move pieces that don’t fit, and you won’t discard a nice piece of furniture and find later that you would have had space for it,” she explains.

As for the lifetime of clutter, Danick doesn’t recommend off-site storage. If you can’t take it and live comfortably, especially in smaller quarters, it may be time to let go. For the rest, getting creative with small spaces can help. She advises installing closet organizers, under the bed storage, over the door hanging racks.

If you would like to learn more about downsizing, Susie Danick will be giving a free lecture at Ingleside at King Farm on Thursday, March 22, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Downsizing – This relocation expert, and founder of Transitional Assistance and Design, will offer downsizing tips especially for seniors and retirees. Learn how to cull through a lifetime of possessions, and know what to keep, and what you can let go. Refreshments will be served. The free workshop is at Ingleside at King Farm, 701 King Farm Blvd., on March 22, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Register by calling 240-499-9019.