Simplifying your life is about making things about your daily routine and lifestyle easier and – of course – simpler. However, over the years, we acquire a lot of stuff and can fall into the habit of certain routines that could be negatively impact our quality of life.
Before moving into a senior living community, it is important to simplify and downsize your life. By doing so, you are setting yourself up for success to lead an active, purposeful, and fulfilling lifestyle in your new senior living community.
Our team at The Pavilion Senior Living, with senior communities in Tennessee and West Virginia, wants to help you through this process, so we are sharing some tips to get you started!
Consider Your Space: Wants & Needs
Do you enjoy cooking or spend a lot of time in the kitchen? Do you spend most of your free time in the living room (reading, watching television, knitting, etc.)? Are there any rooms or spaces in your current home that you do not use, such as an office or den?
Think about each room in your home and how you use it. Consider if a space benefits or enhances your lifestyle or if it simply is there collecting clutter and dust. If you are mindful about the spaces in your home that you use regularly, you can eliminate rooms that do not serve your lifestyle and simplify when you transition into your new Tennessee senior living community.
Downsize Your Clutter: Less is More
We all have clutter. Whether we have gotten items as gifts, inherited things, or bought them for ourselves, somehow, our homes fill up over the years. It can be hard to part with our belongings, but you have to sort and downsize the clutter you have collected over the years to simplify your life.
A good way to do this is to go room by room through your current home. Taking this approach allows you to focus on one area at a time, and can help you not feel as overwhelmed by the process.
Another reason why going through one room at a time works well is because it allows you to easily eliminate rooms that you will not have in your new apartment or space. For example, if your house has an office but your senior living apartment will not, an easy way to downsize and simplify is to do a deep dive in this room – is there space for some of these items in other rooms?
It’s okay to want to keep things; just be selective. It can be a slippery slope if you do this too much and you may not end up downsizing or getting rid of anything. The last thing you want to do is overpack and add clutter to your new living space.
When considering which items to keep, donate, and throw out, keep in mind their use and sentimental value. Think about parting with items that you do not use or that do not have any sentimental value to you. Having this mindset can make the downsizing process easier.
If something does have sentimental value, but you don’t have space for it, reach out to children, grandchildren, or other family members to see if it is something they would want.
Additionally, give yourself plenty of time to go through your home before moving day. This can be a long and even emotional process so avoid added stress by starting early.
Download Our Moving Checklist to Start Packing
Simplify Your Life at The Pavilion Senior Living!
At The Pavilion Senior Living, our mission is to provide compassionate care and high-quality services to older adults and families. We are committed to improving the lives of those we serve while providing care tailored to meet the unique physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of each resident.
We believe in helping individuals live lives with purpose through our mission, values, and focus. So when you choose to simplify your current lifestyle, you are free to focus on what is important to you. Throughout our West Virginia and Tennessee senior living communities, we help you do just that.
If you would like to learn more about our communities, care, and services, please visit our website or contact The Pavilion Senior Living today!
