This post is sponsored by Legacy Locators.

Frisco is an ideal place to live for families. The vast majority of single family-use homes function as busy operating centers for parents and kids to navigate their days filled with school, work, sports, activities, play dates and social gatherings.

However, there’s another fraction of our population whose entering the empty nest season of life. While their children may have grown up and moved out to start college or a career elsewhere, mom and dad still want to make Frisco their home.

Equally, with the arrival of transplanted young families to our city, many grandparents are also relocating from out of state to be closer to their grandkids, yet don’t require a large single-family dwelling.

Reinvent Your Home

Either scenario presents the opportunity to consider a different choice of residence. Enter the idea of apartment living as an affordable solution.

While less square footage means lower utility bills and less space for clutter to take root, the process of paring down to downsize your living space can be even more exhausting than a regular move.

Rodney Britton from Legacy Locators has worked with many clients in this exact situation. He explains,

We’ve had several clients who have made this change in their living situation to simplify their lives. Getting rid of unnecessary items and furniture becomes an opportunity to reinvent your home!

So how does someone focus on simplifying their lives, while also navigating a broad search for the right new home? Legacy Locators can partner with you to find the right type of apartment living in Frisco while you focus on clearing the clutter.

Their seasoned apartment locators can assume the responsibility for the research and legwork of finding the right apartment space and location for you. To begin, all you have to do is complete their search form and they’ll do the rest.

Embrace a Life of Less

Their services are entirely FREE. This then gives you the time to concentrate on the tasks of downsizing and preparing for your new, simplified life. While Legacy Locators is busy finding a match for your desired amenities, budget and lifestyle, you can follow these tips for taking control of your possessions and embracing a life of less.

Separate

From the start, it’s probably best to adopt the method whereby you separate out all your existing items under headings of Gift, Sell, Donate, Trash. You can start by using a color-coded sticker system under the above headings on each item as you move room by room to evaluate.

Start with the Big Stuff

Downsize the big stuff first. How many beds do you need in your new home? Does the new space accommodate a dining table or just a kitchen dinette? Two chests of drawers in each bedroom or can you adjust to one? Could a 3-piece living room suite fit in an apartment? Are side tables and coffee tables necessary at every corner? Look at each room with the future space in mind, and measure things, deciding which pieces will work better in a smaller space.

Follow the “One Year Rule”

Track how often you use certain items and apply the ‘one-year rule’. For example, in the closet, if there are clothes or shoes not worn in a year throughout the four seasons then it’s probably time to bid them goodbye. Take the same approach in the kitchen as chances are the current kitchen in a single-family home will have been larger than an apartment (and that means less storage, drawer, and cupboard space.

To review your stock of utensils, grab two boxes or even drawers in your current kitchen. As you go about your routine, place in one empty drawer or box the items you use on a daily basis. If after a few weeks there are items left that you never seem to use then it’s time to donate or pass on to someone who will make better use of it.

Discard the Duplicates

Minimizing duplicate items speaks for itself. While it’s nice to have two or three of the same items in various parts of the home for convenience (one upstairs and one downstairs, one in the master bath and one in the guest or children’s bathroom), downsizing means you don’t need three or four of the same items around the home anymore.

Here’s a quick list of items we tend to accumulate extras on that you could consider paring down: Sets of dishes and glassware, Tupperware, mixing bowls, large serving platters, coolers, household tools, extra blankets and sheet sets (maybe keep one heavy and one light, per guest bed), and a coat for each type of weather.

Then consider items you won’t ever need in an apartment like ladders, garden tools, wheelbarrow, larger power tools and excessive outdoor Christmas decorations. These items do well to yield some good cash at garage sales, on Facebook marketplace groups, eBay or Craig’s List. Rodney Britton from Legacy Locator’s adds,

I’ve had clients make a small fortune on items that simply clutter their environments!

Re-Home the Sentimental Items

Maybe are some items you just can’t bear to see go into the donate pile, but they’ll take up much-needed space in your new smaller home.

Think about special people in your life who can take family heirlooms or sentimental items. That collection of Victorian dolls, a book series, large pieces of furniture like a rocking chair or grandfather clock… Call various family members who understand the sentiment and family memory behind the item and see can they house it comfortably.

Digitize

Documents, photographs, CD’s, DVD’s… Digitize whatever you can. If you have a lot of family photos, consider a gallery wall of favorites and work with a professional service or family member to help you digitize the rest. Go green and paperless by scanning those filing drawers and boxes of documents you really don’t need taking up space.

Identify Your Storage Options

Consider various storage options within a smaller space. There are some great ideas to be found in stores and online to implement a more effective storage solution and make space go further. Hang additional shelves or hooks in busy areas of the home like the kitchen and bathroom. Seek out organization tools that expand storage in closets and cabinets like under-bed storage boxes, vertical clothing hangers, and behind-door shoe storage.

If, after sorting most rooms and items, you still feel you can’t quite bring yourself to donate, consider using a small off-site storage solution for the short term until you get through the transition and relocation process.

However, set accumulation limits for yourself. Don’t use this option for all items as then you will never truly downsize properly and only be faced with large storage bills! Rent only a small unit and decide on only what will truly fit in there. Once settled in your new apartment space you can then go through this unit and purge again.

The “Feel-Good” Factor of Downsizing

Paring down can be both stressful and emotional especially if you have spent decades in a large home. Organizing, purging, and donating, however, always presents a “feel-good” factor. There are bound to be old clothes and other items that might be of better use to someone else in addition to helping you feel like you are giving back.

With Legacy Locators as your expert partners, you can trust they’ll find you the right space to move onto the next exciting and liberating chapter in your home life.