Downsizing Checklist
The Downsizing Checklist for Women Over 50
A twelve-month, room-by-room checklist that keeps the decision on schedule and the emotions in proportion.
By Lisa Copeland · 6 min read
Twelve months out: write the life paragraph, gather two years of utility bills, and get an honest opinion of value. Decisions made without numbers get postponed.
Nine months out: meet a CPA about capital gains, price the next home in two or three candidate locations, and visit them on a weekday, not a weekend.
Six months out: begin releasing. Start with the storage rooms and the garage, never the photographs. Sentimental categories go last, once the muscle is built.
Four months out: address deferred maintenance that affects the sale price, and book the movers. Good move managers are booked far earlier than people expect.
Three months out: measure the next home's rooms and decide what furniture actually fits. Keeping pieces scaled for rooms that no longer exist is the most common and expensive mistake.
Listing month: stage, photograph, and go. Then spend the first thirty days in the new place doing nothing but living in it before you buy a single thing.
