Five Ways to Downsize after Divorce
After divorce, you may come to the realization that you have too much stuff. It's time to downsize! Simplify your life and downsize in these five ways:
ONE: Go through your closet
Take a look at your closet! There are a lot of ways to downsize there. You have a ton of items that you don't wear anymore. Get rid of them. Throw out clothing that you haven't worn in over a year. While your at it, take a complete inventory of your closet and find out what works and what doesn't. Then, reward yourself with a shopping trip for a few new things!
TWO: Buy less food
You will be able to downsize a lot in your kitchen by simply buying less food. There is one less adult in your household, which means there is a lot less food that you need to store! Buy smaller amounts and freeze bigger meals into smaller portions for later. Concentrate on healthy options instead of large quantities.
THREE: Get rid of "Marriage Memorabilia"
It's alright to be sentimental. However, your marriage is over so it's ok to get rid of all that Marriage Memorabilia. You can toss that slice of wedding cake that sits in your freezer and pack away all the old pictures of you and your ex. If you're a clutter bug, I bet there's a few old bridesmaid dresses from other weddings that you can throw out too!
FOUR: Go Paperless
Most of us have a home computer these days. Start scanning and store it in the cloud. Get rid of old books, DVDs, and CDs. You can read books online, listen to music digitally, and watch movies through a variety of online vendors. You will be surprised at how much room going paperless can create!
FIVE: Get rid of the Ex's Stuff
As tempted as you may be to set your ex's stuff on fire on the front lawn, the better thing to do is to give it back. When you get the ex's stuff out of the house, you'll have more room for other things, new things, like, new relationship-type things! Remember to tie up those loose ends!
So start downsizing today! Don't waste another minute - you have a beautiful life ahead of you. Make room for the good things!
Robin Sassi is co-author of "Charmed Divorce". She is divorced, lives in San Diego, and has spent the previous 24-hours before writing this article de-cluttering her house.
