Planning is essential to a smooth move. As soon as our apartment-hunting trip was complete, and we'd signed a lease on our new place in New York, I sat down to plan out exactly what would come with us to New York and where it would "live."
Walking through our home in Georgia to be sure I didn't leave anything out, I made a list of all the categories of stuff we would need. These included clothing, accessories and shoes, toiletries, linens, cookware, serveware and pantry items, and pet supplies. Also included were cookbooks, paper files, memorabilia, office supplies, electronics and cleaning supplies.
With that comprehensive list, I mapped out our apartment on paper and assigned "homes" for each category. Only then could I estimate how much space we'd need for each category - and order furniture and organizing products appropriate for each area.
As you might guess, this process took several hours. But it paid off. Within 24 hours of unloading our truck, our new home was unpacked and organized.
Downsizing requires some tough decision-making. Here are some of the choices we made to ensure we'd be comfortable in our small space:
Enjoy the china - I sold our set of everyday, white plates and bowls, and instead packed only my grandmother's china for use in our new place. Having two sets of dishes didn't make sense with our limited kitchen storage - especially since entertaining is not our top priority in New York - and I decided I'd rather risk damaging the china in the process of enjoying it, than pack it away where it would be "safe" but out of sight.
Reduce, reduce, reduce - I also halved our numbers of serving pieces and linens. Although we welcome overnight guests on our extra-large sofa, we only needed dishes and glasses for 6, and a single extra set of bed and bath linens. (That's what laundry and dishwashing are for). We also thinned out our wardrobes significantly. A versatile wardrobe that suits our lifestyle is easy to store, and means laundry never gets too piled up.
Prioritize - You may have noticed several categories "missing" from my list of items. We choose spaciousness and ease of access over owning holiday decorations, sports equipment (except our yoga mats), tools (except a hammer), and gifts and gift-wrapping, to name a few. Rather than supplementing our large kitchen island with a dining table, we chose to use the extra space in the living area to house our files and electronics. Once again, the primary function of our apartment is to support our daily routines - not to host dinner parties.
Your choices may look very different from mine, but the bottom line is that prioritizing high-frequency-use items makes for a beautiful, practical small home.