ATLAS

When my husband Robert and I downsized from our family home of 20 years to an apartment, we struggled to find comprehensive and trustworthy information on how to navigate this next phase of our lives. I’ve bought and sold a number of homes over the past 40 years from the first home, to upsizing to a larger family home as the family expanded and grew, to the final home where access to schools no longer dictates but easy access to transport, shops and our social network is the criteria in my case for where we lived. Despite my personal experience, and my experience as a real estate agent of over 30 years, nothing prepared me for the experience of downsizing. Downsizing can be an overwhelming process. Sorting through years of memories, preparing your precious home for sale, and beginning the search for a new property is an enormous amount of work — that’s before you factor in navigating the maintenance crews, cleaners, relocation companies, property stylists, decluttering consultants, landscapers that will work on your home throughout the process. Over the years, I’ve helped hundreds of clients through the process. Seeing them go through the same struggles as I did, I put together this booklet to assist anyone considering downsizing. It’s a collection of advice and experiences from myself and my clients who have also been through the process. If you’re thinking about downsizing yourself and want to know more, feel free to reach out, I can give you some first hand tips so you too can live a larger life in a smaller space. Kathleen Synnott