Curated Transitions: The Upside of Downsizing

There are a lot of upsides to living in a lusciously spacious home. A downside, however, is when you have to downsize.

For many folks, the idea of having to go through a whole houseful of heart-grippingly beloved belongings, and then somehow end up resituated in a smaller place, is an unimaginable scope of activity. There are those long hallways of family portraits and paintings, rooms decorated with travel souvenirs, mega-size furniture, packed closets, and kitchens stocked with everything needed to make anything for any occasion, and more. These are things that tell the story of one’s life.

But, the chapters of the tale do march on. And when the need to cull arises, whether due to divorce, empty-nesterhood, moving to a retirement community, or just electing to live in a more diminutive space, the question becomes how to face and deal with multitudes of treasured possessions that fit so nicely in the fantastically-vast living room, high-ceilinged entry foyer, guest wing, and library you will no longer have. And, how to end up happy once resettled within new smaller walls, that too.

Karen Martin gets this conundrum. The 50-something Santa Barbara resident has moved many such a mountain herself, starting with when her mother was diagnosed with dementia in 2003. “She was still living in the very big house I grew up in in Chicago,” Martin told me. “My sister and I needed to help her transition to a safer, much smaller home; a one-bedroom apartment. Our mom had lots of stuff and we had to sift through everything. There was no one to help or give advice.” 

After the gals got the job done, Martin “became the de facto expert on downsizing amongst my friends,” she said. More experience followed when she and her husband, twin daughters, and the family dog Stinson (they’d come to town from Marin) moved four times before finding their ‘just right’ home. Each property purchased along the way was, intentionally, smaller than the last. “We just found we really enjoy the freedom of having less to manage,” she explained. “Also, we value our life experiences a lot more than much of what was in our well-appointed large homes. I owned so much; wedding gifts, china, silver, crystal, things that no longer fit our lifestyle. We kept only things that really matter.”

In 2017, Martin’s skills with scaling down became her profession. She opened a business. Curated Transitions is a move and organization management company that can handle any kind of “plan, downsize, move, settle” situation. Its area of specialty, however, is in the unique elements of senior relocations. 

I asked what is, for that demographic, the single most difficult part of shifting from lots of square footage to less? “Lack of clarity,” she replied. “Many of my clients find it hard to see how they’re going to get from this home they’ve lived in for many many years, with all these things that are important to them, to moving into a smaller one. But, I have found that having an empathetic person helping, pushing gently gives them the strength and courage to say, about many objects, ‘I don’t really need this.’ It can be empowering simply to have someone to hold their hand through the process and reassure them that what is happening here is absolutely possible. More than possible; we do this every day!”

Who’s “we” I wondered, and learned Martin’s team is comprised exclusively of women with interior design expertise. 

The mission begins when Martin shows up with her rolling tote of tools (clipboards, pens, packing tape, scissors, post-it notes, granola bars, and other essentials) and, together with the client, constructs a plan. Every item in the house is considered, from the grand piano down to the last thumbtack. Martin arranges everything and everyone involved in reaching the goal: All chosen items packed up and transferred to the new home, and the old one emptied, nothing left but an echo.

Keeping clients’ eyes on the prize, meaning focused on their streamlined surroundings to come, helps the process. “We make a floorplan and discuss where everything’s going in the new home. We want to take their favorite things, but not all their things.” Many of the homes in which Martin works have extensive collections of antiques, books, art, jewelry, etc. and for much of it she calls in consignment and auction specialists, and donation pick-ups.

Once that part’s a wrap, Martin and her team unpack and set up, in the new space, everything that was kept. “It’s important to preserve our clients’ stories,” she noted. “So, when they move it feels like their personality is brought in and the things that give them comfort are there. It’s not just a new house; it’s their new home.”

While some initially dread the shedding process, Martin finds that once the leap’s complete, her clients rarely miss any of that with which they parted. “Many of them just feel relieved, liberated, and more joyful,” she said. 

Turns out, it’s enjoyable, too, for the move manager. “Helping people in this way is much more fun than I thought it would be,” Martin added. “I love what we’re doing!”

Curated Transitions
www.curatedtransitions.com
(805) 669-6303