Sarah Ingles, REALTOR® SRES® · Fathom Realty
If you're getting ready to downsize from a long-term Des Moines home, the hardest part is rarely the real estate transaction. It's deciding what to do with 30 or 40 years of belongings. After helping hundreds of metro seniors through this exact process, here is the 30-day plan I walk every client through.
Rule 1: Start with the rooms where the emotional weight is lowest (basement, garage, guest bedroom) and end with the rooms where it is highest (master bedroom closet, family room, kitchen).
Rule 2: Use four boxes for everything: KEEP, GIVE TO FAMILY, DONATE, TRASH. Never re-handle an item.
Rule 3: No more than 2 hours of work per day. Decluttering is emotional work and you will burn out fast if you treat it like a marathon.
Rule 4: Loop in adult children early. Most family arguments about downsizing come from adult children finding out late in the process that an heirloom was donated.
Day 1: Garage. Start with one shelf or one corner. The garage is mostly tools, paint cans, and yard equipment, so the emotional load is low.
Day 2: Basement storage area. Holiday decorations, old electronics, files older than 7 years.
Day 3: Guest bedroom and guest closet.
Day 4: Linen closet. You will be shocked how many sheets and towels you own.
Day 5: Office or den. Old paperwork, old computers, old phone books.
Day 6 and 7: Rest. Decluttering is emotional and you need recovery days.
Day 8: Attic, if you have one.
Day 9: Tool shed, garden shed, or outbuildings.
Day 10: Holiday decorations and seasonal items. Set aside one box per holiday — that's enough.
Day 11: Books. The hardest category for many seniors. Donate to the Des Moines Public Library or Half Price Books.
Day 12: Photos and slides. Do NOT throw any out yet — just consolidate them in one place. We will come back to this in Month 2.
Day 13 and 14: Rest.
Day 15: Kitchen — small appliances, mugs, gadgets you haven't used in a year.
Day 16: Kitchen — dishes, glassware, serving pieces. Keep one set of dinnerware that fits the new place, give the family heirloom set to a daughter or daughter-in-law if they want it, donate or sell the rest.
Day 17: Pantry. Anything expired or anything you won't eat in the next 30 days.
Day 18: Dining room. China, silver, crystal — these usually go to family or to consignment.
Day 19: Living room. Furniture, decor, books in the living room.
Day 20: Family room. Photo albums stay, but other items get sorted.
Day 21: Rest.
Day 22: Master bedroom dresser drawers.
Day 23: Master bedroom closet — your clothes.
Day 24: Master bedroom closet — your spouse's clothes (if applicable, and if emotionally appropriate).
Day 25: Bathroom cabinets and medicine cabinet. Throw out anything expired.
Day 26: Final sweep — anywhere you've been avoiding.
Day 27: Photos. Now we come back to them. Pick the 100 most important photos and put them in one album. The rest can be digitized by a service like Legacybox or kept in a single labeled box for the family.
Day 28: Family heirloom day. Walk through the KEEP and GIVE TO FAMILY boxes one more time. Take photos of items going to family so there's no confusion.
Day 29: Schedule the donation pickup, the estate sale company, and the senior move manager.
Day 30: Rest. You did it.
KEEP: Goes with you to the new place.
GIVE TO FAMILY: Coordinate with adult children for pickup. Take photos so there are no disputes later.
DONATE: Many Des Moines metro charities will pick up at no charge — Goodwill, Salvation Army, Hope Ministries, Habitat ReStore. Schedule one big pickup at the end.
ESTATE SALE: For valuable items you don't want to donate or take with you. A senior move manager can recommend a Des Moines estate sale company.
TRASH: Schedule a junk removal pickup at the end of the 30 days.
Q: How long does it really take to declutter a long-term home? A: A 30-day plan is achievable for most one-story homes if you're consistent. Larger or more cluttered homes can take 60-90 days. The key is consistency, not speed — 2 hours a day for 30 days is far more effective than one exhausting weekend.
Q: Should I rent a storage unit during decluttering? A: Almost never. Storage units become a place where things go to die instead of being decided about. The whole point of downsizing is to reduce, not to relocate.
Q: What do I do with photos and family memorabilia? A: Consolidate in one place during the 30-day plan, then digitize the most important photos and either give the originals to family or store them in a single archive box. Don't throw photos out without offering them to family first.
Q: When should I bring in a senior move manager? A: Most families benefit from a senior move manager around Day 20 of the 30-day plan, when the emotional rooms start. They can take over the physical work and let you focus on the emotional decisions.
Free, no-pressure consultation. Sarah responds within 24 hours.
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