So you've reached that time of life when the kids have left home and you're still rattling around in a large family home, full of abundance and life's accumulated possessions. But you know you'd like to move to a more practical sized property. So can mini storage really help you get from here to there? Because, as we learn in maths, 5 into 2 doesn't go!!

I'm sure you're aware the process is called 'downsizing'. And though there's much more than just financial benefit from downsizing, it is certainly a great way to protect your retirement funds by saving on heating, cooling, cleaning and not having to maintain a larger property you need.

But you may not be aware it's a process that often fills people with dread, so much so it can sometimes lead to paralysing inactivity, because you're just too overwhelmed to know where to start.

But don't let your responsibility for the family heirlooms, or the precious treasures of the kids who are off at uni, stop you from achieving a free-er more manageable life in a more appropriately sized dwelling.

Maybe your large family home has plenty of room for your caravan and water craft. However, you recognise these kinds of larger items take enormous space - space you just won't have when you downsize. But you're not convinced you want to part with them just yet.

These are just a few of the many reasons it can become an overwhelmingly stressful task to downsize.

This is where mini storage comes into its own. Why not keep those items you enjoy till you decide they're not going to be part of your life? Reduce your stress by storing them in a purpose built facility like mini storage. And why not just offload the kids' gear and the family heirlooms to their own separate storage too? When the time comes, hand the keys of the storage units to the kids, or to the appropriate family members, and let them sort it out which ever way they choose.

These are tips that could really help you and also be relationship savers! The transition really can be easier than you think. But what about your own items?

Taking a two-pronged approach might be just the ticket. After you move (or at least assign) all the essential items into your new place, put aside in one mini storage unit those items you think you want to keep but that won't fit in your new property. In another mini storage unit, put those items you're not sure you want to keep, but don't want to risk losing before you're sure you know what your new life will actually be like. 

Then, after you move, sort and progressively bring home, sell or give away the items in storage. When the shed is empty, its job is done. It allowed you to move early and easily. All the benefits sooner without the stress. What more could you need!