Top-8 ADU Downsizing Tips

In case you’re interested in law-related information, you must’ve noticed that nowadays, California is becoming more friendly towards ADUs. In this state, there are lots of things that make ADU construction much easier and more attractive, such as bonus programs, owner occupancy requirements, and fee waivers.

But what to do when your ADU is ready? How to downsize it the right way? In our article, we’ll tell you about the main things that need to be done when you move to an ADU from an ordinary house.

1. Decide how long you’ll be there

The main question to consider when planning to move to an ADU is how much time you’re going to spend there. For instance, in case you want to rent it out for some period (even a brief one), you won’t need to throw it away or sell too many things. They may be useful for you in your next house! On the other hand, if you’re a grandparent and wish to move closer to your younger relatives, you’ll probably need some more drastic changes to make the ADU more convenient for you.

If you aren’t sure yet about how long you’re going to live there, think very well about what you’ll keep and what you’ll get rid of without any regret. If you want to live there only during summer, it would be a good idea to divide your things between both of your houses — the main one and the ADU. Also, it would be great to use a special storage unit to put big-sized belongings there and keep them safe.

2. Build a storage unit

Let’s pay a bit more attention to storage units because it’s a really important thing for those who have an ADU. Many ADU owners lack free space to store their items, especially large ones that aren’t needed very often. For such things, the best variant would be to construct a storage unit. It can give you some valuable space and eliminate the necessity to keep everything in the ADU itself.

3. Figure out your needs

It’s completely unsurprising that ADUs are usually quite small buildings. So, if you’re planning to live in such a house, you’ll have to check all of your possessions and sort out the most important ones. Of course, you don’t need to throw away too many things, but it would be great to look through your clothes, shoes, and other items and get rid of the most unnecessary of them.

4. Think about an extra bathroom or bedroom

If you want to construct an ADU, we would recommend you choose a plan with more than one bedroom. Even if you think you don’t need it, you can use it for storing things or convert it into a craft room. With this additional space, your life in the ADU will be way more convenient. Also, in case you plan to invite a lot of guests into your ADU, it’d be useful to build a second bathroom. Even a small one would give them (and you, too) much more personal space and comfort.

5. Select multifunctional furniture

When you don’t have much space, it’s much better to buy multifunctional furniture items than ordinary ones. They will help you prevent cluttering and increase the amount of free space. A great example of such furniture is a couch that can be turned into a trundle bed or a bench with a large box inside it. Such things especially come in handy when your friends or relatives stay at your ADU. You can pull out the wide bed from the couch, providing them with a comfortable place to sleep.

6. Prepare some space for your activities

Sadly, if your home is too small, you won’t have much space to store things that are necessary for your hobbies — especially if they’re connected to sports, hiking, or other outdoor activities. In a compact ADU, there can be no place at all to put a surfboard or a bicycle. So, if you don’t have a possibility to keep them outside the house, in a garage or a shed, then you’ll have to store them somewhere in the ADU. Fortunately, lots of ADU construction companies have various wall-mount solutions for this problem.

7. Think about decorations

Although it may seem strange, decorations can help you save space too. Moreover, they can play a great role in it. Well-made decorations will not only bring extra beauty and coziness to your ADU but make it much bigger visually. You can find lots of techniques that can help you with it — for example, using a bright but not very contrasting color palette, increasing the amount of daylight in the rooms, and following the same decoration theme in the whole house.

8. Go digital

In our age, technology makes life easier in many fields, and organizing home space is no exception. It can be extremely useful for decluttering your house. Now, you don’t need to keep large heaps of paper — you can simply turn them into a digital form by photographing or scanning them. Compact discs also have lost their necessity, being replaced by various streaming services, cloud file storage, portable speakers, and so on. Of course, some people are reluctant to get rid of their old albums, books, or CD collections because these items mean too much to them. But as we’ve already said, it’s important to sort everything through and choose what to keep and what to throw away.

The conclusion

So as you may have seen, there are plenty of ways to increase the space in your ADU. One of the best tips is to use multifunctional furniture. Another great recommendation is to decorate your new house the right way — this will make it seem way larger. The main thing is to be creative and ready to experiment with different methods!

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A+ Construction & Remodeling’s name echoes across Sacramento as a top-notch provider of ADU construction services – read more about here – https://aplusconstructionremodeling.com/adu-builders/. Our bespoke approach means that every project we undertake, every ADU home we build, is unique, thoughtfully designed, and meticulously crafted to meet our client’s individual needs. Over the years, our success in crafting perfect ADU homes has allowed us to refine our services, innovate, and set new benchmarks in ADU construction. This continual quest for improvement fuels our commitment to excellence, making A+ Construction & Remodeling synonymous with quality ADU construction in Sacramento.