Most people first move out of their parents' home and into a dorm or apartment. Then, they often move into a larger apartment or a small house, and a few years later, an even larger family home. Do you recognize a pattern here? People move into larger and larger abodes as time goes on — which is why most moving tips assume you're moving into a larger home. But what if you're downsizing for whatever reason? You deserve some specific moving tips, too. Here are a few to get you started.

Tell your moving company that the new home is smaller.

Since most people do move from smaller homes into larger ones, your moving company will often assume you are doing the same. It's nice to let them know you are, in fact, moving into a smaller home instead. This allows them to plan for struggles such as carrying boxes in through narrower halls, positioning furniture where it fits, and so forth. If your new home is an apartment up a flight of stairs or accessible only via a narrow hall, let the movers know about these specifics, too.

Get rid of things before you move.

If you wait until after your move to sort through and dispose of the things you don't need, then your new home will be stuffed to the gills initially, which will make it hard to sort through things! So, get rid of anything non-essential before you move. Donate it, sell it, recycle it, or throw it away. This also means there won't be as much for your movers to move, which can help keep costs manageable.

Rent a storage unit.

When you're used to living in a big home, you may have difficulty telling how much can fit in your new, smaller home. Most people tend to overestimate how much they actually have room for. So, it can be really helpful to rent a storage unit as you move. This gives you an overflow space for things that don't quite fit, buying you a little more time to sort through things and decide what to keep.

Label boxes by the new room names.

Chances are, your new, smaller home has fewer rooms than the old one. So you need to take this into account when labeling boxes. If you label all the boxes from your existing home office as "office," but your new home doesn't have an office, you and your movers won't be sure where to put them! So, decide in advance where these items are going to go and label your boxes accordingly. For instance, you can label the boxes from your current office "bedroom" if that's where you want those things in your new home.

Hopefully, the moving tips above will serve you well as you downsize. Moving into a smaller home can be really rewarding as long as you take steps to do it right!

Contact a residential moving company if you need help.