Have you collected excess accumulations hiding in the back of cupboards and in your garage?

Are there old X-rays stacked up in the spare room? Or great-aunt Maude's ceramic cockatoo that you don't know what to do with?

Melissa Freasier and her staff at Downsizing with Care have seen it all and help Canberrans deal with a diverse range of items, de-cluttering and providing moving services for people in their retirement years.

"On behalf of our clients we have been able to re-home papers, books, hobby equipment and more to museums and other organisations," Melissa says.

"People have often accumulated a lifetime of possessions, as well as inherited things from family members, and don't want to see it all go into a skip. Most excess possessions in good condition don't have to be taken to landfill. Many household objects can be appropriately donated to a worthy cause or responsibly recycled."

Melissa also says that quite often, her clients just need an extra pair of helping hands during a time which can be quite emotional. And sometimes, their family is either too far away or too busy to help, so more and more empty-nesters are outsourcing the task of helping to downsize their home.

As part of these services, they can even recoup some of the cost of their relocation by getting advice and assistance in selling objects as part of the process.

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Melissa and her team also assist people who are moving to aged care facilities and retirement accommodation, and have picked up a few tips and tricks for making the process smoother.

"People can find downsizing to be a fairly overwhelming process and sometimes feel stuck on what to do with particular items. It can be the biggest personal project most people will ever undertake," Melissa added.

The ladies at Downsizing with Care help people in their homes throughout Canberra, and say they are responding to a growing trend of in-home de-cluttering and moving services.