When you make a plan to move, the days start to pass a little quicker than you think. All of a sudden you blink, and it’s the night before your big move! Decluttering BEFORE moving can help you not only save money on boxes but can also help you downsize your belongings. You don’t want to have to pay extra moving expenses for the things you don’t need plus you don’t want to waste time shifting things you don’t plan on keeping anyway. Not only will you have less to pack, but you’ll have more room in your new space for the things you truly love. Here is how to declutter your space before you move.
Tips To Declutter For Moving
1. Start early
As soon as you know you could be moving, that is the time to start downsizing. Moving trucks are expensive, and so are boxes, not to mention your time. If you start decluttering your belongings early, then you can start figuring out more specifics about what size truck or box you will need to move your stuff. Starting early will also allow you to take your time on more difficult categories such as sentimental items or items that have been packed away in your attic for years that you forgot about.
Don’t wait till the last second. Moving is stressful as it is. The less snap decisions you have to make just before moving day, the better.
2. Give yourself plenty of extra time to declutter before moving
Decluttering sounds better on paper than in practice. When you have to unload your space of every item you own and sort through it, the whole process becomes exhausting fast! Not to mention mentally taxing. By giving yourself plenty of extra time, you will ensure that you don’t have to rush through things and/or throw things in a box to deal with later.
If something is holding you up in the process, set it aside and save it for another time. You want to feel good and empowered when decluttering. When you hit a wall with certain items, it can totally throw you into a tailspin and unable to make decisions about any items anymore. Sort that section of difficult items at the end. And who knows. The exhilaration from decluttering the easy stuff first may give you a better perspective on the difficult stuff and they won’t be so hard to go through as you thought.
Need help getting rid of sentimental stuff? Check out this post of 100 Things You Should Throw Out but find difficult to part with.
3. Understand that holding on to things cost you more than money
It can be tempting to hold on to things that cost a lot of money. Or maybe you are one of those people that holds on to things “just in case”. It is important to understand that your items may cost you more to keep them. In storage. In upkeep. And in mental space. Don’t let your things become anchors in your life.
And if you aren’t getting rid of something because you think you can sell it, the reality is that if you don’t have a buyer in mind, keeping those items will only make the moving process more difficult for you. Besides, if you haven’t done it by now, what make you think you will ever do it.
Donating and recycling items gives them a second home for people who may have otherwise not been able to afford it. Work through the things in your home, and for the things that you don’t want to keep, donate them and move on knowing that you a)helped the planet and b)given your item a second chance at being loved by someone else.
4. Prioritize your boxes
Ultimately, you want to declutter everything before you move. But in some cases, it may be impossible. Especially when the move is quick and/or unexpected. Those difficult items that you set aside in the previous step may not have been gone through. I want you to know that is totally ok. Mark those boxes as needing to go through and write the date on them. When you do move, store them in your new place out of the way. It would be awesome if you found the time to go through those boxes after the move but if after one year, those boxes are untouched, I strongly recommend pitching those boxes without even looking in them. Obviously you don’t need whatever is in there.
Here’s a great moving tip: The last thing you want to do is be stuck with a room full of boxes and not be able to find the things you need once you get to your new place. As you declutter your home, make a note of the items you will need as soon as you get to your new home. Create “open first” boxes and keep those boxes together and easily accessible. This will save you a lot of trouble during the packing and unpacking process!
5. Be honest and ruthless!
You need to learn to be honest and ruthless about the things that you want to keep. Are you keeping them out of guilt or fear? Are you keeping those things because you genuinely love them? Or do you hold on to stuff just in case? If you aren’t holding onto them for the right reasons, it’s okay to let them go! Seriously, it is just stuff. And it is amazing how much more room you have in your life for your passions when you stop attaching so much value to objects.
Moving is never easy, but deciding what to keep and what to get rid of shouldn’t be the hardest part! I hope these tips have made the idea of decluttering before a big move a little more manageable so that you can feel better prepared for your upcoming move. I wish you health and happiness in your new home. That is all you really need.