Undeniably, moving is typically a very stressful life event. With the hassle of hiring movers, changing your address and switching over your utilities, you also have to address all the items in your home. One of the best ways to reduce the stress of a move, while saving money at the same time, is to purge and declutter your life before you even start the packing process.
After all, moving already requires you to take inventory of the things that you own and pack each individual item away into a box. So, why not take the (very minimal) extra time to assess what items you use, need, and those that mean the most to you. Then, purge the things that no longer serve a purpose in your life or are simply adding more clutter.
Why Declutter Before a Big Move?
Taking the time and expending the energy to declutter your home before you move is beneficial in a number of ways. For starters, decluttering and purging before moving means that you have less stuff that needs to be packed, transported, and then ultimately unpacked and put away. When you declutter first, you will save time and energy in the long run, as you won’t be moving anything that no longer gets used, is needed, or holds sentimental value.
In addition to having less stuff to move, decluttering can also save you money! Less stuff means fewer boxes and packing supplies. Not to mention, if you plan on hiring professional movers, you will enjoy decreased moving costs – the less stuff there is to move, the cheaper your move will be. Last but certainly not least, when you arrive in your new home, there is less stuff that needs to be put away and organized. This ensures that the unpacking process is faster, simpler, and much less stressful.
After all, who doesn’t want to create a home that is filled with all the things they need, use, love, and enjoy? As opposed to a home that is chock-full of needless clutter.
Tips for a Successful Declutter
The following tips are essential to achieving a successful declutter prior to your move. They will also help maximize the time that you spend decluttering, so that it can be done as efficiently and effectively as possible.
We’ll help you embrace this idea of minimalist moving and hopefully help make the entire process a simpler one.
1. Start early
One of the best ways to successfully declutter your home before a move is to start as early as possible. If anything, you should definitely not be waiting until the day before your movers show up to decide what needs to be packed and what can be tossed. Instead, plan to start the decluttering process at least two weeks before moving day. If you can do it even early, that’d be ideal.
It takes a considerable amount of time to go through your belongings and make conscious decisions about their fate. Plus, most can only do this for a period of time before they start having diminished returns. Make sure that you give a few hours over the course of several days, to tackle each nook and cranny of your home. Separating the work into smaller, more manageable chunks helps prevent you from wanting to just toss it all in moving boxes to get it over with.
2. Have a plan
Similar to packing, most misjudge just how long it takes to properly declutter an entire home. With so much to sort through and only so little time until you inevitably get tired and start making poor decisions, it’s important to have a well-though-out plan. Come up with a decluttering plan that helps you know exactly what needs to be done, when, and under what time frame.
These plans can help you assess what you’re going to do with the stuff that you’re purging, ensure that you stay motivated, and prevent you from neglecting some areas of your home. When you plan ahead, it makes it easier to wrap your head around the scope of the project and how you can get all of it done in the most efficient way possible.
3. Sort everything
When you’re ready to start decluttering, it doesn’t matter where – whether it’s a room, drawer in a room, or specific category of stuff. Though, as you’re going through everything, set aside the items you decide to keep and sort the items you plan to purge into three distinct piles:
- Recycle: Of course, we already know that things made of plastic, glass, and paper can go into the recycle pile. However, electronics, appliances, batteries, and other items, can be recycled as well – albeit to the proper place.
- Donation and/or sell: Any items that are new or gently used, and someone would get a better use out of, can be donated or sold. You can donate to places like libraries, schools, local community centers, and non-profit organizations. For the items that you want to sell and make a little extra cash off of, you can hold a garage sale or post them on sites like Craigslist or OfferUp.
- Toss: If an item cannot be recycled or repurposed in some way and you no longer have a use for it, toss it. Though this is not an ideal outcome, if you’ve already done your best to sell, donate, or recycle what you can, you’ll have much less ending up in a landfill.
Sort your belongings as you work and, if needed, create additional piles. For instance, if you have different organizations that you want to donate to or different websites you plan on selling on, making separate piles for each can help you stay organized.
4. Be practical
One of the hardest parts about decluttering is letting go of the items that perhaps you’ve owned for quite some time. However, just because you’ve held onto something for many years doesn’t mean that it still carries value. It’s important to be practical and follow these guidelines to help you assess what actually matters, and what does not:
- Don’t keep something just because you think you have to: If you know you should get rid of an item but you feel guilty about it, this is a sign to simply let it go.
- Don’t keep something that causes you distress: Your belongings should not be tearing you down. As such, do not hold onto things like keepsakes from past relationships or clothing items that no longer fit anymore.
- Don’t keep something you wouldn’t consider buying again: Ask yourself –
if I didn’t already own this, would I still go out and purchase it? If the answer is no, get rid of it.
- Don’t keep something you haven’t used in a year or don’t plan on using in a year: A common rule that minimalists follow is that if you haven’t used an item in the last 90 days and you likely won’t use it in the next 90 days, this is a good sign to toss it. However, a less extreme version is to use a year as the time marker.
5. Consider a temporary storage solution
Of course, it’s expected that there will be some items that you know you no longer need but you can’t seem to bring yourself to toss them just yet. In this case, it can be helpful to place them in temporary storage for a certain amount of time. More often than not, you’ll end up realizing that you don’t actually miss the items that much and you’d probably be better off without them.
By following these simple steps, you’ll be on your way to enjoying a clutter-free home before and after your move!
