Decluttering Before Moving: Where to Start
Moving to a new place is a big decision and it can be sometimes a very stressful time in your life. It would be very helpful if you sit down and take time to sort your things. Below are the effective ways to have a stress-free move and with these tips, you will absolutely enjoy decluttering and moving.
- Sort things in advance. – You have to check your things thoroughly and give up those you haven’t used for a year. For your clothes, you can give up those you haven’t worn for more than 10 months. If you have much furniture at home, you have to separate those that are functional and non-functional. Non-functional furniture includes those random tables and chairs you just placed in the corner of your room and not being used. Get rid of those multiple items as well because you absolutely don’t need identical cake tins and cocktail shakers. You can also give up those redundant paper work and outdated magazines and news paper. Lastly, get rid of those broken items you haven’t fixed for more than six months.
- Organize personal documents and paper works. – Place important documents such as birth certificates and passports on one folder together with the other essential certificates. Sort out your personal photos and keep them in one box. Find a small box as well for your paper works and for the school reports and documents of your kids.
- Have a huge garage sale. – After sorting your things, you know by then what are still useful for you and what are not. The best thing to clean your house and declutter your life is to have a garage sale. You can start having selling as early as three months before moving, especially for those furniture and other big items. You can sell smaller items later or you can just give them away. Do not forget to make a list of the things you want to sell but you need to keep until the moving day such as TV, fridge, dryer, washing machine and some electronic items.
- Start packing. – Always remember to allocate enough time to pack your things before moving. If you decide to hire a professional packer then, make sure everything is packed. If you are doing it your own, make sure to buy heavy-duty boxes and have the necessary packing supplies such as bubble wrap, cardboard, and masking tape. Make sure to label all boxes properly with the necessary details.
- Moving day. – Some of your neighbors will come by to collect the things they bought from the garage sale. It would be nice to offer them all the glasses and crockery you needed until the last day. To finally clean up everything, do not forget to hire a cleaner.
Moving out and decluttering is good opportunity to become a minimalist. Aside from saving more from the cost of sending your things to your new place, you can also get rid of those things that are compromising your freedom.