Moving homes is the most strenuous task. Ever since I was a kid, having a home of my own had been my biggest dream because I was tired of moving from one place to another along with my family. I was 15 when my father bought our dream home and we were beyond excited to know that we won’t have to keep moving like we did in the past.
Moving also serves as a reality check for how much unwanted stuff you have been keeping in your home. There are things that you never even knew you had and there are some that are plain clutter. But moving has its set of benefits too. It gives you the opportunity to acknowledge all the clutter that you’ve been holding on to and get rid of it before heading to a new home.
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Decluttering while moving is almost like killing two birds with one stone. Since you know that you will be packing everything up individually, this can be a great chance for you to get rid of items that haven’t been serving any purpose in your life as you go through your stuff. Packing for a move will also acquaint you with things that had been hiding in a remote corner of your house and those that won’t be a great fit for your new home.
Purging before moving can be a life-changer if you do it strategically. It will require you to pack the stuff keeping in mind your decluttering goals because you don’t want to just shift clutter from your old home to a new one. Here is a checklist of decluttering tips that you must keep in mind before making that big move:
1. Understand Why You Are Decluttering
There can be many reasons why you are choosing to declutter. Maybe you don’t have enough storage space in your new home or you just want to deal with less stuff going forward. Decluttering can also help reduce the level of stress that comes with moving too much stuff. It helps you save the time that goes into packing when you have a lot of stuff to move besides helping you save on transportation costs.
Make sure that you keep your decluttering goals in mind at every step while you are decluttering. When you are clear about your decluttering goals, you are adding up an incentive for you to complete the task effectively.
2. Start Decluttering As Soon As You Can
Moving homes has been a valuable learning experience for our family. It taught us the importance of getting started with decluttering as soon as possible because it isn’t just decluttering that you’re going to be dealing with but packaging and discarding the stuff too. It’s time-consuming and can be tiring if you try to do it all in the last minute.
You can set your daily decluttering timer to an hour or two every day depending upon the number of days you have until the big move. If you have 3 or 4 months until you move, you can just declutter a small area of your home every day – maybe a closet or a shelf – and call it a day.
3. Cut Down On Your Purchases Until The Move
Remember that you already have a lot of stuff to deal with and stocking up on new items will complicate the process of decluttering. Ask your spouse and kids to wait until you move to your new home to buy new products.
4. Separate The Items That Are A Definite ‘No’
There are certain items that are easy to declutter because they aren’t serving any purpose in your home. Some of the no-brainer items that you can get rid of right now are:
- Expired food items and medicines
- Worn out clothes and shoes
- Duplicate kitchen appliances and utensils
- Books that you haven’t touched in ages
- Threadbare/moth-eaten blankets and tattered towels
- Broken household items
5. Be Ruthless While Decluttering The Remaining Stuff
Now that you’ve gotten rid of the damaged, broken and expired stuff, it’s time to deal with what’s left. Start picking the items one by one from the space you are decluttering and ask yourself if you need that item or can do without it. Any item, be it a cloth or a bakeware or a makeup product, that you haven’t used in the last 12 months should go straight into the Donation Box or Trash. Here’s a post on how to be ruthless while decluttering your clothes. If you want to learn more about decluttering specific areas of your house, here are a few posts that can help:
- Declutter your kitchen cupboards
- Decluttering office supplies
- Decluttering the linen closet
- Decluttering Knick-knacks
- Decluttering the living room
6. Pack The Stuff You Want To Keep
Now that you’ve separated the items that you won’t need, it’s time to change the gear to packing what remains. You must start packaging your stuff early to make sure it doesn’t get lost or misplaced. Buy a lot of sturdy moving boxes to pack your stuff in, packing tape to secure the boxes and a marker to label them. Make sure that you use a lot of bubble wrap to pack stuff that is fragile and delicate.
7. Discard The Declutter Pile
You are now left with the pile of stuff that needs to go away from your home. Any item that is not useful to you (but is in working order) can either be donated or given away to a friend or family. If you have time, you can also organize a garage sale for many of these items to earn some cash. Stuff that is unusable, expired or broken can’t be passed on to someone and should go straight to the trash.
Moving homes can be a great opportunity for you to start with a clean slate. Now that you have already gotten rid of the unwanted stuff and are left with only the things that you need, make it a mandatory practice for your family to stop clutter from accumulating. Tell your kids and spouse to be a little mindful about what they bring in and make it a habit to spend at least 15 minutes every night decluttering your new home.