No matter how neat and tidy you are, you will likely find a ton of items that you should get rid of before a move. There can be several reasons for you not taking them with you. Ask yourself the right questions and go room by room to move fewer items.
Don’t Pack That: Items to Get Rid of Before a Move
Moving is a very exciting time in your life, however, packing all your items up for the big day is a really big hassle. You will find yourself tripping over boxes and loading heavy boxes in and out of a moving van to make just about every step of your journey annoying. The best idea is to plan in advance and decide what not to move so you can declutter your home in advance and throw the junk out in a rented dumpster. It will make your life so much easier at this time of change.
Questions to Ask to Decide to Move or Not to Move Stuff
Some clutter is really easy to identify, but you can make good decisions when you take the time to consider what will work in your new home by asking pertinent questions.
Where will the item go in your new home? If it should be a chair for a built-in desk and the new home doesn’t have a built-in desk, you may want to get rid of it.
Will it fit in your new home? Maybe you are moving to a home that has some rooms that are smaller than your current home. If you have a large bedroom now and have opted for a smaller bedroom but a much larger living room because you spend more time there, then consider that a king-size bed may not give you any flooring space in a smaller bedroom at the new house.
Have you used the items in the past year? If not, you should get rid of it. Kitchen gadgets are the most popular items that people purchase to make mealtime quicker or healthier. But, how often do you really use that food processor or French fry cutter? If you haven’t used it for a year, then it can feel free in a dumpster.
Is the item damaged or does it need repairs? If you have an item that needs repairs, but you’ve not repaired it for several years, then determine if you want to leave it behind and purchase a new one for the new home. This is especially true for larger items to save your back from loading and unloading them on a moving van.
Do you have more than one? Sometimes in your decluttering efforts, you will run across an item that you have in the home office and find that you have the same item in the craft supplies, such as a stapler or a hot glue gun. If you really only need one of an item, choose to keep the newest one and toss the other one.
These questions can help you to decide to get rid of without having feelings attached to your stuff. You should also take the time to measure your larger pieces of furniture to make certain it will fit in your new house. Make sure that each item you take with you earns its keep.
Room by Room Checklist for Decluttering
The very first place to tackle in your decluttering war is your junk drawer. Most of what is in it will just be that–junk that you don’t use. You can get rid of most everything in there unless you used an item in the last year. The next areas to attack are larger storage spaces like closets and garages. Then you move on to the whole rooms of your house, one by one.
Kitchen Purging
Unused appliances that are bulky or items you don’t use often can be replaced in the future easily and inexpensively if you see the need for them again after the move. Think of items like your bread maker, sandwich maker, or stand mixer that you love but never use.
Scratched pots and pans should be dumped. If they are damaged, they need to be replaced anyway so instead of moving them, reward yourself with a new set at the new home.
Mugs galore. Just how many coffee mugs do you actually use? If you have special mugs from family members and friends, keep those. But if you have 50 mugs and you don’t entertain that many guests at a time and have a small family, you can get rid of the extras.
Expired food items are things you really don’t want to move. Check the dates on your canned goods. There are usually some cans in the back of your pantry that you bought and never used and there’s no sense in packing these items.
Extra utensils are also a large clutter in a kitchen. If you have two large serving utensils of the same sort, such as a ladle, you can give one away or just dump it.
Living Room Decluttering
Living room furniture that is damaged, won’t fit in the new home, or will cost more to move than replace it should be purged.
Bountiful books that you’ve acquired over the years, but you don’t truly love or don’t plan to read should be decluttered before your move.
How about DVD’s and CD’s? When was the last time you actually watched a DVD that you own and do you even still have a CD player? This speaks for itself.
Bathroom Cleanout
Toss out old soaps, lotions, and shampoos that have been collecting dust for quite some time. These items can take up quite a bit of room when moving.
Check medications for expiration dates and throw out any that are past the date. Chances are that they won’t be as effective as they should be and you can buy new bottles or tubes after the move.
Scrutinize your towels. If you have any that you wouldn’t want a guest to use for any reason such as being old, thin, torn, or faded–then toss them.
Office Decluttering
You can save a lot of space in your move by scanning any documents into your computer to store them and throwing out the actual paper copies of the documents.
If you have partially used notebooks that are old and you don’t need any information in them, they can be thrown in the dumpster.
Any hobby or craft items that are old, such as dried-up puff paint or unfinished projects can meet their maker in the dumpster too. If you haven’t finished them in a year or so, you likely won’t ever do that.
Closet Clutter
Check your closets for clutter. You can toss any sheets or blankets that are old or stained as well as any clothes you don’t wear regularly.
If you have toys tucked away inside a closet that your kids don’t play with very often, then they should not make the cut to move them either, especially if they are cheaper items.
Renting a dumpster before the big move is the easiest manner to get rid of items rather than taking the time to have a garage sale or donate items to a charity. You can always offer items to family members that they may want as a memento. Decluttering your entire home will help to simplify the actual move when you pack and load up your items so that you know you’ll enjoy each and every item in your new abode
