Moving with unnecessary items can waste time packing things you no longer need. It is wise to sort out your household items by room to see things that you still value and the old unused clothes, appliances, and tools. Doing this when you plan your move will reduce your baggage, which will, in turn, save on the cost of packing services and the overall move as well.
Here are essential tips from Express Moving and reasons you need to declutter before a move to help make things easier.
Reasons to Declutter Before Moving:
If you have unnecessary items all over the house, they will make the rooms look messy and cluttered. When you decide to declutter and organize your place, you have to clean, sort, and arrange. The best time to get rid of things you don’t need and downsize a bit is when you want to move to a new house or town. It is not an easy task, but after you finish, you will realize how much it saved you when you start packing. Although you might think you will regret losing something you treasure in the process, the benefits will outweigh your loss.
Here are some reasons why you need to declutter:
Reduce costs of moving services overall
When you start decluttering, your move will inevitably get smaller. When you hire a moving company to carry the household items, they’ll charge according to size and distance, but you got rid of some things, the cost will reduce. By decluttering you are able to assess the items important to you and the ones have value, which equates to you not paying to move things that aren't necessary.
Less cleaning
Moving to a new house with old, dirty things will force you to clean up and probably get rid of things in order to have your new place look tidy. By decluttering and getting rid of unnecessary items before your move, you will have less to unpack and organize when you are getting settled into your new home. Also, if you move something that you know is not of use to you more than likely you will end up getting rid of it after it arrives at your new home.
Keeps you organized
While sorting out your items before packing, you will discover some misplaced goods that you deem essential. By locating and organizing items you may have forgotten about it can keep you on track and help stay organized through your entire move. The entire packing and unpacking process will be streamline saving you time and money.
Liberates your mind
By purging unnecessary items and creating an organized, clean space, you will be able to focus more on the task at hand - packing up for your move. Also while going through your things, you may find items that will be useful to others that you could donate or give to a friend or family member, making you feel liberated and helpful to others.
A new beginning
When you move with less baggage, unpacking will take less time, your rooms will have a new look, and you will be able to have more space in your home to start anew.
Make Prior Plans
You should start arranging what you should move days before settling down to pack. This will help you avoid rushing and making wrong decisions. If you wait for the last minute and do the packing and declutter simultaneously, the possibilities of throwing away or giving out something that you will need are very high because you are rushing to beat time. Therefore set a date for the exercise and take your time deciding on what to move.
Sort Out the Items Into Four Different Piles/Locations
One stack with things you will keep, the other should have what to give away or donate, sell, and throw out. Label each stack well to avoid confusion and throw away the items you don’t need immediately.
What to keep
look for the items you can repair or modify and question yourself when you last used it, if you still need it, and what will you use it for in your new home? What’s the cost of repairing it, and for how long will it last after repair and the number of times you will use it? Doing this evaluation will help you see its worth and value it will add to your new house.
What to sell
After identifying the items that are still in good shape but you don’t need, there are various ways these days for you to post them online for sale. Even though it might take your time to get a potential buyer, look for avenues to make a quick sale. Take pictures of the items and post them online (LetGO, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or OfferUp) or go to shops that deal with used household items (consignment or thrift stores).
Give away or donate
Giving things away is usually the easiest and also makes you feel the best about getting rid of items. Most of the items are the things you've stopped using long ago so you don't feel like you are losing any money when you give them away. Don’t give out broken, torn or old items that you wouldn't personally use if you could. Choose books you read while in school and outgrew and give to a charity or friend. The clothes you wore once and didn't like how you looked in them or toys or furniture you don’t have a use for. You can even give out kitchen items you don't use that are just collecting dust in your cabinets.
Throw away
This stack consists of things you can’t give away, sell, or pack. Mostly things that are in bad shape, broken or of no value to you anymore.
Sort By Going From One Room to Another
Choose one room to work on at a time before moving onto another. This will reduce the headache and stress of having too much going on at once. Divide the room into portions and start from at the larger tasks and move down from there.
When sorting and packing the kitchen before a move, check for what you have been holding on to but you don't use anymore. Pack the old plates and cups, small appliances and smaller kitchen utensils separately to make for an easy un-packing.
With your bedrooms choose the clothes and shoes you don’t remember the last day you wore, the ones that don't fit and the worn-out items. Look for the linens (bedsheets, towels, etc.) that are worn-out, stained or simply not in style anymore.
Bathrooms are the smallest room but can have many unused products (make-up, hair or beauty products), empty bottles or even old shower curtains. These are things that can be replaced by new items and things you will be able to fully utilize.
In the living room or common area you may find unused and old furniture here which you will not need in the new house. Take into account (in all the rooms) items that may not fit correctly or go with the style of your new home.
For storage rooms or sheds look for containers you don’t use, broken electronics, old souvenirs, and cleaning tools or equipment you store here.
When you declutter before a move, you will get rid of most items you don’t use which will give you peace of mind that you're not moving something unnecessarily. You will cut the cost of your overall move, including packing, reduce the unpacking process, and will help you to have a clean and organized new environment. Make sure you go from one room to another to collect all items while decluttering before your big move.
Express Moving Consultants are here to help you make decisions on what is important to have moved and what we know from experience may be better to get rid of ahead of time. We are trained and qualified to help you make good decisions that will lead to a successful move without any unnecessary costs associated with items you don't need/shouldn't bring along on your move.
We look forward to working with you!
