7 Tips for Decluttering Before a Move
One of our favorite things about moving is the chance to declutter and finally throw away that old umbrella that you were hanging onto just in case.
Decluttering not only helps you with staging your home before selling, it also decreasing your moving costs. Less stuff to move, less cost!
Tips for Decluttering
1) Give Yourself Time
Plan ahead. Once you decide to list your home, decluttering should start. You will also likely do a large purge after you sell and get ready for the movers to pack. Give yourself at least two-four weeks to walk through the home and decide what purge. Mark out a few hours a day to tackle a different room or closet in your home. By working in smaller chunks, you won’t be tempted to just throw it all in boxes and be done with it.
2) Start Using Up Your Bulk Goods
If you stockpile household goods such as toilet paper, start using up the excess now so you’ll have less to bring with you. Finish off your cooking supplies and only stock up on fresh fruit and veggies so that you use your pantry items.
3) Start a Necessities Box
There are some things that you need right away when you move into a new home. Start a separate box for these items such as a roll of toilet paper, scissors, a hammer and nails, and stationary. Mark the box and store it where it won’t be packed by the movers, such as your car trunk.
4) Leave the Sentimental Items for Last
It’s a lot easier to get rid of an extra sweater, a set of sheets you never liked, or rough towels than something with sentimental value. Leave these harder decisions for last. Of course, some item we’ve become attached to that were passed down. However, if you’ve drowning in inherited items, it might be time to choose the most sentimental items and pass the other items on in the family line.
5) Sort You Items
For every room, you tackle, sort into three piles– Keep, Donate/Sell, and Trash. As you go through closets and drawers, drop each item into one of the three piles or boxes. If you start this earlier (see Tip 1), you will have time to sell the items before move day!
6) Check Expiration Dates
Have you reached into the pantry to find a bottle of ketchup that expired over a year ago? Spices are another one that actually has expiration dates and they actually lose potency after six months or so. In the bathroom, many makeup products such as mascara expire after a year.
7) Donate or Sell
Once you’ve finished digging through every room in your home, either sell what you don’t want or donate to charity. You’ll finally be rid of that clutter and you’ll make a little bit of cash (or a tax deduction) to help offset your moving costs.
Let us know how your decluttering goes.