For as many times as a person is likely to move in their lifetime, the process is never exactly…enjoyable, is it?
No matter how excited you are about moving into your new home, there’s always a lot of work that needs to be done before you can really vacate your current residence. A big part of this is figuring out exactly what you’re going to take with you, and what you can get rid of.
And while a good decluttering is always helpful, it can be tough to manage during the hecticness of a move. If you’re thinking about paring down some of your stuff before setting off to your new home, here’s a few tips to keep in mind!
Decluttering & Downsizing Before You Move
Start with the closet
When moving, it can be tempting to consider getting rid of big things like furniture first, before you have to load it all in the truck. We think there may be a better, smaller place to start: your wardrobe!
Moving is the perfect time to take stock of the things you haven’t worn in forever, and decide what to do with them accordingly. Packing up your entire wardrobe can be one of the most time-consuming parts of a move, so everything you donate could shave precious minutes off of your packing and loading routines. Plus, this gives you the chance to get ready to install some closet organizers at your new place to stay organized going forward!
Check out your hobby equipment
We’ve all got hobbies, and if there’s one thing all hobbies have in common, it’s that they need a lot of stuff that takes up a ton of space. Music equipment, sports equipment, hobbyist tools – it all has to go somewhere, and maybe now is the time to see if you want to take it to your new house with you.
Go through your hobby supplies and see what can be kept, and what can be gotten rid of. Haven’t used that guitar amp in a while? Moved onto a better record player and stashed that last one in the basement? Not as into tennis as you used to be? Someone out there will gladly buy it off you, and now’s the time to sell. For the rest of it, figure out a way to store it better when you get to the new place – sports stuff could be kept in their own home lockers or on ball claws for example, and a lot of your smaller music equipment (cables, tuners) could be kept in plastic storage bins for better organization.
Empty out that junk drawer
One of the most common Midwestern home phenomena, the junk drawer is a centerpiece of many of our homes, offices, and even kitchens. However, given its name – “junk” drawer – a lot of the stuff contained within may not be worth taking with you to the new house.
Time to purge! Toss out all those aged batteries, dulled scissors, and rusted pennies you weren’t going to spend, and see what’s left. If there IS anything in your junk drawer worth hanging onto, you may want to consider using desk organizers to tidy it all up going forward.
Furniture
Finally, the big stuff – furniture. It can be tempting to just toss it all and start over at the new house, but that can be pretty expensive and time consuming, particularly if you have family moving with you that might miss their old entertainment center when they need to fire up the Xbox.
This might be time to take inventory of your existing furniture and see what kind of shape it’s in. If something is too worn down to survive the move, that may be worth throwing out or donating, but the rest should be kept until you organize your new place and see what you’re working with. By then you’ll know what kind of living room furniture you need, and will be in a better place to get your new home livable!
Hopefully, after this, you’ll have an idea what you want to get rid of, and your new home will be as tidy as possible!