Decluttering Guide: Tips to Downsize Before Your Move

Relocating to a new residence is exciting until you have to deal with all the accumulated stuff in the garage, bedrooms, and other storage areas. However, decluttering doesn't have to be complicated, thanks to the smart tips below.

Begin Early

Don't wait until a week before the move to get rid of clutter. If you declutter your house in haste, you may throw out things you need or get overwhelmed and give up. Instead, set aside a couple of weeks to go through each room in your home.

Have a Solid Plan

If you have a lot of stuff to work through, you can easily get demotivated midway through the decluttering process. A strong plan keeps you on track and establishes the rules you'll follow. For example, you can determine to get rid of any clothes you haven't worn in over a year or items that cost $10 or less. Also, set up a decluttering schedule with a deadline to keep you motivated.

Don't Buy Unnecessary Stuff

New items only complicate the packing process, especially if you can wait to buy them when you settle in the new house. Instead, use up the consumables in your current house to lighten your load. Such consumables include pantry items, cleaning supplies, shampoos, body wash, and other personal care products.

Start with the Least-Used Rooms

You'll likely find it easier to make decisions about the seldom-used items in garages, attics, sheds, and other storage spaces. When you start to declutter these rooms, you learn how to determine the value of any item. By the time you reach the sentimental assets in the living room and bedrooms, you'll be a pro declutterer with your own system.

Declutter by Category

A room-by-room approach is popular and practical, but you can declutter by category as well. This means that you could gather all of a particular kind of item in your home and bring them to a decluttering station. For example, you could gather all the books in your home in one area and identify those to keep.

This strategy lets you see how much of every type of item you have accumulated. For example, if you have too many bath towels, you find it easier to get rid of them if you pile them in one place.

Organize Clutter into Piles

Bring three boxes or trash bags as you declutter to keep things to donate, sell, or throw away. Label these bags and keep them near the spot you're decluttering to stay organized. You may also need a decluttering station to place full boxes.

Be Ruthless

The process of saying goodbye to items you have had for a long time can overwhelm anyone. However, this isn't the time to feel guilty or linger on memories. You have to be brutal when you figure out what each item means to you. For every item you hold, ask yourself the questions below:

• What value does it give you?
• What purpose does the item serve?
• Has your family used it in the past year?
• Is it expired?
• How many of the same items do you have?
• Does it have a place in your new house?

Choose what stays and what goes based on how you answer these questions.

Involve Your Family

The decluttering process can be a fun experiment for the entire family. Let adults declutter their stuff while you help young children decide which toys to let go of. You can place a box in your child's room and ask them to fill it with stuff they no longer play with.

Moving is a great time to declutter, organize, and focus on what is truly important. If the limitless items you have to work through stress you out, our moving experts at Helping Hands Movers will sort and pack all the items you want to take with you. Call us today for a stress-free move.