When you are moving to a new home, it’s very important to declutter first. A new home is a chance at a new life. You’ll have new neighbors and new scenery… so why start it with the same old baggage? Today we’ll give you some tips on how to declutter before moving house so that you can start your new life the right way.
Yes, it’s inconvenient, but it has to be done. Let’s take a look at some tips that can help you!
Schedule it like a professional assignment
Like exercising, the hardest o decluttering is not the actual act, it’s getting started. This makes it vital that you treat decluttering like you would a professional task you’ve been assigned at work. You will want to schedule a time window for decluttering and stick to it. Write it on your schedule or set a reminder on your phone or personal computer.
Getting started is the hardest part, but if you schedule it and follow your own schedule then you’ll get it done in no time at all!
Portable Storage is a good idea
Portable storage containers, also known as ‘mobile self-storage containers’, are a good idea when decluttering – especially if you have a time crunch and a lot of items to go through. This gives you an out if emergencies arise and you simply don’t have enough time, as you can always load up the storage container and sort everything in a rented storage space at another time.
They also give you a place to put things that you HAVE sorted, so that you can clear and clean out the rooms as you go without having to navigate around large piles of various items that have been sorted.
Finally, if you aren’t working alone, then someone can take sorted items where they need to go (to be donated, placed in storage, or moved to the new home) while you or another person is still busy sorting items in the house.
Divide and conquer
You can’t simply declutter the whole house at once unless you’ve got a whole lot of help. This can be daunting, especially if you have a large home, so naturally the solution is going to be to divide and conquer.
Declutter one room at a time.
This will involve packing up clothes, th
Follow the ‘1 year rule’ for discarding items
If you are having trouble decided what to throw out or to donate, a simple no-nonsense rule can help. Anything that you have not used for over a year (barring keepsakes or tools, of course), needs to go. More often than not, clutter becomes a problem simply because we’ve accumulated a number of items that we’ll never use.
Get rid of them. They’re just going to take up space in your new home that you could be using for other items that you will actually use!
Piles are your friend
When sorting rooms, it’s easiest to start some piles against one wall so that you’ll know at a glance where everything is going. Keep it simple, with piles for trash, donations, keep, and destroy (in the case of sensitive documents that you don’t need but don’t want to get out, either).
A pile system makes it easier to quickly sort and if you use it with a personal contained, then when a pile reaches a certain size you can move it immediately and make space for more decluttering.
Some final words on decluttering before your move
Today we’ve provided you with some tips on how to declutter before moving house. First and foremost, be sure to schedule it – it’s easy to put decluttering off until the last minute because you simply don’t want to do it. Consider investing in mobile storage so that you’ll have a place to put things as you clear each room one at a time.
Get rid of everything that you haven’t used for more than one year, as you won’t want this cluttering up your nice, new home, and use a pile system to declutter each room quickly and easily. With a little motivation and hard work, you’ll not only declutter your home but you’ll enjoy lower moving costs and you can start your new life right!
