25 Things to Get Rid of Before you Move

Trunk of a car loaded with moving boxes.

Whether you’re moving across the street or across the country, you’re going to have to get all that stuff to a new location. If you have several truckloads worth of stuff that you don’t think you’ll be able to find a home for in your new place, you may want to consider lightening your load. The less you have to pack (and unpack), the easier the move! Here are 5 things in each room of your house you should get rid of before you move.

Kitchen

Woman standing in front of open kitchen cabinets. Kitchen

Your kitchen is where a lot of your memories are made… learning to cook, failing at making your first chicken pot pie, and baking cookies on Christmas Eve. No matter how much you think you may use it again, there are a few things that don’t really need to make their way into your new kitchen:

  1. Extra sets of knives or old knives that have definitely seen their days.

  2. Tools and kitchenware that rarely get used.

  3. Small, broken appliances that will be of no use in your new place.

  4. Untouched spices, teas, and sauces – if you didn’t use them then, you won’t use them now.

  5. Appliances you keep saying you’re going to use but haven’t in 2+ years.

Basement/Garage

Natural wood bookshelf against wall. A large, organized basement.

Basements and garages are known for being the storage units of your home. Random gifts you get from family members tend to make their way to the basement or the garage. Out of sight out of mind, right? When you’re packing up for the big move, here are a few things to leave behind:

  1. Rusty tools that are definitely a hazard.

  2. Extra camping gear (because how many tents do you really need?).

  3. Any gardening supplies that you barely use now, or if you don’t have a garden at your new place.

  4. Any furniture that’s doing nothing but collecting dust.

  5. Yard decorations that seemed like a good idea at first, but then you realized that tiki torches + kids wasn’t a good mix.

Bathroom

Items organized in baskets in closet. Bathroom

Bathrooms are home to hundreds of products, medicines, and hair ties that we never even knew we had. When going through your cabinets and drawers, think about getting rid of these things:

  1. Products that you don’t like and probably won’t ever use again.

  2. Expired medicine and pills. You can return old prescriptions to your pharmacy.

  3. All of the beauty samples you randomly got from people at the mall that have been sitting in the cabinet for years.

  4. Old shower curtains that are stained and past a DIY patch-up.

  5. Hair dryers, curlers, or straighteners that would do a better job starting a house fire than actually styling your hair.

Bedroom

Fully decorated bedroom. Bedroom

Bedrooms and closets are where your most personal items are stored – the things that warm your heart or hold a lot of value to your personal identity. Getting rid of things in this room will probably be the most difficult, but it’ll be worth it in the long-run:

  1. Probably everything that’s hidden under your bed.

  2. Old and outdated wall decor that doesn’t really match your style – we’re looking at you, 90’s boy band poster.

  3. Holey blankets and pillows that have done their duty and desperately need replacing.

  4. Dressers that are missing drawers or that require more effort than necessary to open.

  5. Anything in your closet that you don’t ever wear – be honest with yourself. This is going to take a lot of heart and courage.

Living Room

All-white modern living room. Living Room

Living rooms are home to the flat surface curse. Besides getting rid of the obvious things like random little trinkets, or couches that are past being just “broken in,” consider saying goodbye to these things:

  1. Lamps that no longer work, no matter how pretty they are.

  2. Rugs that have gotten all the love they can handle.

  3. Side tables that are on their last leg (literally).

  4. Throw blankets you need to throw away.

  5. Any plants that aren’t going to survive the move.

Getting rid of stuff that played a part of your life in your used-to-be home can be tough. If you’re not ready to say goodbye quite yet, consider storing them with us! We’ll help you keep your belongings safe and sound for as long as you need us to. Get in touch with us here if you have any questions about how we can help make your move easier, or stop by one of our locations.

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