How to Mindfully Declutter Your Home Before Moving Day
Let’s be honest – there is nothing easy about moving. The relocation itself can be relatively stress-free if you hire a reliable and experienced moving company. However, preparation is the hardest part. Finding easy ways to mindfully declutter your home before moving day can especially give you headaches. This is particularly true if you are moving on short notice.
But don’t worry – we’re here to help. We prepared tips and advice on how to make pre-move decluttering as easy as possible for you. So let us begin!
Get an early start
Even if it seems you have a lot of time to do this, you should start packing as soon as you find out your moving date. Depending on the size of your home and the amount of stuff you have, it can take a lot of time and patience to go through everything.
Caption: The more time you have, the better you will prepare and pack for your move. The key is to start on time!
Alt: An analog clock on the wall.
If you start doing this the day before the move, you will have to rush and probably end up tossing something you really wanted to keep. A good idea is to work in chunks – dedicate a couple of hours a day to declutter specific areas of your home. Piece by piece and you will successfully declutter your home before moving day. It will seem like it took no time.
Get organized
The key to efficiently decluttering your living space is planning and organization. You will need to assess how much time you need and organize everything so that it is done before the moving day. By creating a decluttering plan, you will make the entire process easier.
Besides a schedule, you can plan what to do with the stuff you want to give away. You can even make lists of boxes and things you have inside, making packing and later unpacking much quicker.
Declutter by categories
Although you might think it’s easier to declutter by room, you’re mistaken. Decluttering by categories is not only simpler but it can be done much quicker, too.
For example, if you want to declutter your wardrobe first, put all the clothes you have in one place and sort it all at once. By doing this, you’ll have an insight into exactly how much of each type of item you have. If you organize by room, you can lose track of stuff you have and potentially decide to keep more than you need.
Create piles
The main rule of decluttering is sorting things in three piles:
- Things you are keeping – Only bring with you the things you really need and plan on using.
- Stuff to get rid of – Make sure to toss things that no longer can be used (broken, stained, and similar).
- Things you can give or donate – Give things that are in good and working condition that you have no use for anymore to a friend or donate to charity.
Make sure to follow these rules; otherwise, things can get out of hand, and you end up keeping most of your stuff. Of course, if your new home is larger than the one you’re moving out from and you have more storage space, cut yourself some slack. Keep a couple of extra items that have more sentimental than functional value.
Think about storage space in your new home
When you are deciding what to keep and what to get rid of, keep in mind the amount of storage space you will have in your new home. Decluttering gets more difficult if you’re dealing with downsizing to a smaller space. You might have to decide not to keep some things you originally planned on bringing with you.
If your new home is smaller, you will probably spend more time deciding what you can bring. When decluttering, you might find stuff you want to keep but don’t have room for it in your new home. In that case, consider renting a self-storage unit.
Stop buying new things
You want to lower the amount of stuff you have, and a good way to achieve this is to avoid buying new things if they are not necessary. Think of it this way – any new thing you buy, you will later have to pack, move and unpack.
Caption: Avoid shopping if you are not buying necessities.
Alt: People walking in a shopping center.
Of course, if there are things that are truly needed, you should buy them. However, we recommend buying decorative things, new clothes, and cleaning supplies only after you move in and unpack.
Use up the consumables
When you reach your moving date, you don’t want to bother with bringing open bottles of detergent, shampoos, and body lotions. So a good way to have less stuff is to use up the consumables you have in your home. For instance, try using up personal care, household products, or pantry items before you move.
Double-check while you pack
Once you went through all of your stuff and created piles, it’s time to pack them into moving boxes. Given that you’ll be handling each item again, there’s no harm in double-checking if there is something else to give or toss left in your keep pile.
When you pack each pile of a particular category, make sure to label the boxes and keep track of what’s in each box. By knowing what is packed where, you can even plan how to and in which order to load boxes onto the moving truck. On top of this, by labeling the boxes, you will make unpacking a much easier task than it is.
Caption: Before you put your stuff into a moving truck, double-check if everything is packed and labeled correctly.
Alt: A family packing and labeling boxes before their move.
If you are considering decluttering after you had moved, don’t. It is much easier to declutter your home before moving. Think about it – you would need to pack everything and still have to declutter as soon as you move in.
We hope we were able to help you find the easiest and most simple ways to mindfully declutter your home before moving day. Good luck with your move and unpacking!
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