Spring Cleaning Whenever: Helpful Tips to Help You De-Clutter Before a Move!

Posted on July 21st, 2010 by Anezka Valentin

Want to know a secret? The single biggest variable in the cost of your impending move is the weight of your items. By de-cluttering before you pack a single box, you’ll not only save time on your actual move, you’ll also save move because you won’t have to pay anyone else to move or store those items! But how do you go about streamlining your things without losing your steam? MovingCost.com is here to help once again!

Strategy Wins Wars

If there is anything that professional de-clutterers have suggested, it is to plot out a strategy. Don’t try to tackle the entire house in one whirlwind of weekend. We suggest sitting down and blocking out time to do it in two- or three-hour sessions a couple of months before you relocate. Pay no mind to calendar dates so you won’t start to panic at the last minute.

Select your points of attack and put them on your de-cluttering calender. If the thought of focusing on an entire room makes you freeze up or wish that Mom were here, try tackling smaller projects instead, such as one family member’s clothes, your bathroom toiletries, DVDs and CDs or books and magazines. Try to start with things that will give you the biggest payoff in de-cluttering because it will give you motivation and momentum.

Chose six or eight areas to start, and avoid emotionally fraught items such as memorabilia until later, or your new-found steam will dissipate.

Trash or Treasure?

Treat your de-cluttering before a move like you’re packing for a long trip where you’re only bringing your more valuable belongings: things that are extremely meaningful or practical. What feelings are you looking to have in your new home? Keep this in mind as you sort and ask yourself if each item supports those feelings. Here are some other questions you should ask yourself while you de-clutter:

• Does this item need repairs?
• Has the expiration date on this item passed?
• Does it help me live the kind of life that I want to lead?
• Does this item save me money or fulfill some essential need?
• Why does this object live in my house and is this the best place for it?
• Do I have something like this that fills the same purpose? If it is a duplicate, which one is in best condition, is of best quality and will last the longest?

Some experts suggest that if you are storing a “collection” of some sort out of sight, then it might not be worth holding on to, or it would have a more prominent spot in your home.

Diving Right In

When you’re ready to start your de-cluttering in a selected area, gather the following supplies: trash bags, a shredder, a timer and bags or boxes for donations. Do not make the mistake of going to the store first and being entrapped by fancy little shelving units, chic baskets and organization systems until after you’ve shed the clutter.

Set up an area to work on sorting. Have your bags for trash, donations, and recycling as well as another bin for things to return, give to a relative or that need to be repaired. Set your time and go! Immediately put into a pile anything that you don’t love, don’t use or haven’t worn for a few seasons. This also includes furniture you’re not crazy about as well. Do you really want to look at this stuff again in your new home? Probably not, so don’t bother moving it there!

Keeping It Streamlined

Once you are done shedding all that excess baggage, our experts suggest grouping things and putting them back into the cabinets closest to the areas that you will actually use them. Box up ahead of time anything that you can live without for a couple of weeks or months.

This is also the time when you can go out shopping and buy those fancy bins with lids and baskets. However, we caution you to not go overboard. Most people who de-clutter go through a “moment of panic,” so to speak, when they question their identity after losing so many items, and then start frantically buying replacements! You must resist this temptation, or else it will make your entire de-cluttering war null and void.

Ultimately, have only the things you love in your new home. It is a new beginning, and you don’t want to spend all of your time and money unloading stuff you don’t love. Embrace who you are without the stuff, and don’t refill! MovingCost.com wishes you a happy de-cluttering, and adventurous relocation.

Related Articles:

1. UN-STUFF: How to Remove Clutter and Balance Energy Before You Move
2. 5 Simple Tips That Will Help You Attain Your Dream Spring Break Body
3. Get Rid of Clutter Once and for All by Asking These Questions

Tags: clutter, moving help, organize

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 at 9:44 am and is filed under Learning Center. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.