“We’re moving when?” Regardless of how much advance notice you’ve received for your move, congratulations on what is sure to be an adventure for you and your family. Our job is to make take your upcoming adventure, and remove as much stress as possible, leaving the fun for you and your family. What you make of that fun is up to you. We can talk about the fun another time.
As you begin your search for moving companies, you’ve probably also started to create a moving checklist. There will be packing involved, no matter if you’re moving across the country or just across town. Regardless of who is doing the physical work of packing and moving, your family has likely been in your current home long enough to accumulate more stuff than you arrived with, and likely more than you need or even want. (Need help doing the packing and heavy lifting? Get a free moving company quote here. We’d love to do the hard part for you.) If you’ve looked at even one moving cost estimator, you know that you can save money now by doing a major spring cleaning. A good purge of your household goods is key for a low-stress move, and we hope this serves as a roadmap for you to plan your next move.
Going through all of your household goods to decide what you don’t want to keep is daunting, but it’s also incredibly freeing as you discover a wide variety of nooks and crannies of your home you forgot existed. As you prepare to go through your home, top to bottom, keep three boxes – keep it, pitch it, or get rid of it. Everything you own will fit into these three categories.
- Clothing and Closets. The easiest place to start is in your closets. Have clothes that no longer fit or that you haven’t worn in 12 months (2 years for specialty items)? Put them in a “get rid of” box. Have your kids grown out of baby clothes? Even if you’re saving some for the next kid, likely you can stand to purge half of the baby clothes you own.
- Kitchen and Pantry. Next, go through your kitchen and pantry to look at items you no longer use or need, food that has expired, or kitchen gadgets you’ve never used. Your junk drawer alone is a great place to purge. Surely you no longer need that random do-hickey to that one thing you’re hoping you find the time to fix.
- Your Fix-it/Make-it List. If you haven’t gotten to them in the last few years, you’re unlikely to start these projects before you move. If it’s broken, pitch it. If it’s still workable, put it in the “get rid of” box. Try to make the “keepers” from this category to a minimum, but certainly, there will be a few sentimental projects worth hanging on to
- Furniture. Although you’ll want to have furniture movers helping you out, it’s probably worth your while to look at whether or not you even want to take all of your furniture. Inevitably, you’ll want to leave some behind, either getting some that fits your new house, or replacing worn-out items when you land in your new home.
- Toys and Gear. Kids and adults alike have lots of toys and gear. Whether in the playroom or the garage, there are quite a few toys you either no longer need, no longer use, or have grown out of. Tools are included in this – not going to need a snowblower since you’re moving to Florida? Have duplicates of lots of tools? Add all of these to the “get rid of” box.
- Room by room. By the time you’ve gotten to this step, you’ve done the easy part. Now, it’s time to go through your home room by room to purge what you don’t need. If you’re on a time crunch because you got late notice of a move, then do one room each day. If you’ve got a little more lead time, then take one room each week. You can also take advantage of this time to pre-pack some of your household goods, although your movers may wish to repack a few things when moving week comes.
By now, you’ve completed the hardest part and you’re ready to actually get rid of the items you no longer need. Choose how you want to move these things out of your life – whether you have one or more yard sales, have a donation service come pick up a truckload, or pass on to a friend, you’ve just reduced a huge amount of stress for your upcoming move. Not only will you have reduced the weight of your household goods, but you have much less clutter in your life as you prepare to love your new home.
Looking for more ideas to make your next move hassle-free? Visit MoverJunction.com to see our guides and ideas, and/or to get a moving quote.
