
25 Mar Decluttering Before a Move: Why It’s Helpful and How to Do it
Preparing for a move can be stressful: oftentimes, you don’t realize how much you need to pack and clean until you’re in the middle of it. One of the best ways the make the packing experience easier is by decluttering your home before moving, which saves time, energy, and money. Plus, your moving company in Tucson will appreciate you.
Moving as a whole is tiring, especially in Arizona as the summer months approach and the temperatures start rising. This heat will make it harder for you and your movers, so cleaning out your items will be very advantageous for everyone in the moving process.
Why It’s Helpful
Most know to plan ahead when it’s time to move, but few think to declutter. Over time, a home that’s held several generations becomes packed from the basement to the attic with broken, unused, and sentimental objects. The reason for this may have something to do with the average homeowner’s need to be frugal. Some of the most common clutter-causers are clothes, books, heirlooms, and old children’s toys. After a while, it all becomes pricey to move or a chore to get rid of.
Decluttering before a move can alleviate stress, and, if done properly, can leave you with a collection of items that you truly care about. This makes the moving process less overwhelming, drives you to finish packing, makes professional moving much cheaper, and helps you avoid stuffing your new space with unnecessary items. Additionally, there are several decluttering methods out there that’ll help get you started.
How to Do It
One popular method is the KonMari Method, a tidying technique created by Marie Kondo, a famous author and organizing consultant. The KonMari Method focuses on letting go, making space for what you love, and reaping the mental and emotional benefits from doing so. One can perform the KonMari Method by holding each item in the hands and asking oneself, “Does this spark joy?” Keep it if you do but discard it if you don’t (and if you are unsure, you probably don’t need it).
This perspective will motivate you to pull through the moving process and can even be applied while you’re out shopping. You’re guaranteed to never find yourself with a mess of junk to deal with ever again because ultimately what you love is what you need.
Make a Plan
People usually find that systematically clearing out one room at a time makes moving feel a little more manageable. Choose to keep the items you love by category (clothes, books, papers, and sentimental items just to name a few), instead of focusing on the items you wish to discard. Whatever you choose, having a plan allows you to tackle each room faster and prevents you from getting overwhelmed in the process.
Start as Early as You Can
Like many moving experiences, you’ll undoubtedly look up and find yourself sorting, cleaning, packing, and moving more stuff than you realized you would. Starting early will help you better prepare and plan for what you want to do with certain belongings. This way, you won’t find yourself down to the wire needing to trash them. From holiday decor to old jewelry you tucked away, starting this process in advance will allow you to not feel overwhelmed and you won’t find yourself down to the wire needing to trash your items.
Of course, moving isn’t always about discarding or keeping items: donating, selling, and simply giving things away to friends and family members must be considered ahead of time. If you start early enough, you may even have time for a yard sale or selling your items on platforms such as Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. Doing so will earn you extra bucks that can be put towards your moving company in Tucson.
Use Up Any Items You Can
It’s tempting to be economical and save those last drops of dishwashing soap, shampoo, or things as little as a couple of sticky notes left on a pad. As stated before, being frugal can lead to a collection of several of the same types of products, which can go unnoticed if hidden away inside cabinets. Bring these items to the light and place them next to newer ones so that they’re the first thing you reach for before your move. This will lessen the number of items you bring to your new space, allowing you to declutter easily and not be wasteful.
Be Honest With Yourself
You have to look at certain items and ask, “Do I need this?” It’s not an easy thing to throw away items that you cling to, but you must consider what you’ll gain down the line. Remember: you’re making space for items you’ll actually use and appreciate in the future.
Sometimes it can be difficult to discern which item to keep and which to take, as a lot of us cling to those “what if” items. As a tip, it is a good, common practice to get rid of any items you haven’t touched in the past year, including multiples of the same item.
Tackling Sentimental Items
When it comes to sentimental items, letting go can be especially hard. The simplest way to manage sentimental items is to take a single labeled box and, as you sort through your items, drop in the ones you absolutely must keep. Once finished, you’ll have a tidy box of items that not only brings you joy but are easily accessible and convenient for storage. Doing so will make these objects even more meaningful because you have carefully selected the ones that bring you the most value and happiness.
Avoid New Purchases
The last thing anyone should do before moving is to purchase more items. Of course, replacing things that are well past their prime – like mattresses and old appliances – can’t be helped, but it’s always a good idea to hold off new purchases until you are settled in your new space.
You may find that a large piece of furniture that you purchased doesn’t quite fit in your new area and this will inadvertently make your home feel cluttered. Fill your new rooms with small objects first to reveal what the dimensions of your new, larger furniture should be.
Conclusion
Over time, our homes become crammed with items that we don’t necessarily need, want, or use. And once it’s time to move, it’s finally time to deal with all the clutter, making it difficult to know where to start. Decluttering makes packing less frustrating, helps clear your mind, and saves vital things such as energy, money, and time.
As a successful moving company in Tucson, Ralph’s Moving & Storage offers the best, high-quality service for any moving needs you may have. We provide white-glove service to ensure attention to detail and take the utmost care of your belongings. Our Ralph’s crew of professionals truly care for your items and assure that they will protect and look after every single one. If you are entering the moving process, do not hesitate to contact us with our online form or give us a call at (520) 622-6461. We are here to make your moving experience as stress-free and enjoyable as possible! Happy decluttering!
Your future self will thank you!
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