Moving can often be a journey that teaches you a lot. One of the things you will learn as you prepare to move is the amount of items you have that no longer serve a purpose. So often, people acquire items to help them perform a certain task at a certain time in life. But that time eventually passes, and the item is no longer necessary, but instead of getting rid of the item.
It gets lost somewhere in the house, and you forget you ever had it. It isn’t until conducting a move and looking through the various dressers, cabinets, containers, etc. That you realize you possessed something useful fifteen years ago but no longer serves a purpose. While this can be a nuisance, finding these items can be good and present a new opportunity. It helps you re-evaluate all your items and enables you to hold onto items that strictly bring value into your life currently—creating space not only in your home but also in your mind.
Ways to Declutter and Simplify Your Life Before You Move
Below, we will look at ways to declutter and simplify your life before a move.
Search Every Inch of the House
Searching every inch of a house is not only essential to decluttering the home but also an essential part of moving. You want to look through every drawer, basket, room, etc., to find what you want and do not want. You never want to arrive at a new location and realize you forgot something. So, always look through every possible place in a house to ensure every item is looked through and judged appropriately.
Find Local or National Charity Branches
There is no shortage of charities and donation centers across the country. Instead of simply throwing away items you do not want, consider donating them if they are still functional. Places like GoodWill or RedCross would be more than happy to take the items you no longer want. This donation also ensures that the items given to these organizations go toward a good purpose.
However, remember that not all items are suited for donation, and it is okay to trash items deemed unusable or unnecessary.
If you have small children and pets, this could also be a learning lesson for them. You can teach them the joy of giving to others and how to recognize when some things are no longer required.
Emphasize Sentimental Items, But There is a Limit
When searching through items lost in your house’s various closets and spaces, you will find items that spark old memories. These memories may be good or bad, but memories, and you may feel compelled to bring these items along. While items that hold a special place in your life should get special consideration, they must often get looked upon thoroughly and judged carefully to see if they are worth bringing along.
Many things can spark memories, but you cannot carry every item of sentimental value. You can try to focus on the items that bring you the most joyous memories, like pictures, presents, etc. But try to look critically at smaller items like toys or books you held onto as sentimental but are no longer necessary to hold onto. Removing these items may be hard, but it also opens the door for new items.
Start As Early As Possible
Going through all the items in a house can be immensely time-consuming, so you want to start as early as possible. When you have the boxes or carts you will use for the move, begin looking through the house. This will give you enough time to thoroughly inspect every room and every item in the home instead of having to rush at the end and get rid of items you otherwise would keep because you didn’t have time to look through them or save time.
But also try not to do it all in one or two sittings. Take your time with the process. For the items that have sentimental value but you decide to get rid of them, give yourself some time to sit in the memories, enjoy the item for one last time, and then get rid of it.
Declutter Your Digital Items
Many of your memories will be increasingly found in digital form through pictures, videos, folders, etc. A move is also an excellent time to eliminate these items. You may have thousands of images on your phone or computer, with about half of them unimportant, so now is the time to delete them. If you are moving because you found a new job, this presents an opportunity to delete the files and documents you acquired at your old job that are no longer necessary to maintain. This declutter of digital items, like with physical items, rid you of unnecessary items and open the door for new items.
Do Not Do it Alone
Whether with a partner, friend, or child, try to include other people in the decluttering process. As mentioned before, you may run across items with some sentimental value. Getting rid of items, whether sentimental or not, maybe very challenging for some. It may be with the help of a friend that you realize an item is no longer necessary, and they are the ones who push you to get rid of it.
Having another person involved will also speed up the decluttering process. They can find items you would not have seen otherwise and remind you to check that secret stash only you and they know about.
Stop Spending and Create a Plan of Action for Future Purchases
The decluttering process can already be hectic. However, it becomes more complicated when you buy other items. While there is an immediate desire to purchase new items for the new home, try waiting until the move has reached completion before purchasing new items.
Also, try developing a new spending strategy. Decluttering before a move could make you privy to your prior spending habits, and if you are not pleased with these habits, this would be an excellent time to start anew. Look at the items you bought and realize they were only valuable for a short time in your life or broke down quickly. Avoid purchasing items like this and focus more on long-lasting, durable items that have utility in your life for ten to twenty years in the future.
Conclusion
Decluttering when moving can be one of the most liberating things a person can do. It is not only a time to shed items that only collect dust in your home but also items that hold traumatic memories. It’s a time to re-evaluate how you look at things and spend your money. You may never have time to declutter your home because life keeps you busy with work and social life. Moving to a new location is a moment to simplify your life.
Some people will walk through their house with countless items ready to fall out of a closet but never find the time to rid themselves of them. For some people, it could lead them to develop anxiety. So this is a chance to eliminate those items; the fewer items you have to look after, the less stress. It simplifies your life, creates more space in the new home, and opens the door to new items and memories.
