Even though over 35 million Americans move each year, it’s never a simple task.
Moving gets harder the longer you’ve lived in one place. As we accumulate more things over the years, we may realize one day that our lives are controlled by useless belongings.
Do you have a big move coming up? Don’t make your new home a clutter storage unit. Here are 9 tips that will help you learn how to declutter before moving day.
1. Go Room by Room
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you think about all the work that needs to get done to prepare your house for a move. Try to focus on smaller tasks that can make you feel accomplished each day.
The best way to declutter your house is to go room by room. When you focus on one space at a time, you can make sure you’re thorough.
2. Declutter by Categories
Depending on how many things you own, it may not be feasible to clean an entire room in one day. If this is the case, break your work down into even smaller tasks.
Organizing by categories or areas of the room will make life less stressful. For example, you can start with your closet and clothes. Next, you can move to desks and go through all their contents. If you have a bookshelf, you can spend a day going through which books you’d like to keep and donate.
As long as you’re persistent, your entire home will be decluttered before you know it.
3. Plan a Clutter Cleaning Schedule
It’s hard to get chores done when there are so many other things you’d rather do at home. In order to stay motivated, try making a cleaning schedule.
Even if you set aside an hour each day to accomplish a specific job, you’ll have a lot done by the end of a week. Be sure to set realistic goals and hold yourself accountable.
4. Declutter Your Life by Being Honest with Yourself
The reason why people have a bad habit of accumulating too many things is because we can’t be honest with ourselves.
Whether you hate to be wasteful, you hold a lot of sentimental value for things, or you love shopping, there are plenty of reasons why getting rid of your belongings is hard. The only way you can free yourself is to question how useful everything in your life is.
If you haven’t used something in years, you need to get rid of it. It’s also okay to get rid of things you don’t like but have held onto because they were a gift from someone special.
If you can’t bear to part with things you know you don’t use, then put them in a special box. Give yourself one month to find a new use for these items. If you don’t touch something in the box, you can give yourself permission to throw it out.
5. Give Yourself Rewards
If you like to procrastinate or have a hard time staying focused, make sure you give yourself incentives for each chore. No matter how boring something may be, you’ll be able to power through it if you have a treat waiting.
You can get creative with the kinds of rewards you give yourself. The bigger the chore, the better the reward. You could eat your favorite takeout, watch an episode of your favorite show, scroll through social media, talk on the phone with a friend, or anything else that makes you happy.
6. How to Declutter Your Kitchen and Bathroom
The kitchen is one of the trickiest rooms to declutter because there are so many small items. Make sure you use tip #2 and break down the room by fridge, pantry, and cabinets.
When you’re inspecting the kitchen, check every label to make sure nothing is expired. If it is, you don’t have to think twice about tossing it in the trash. When you pull out all your pots, pans, and other tools, only keep things you use regularly.
The bathroom is a bit easier, but there are still plenty of labels that need to get checked. Clear out your medicine cabinet, makeup drawer, and cleaning supplies to inspect expiration dates.
Going through every item takes time, but it’ll make packing much easier.
7. Focus on New Beginnings Free of Cluttering
Moving can be freeing since it’s a fresh start. You don’t want to continue bad habits by making your new home just as claustrophobic as your last. Your environment has huge impacts on your health, so do yourself a favor by getting rid of as much junk as possible.
The process can be painful. Once it’s over, though, you’ll feel better than ever.
8. Think of the Greater Good
We don’t think about all the things we own but never use often. If you have a lot of clutter, you can consider yourself fortunate.
There are plenty of people out there who don’t even have bare essentials. When you declutter and donate your junk, it truly can become someone else’s treasure.
9. Consider Getting Help from a Professional Organizer
If you have a hard time being honest with yourself or staying motivated, you can always hire a professional to get your home ready for a move. Since they deal with a lot of clutter, they know how to help you figure out what you need and what you should eliminate.
Learning how to pack efficiently is another challenge. If you’re not careful, you could be creating a lot more work for yourself by throwing random items into boxes.
If you don’t want to hire someone to help, you could ask your friends. They’ll be happy to help you if you’re struggling. Just be sure to give them a proper thank you by buying them dinner or drinks after.
Want to Make Moving Easier?
Moving is a stressful time, but the results are worth it. Once you learn how to declutter your home, the move will be much easier.
If you want to save hundreds of dollars on your moving expenses, Get Moving Labor can help. Get an instant quote to see why our services are the best.