Whether you’ve just bought a new home using a home loan or financed it yourself, a move into a new home is an exciting undertaking, but it can also be stressful. This is especially true if you’re moving from a larger home into a smaller one. When you have less space, it’s important to make sure you only bring along the things you truly need and love. It’s never too early to start purging your house for a move. The earlier you start, the less you’ll have to do at the last minute. Here are a few tips for how to purge your house for a move.
1. Get Motivated
When it comes to how to purge your house for a move, getting motivated should be the first step. Decluttering can be highly emotional and stressful, so it’s okay to need some inspiration or encouragement to be ready for this undertaking. Just think about how wonderful it will feel to purge the excess from your possessions, save money, perhaps earn some money, and start afresh in your new home. You’ll be surprised by how wonderful it feels to be liberated from items that no longer have a place in your life or home.
2. Sort Out Items
The next tip on how to purge your house for a move is to start by sorting out items. This can be a daunting task, but it’s important to do it before the movers come. Go through each room and make a pile of items to keep, items to donate, and items to throw away. This approach will streamline your efforts, and help the movers and packers do their job more efficiently. It also allows you to effectively deal with clutter, making your move much less stressful.
3. Get Rid of What You Don’t Need
Another tip for how to purge your house for a move is to avoid holding on to things you no longer need. If you haven’t used it in the past year, chances are you won’t use it in the future, so get rid of it. Getting rid of unnecessary items will lighten your load and make packing and unpacking simpler. Consider donating items that are in good condition but you no longer need or want.
4. Throw Away Irreparably Broken Items
When it comes to how to purge your house for a move, isolate any items that are broken beyond repair. Instead of trying to move these items, simply throw them away as they can take up a lot of space. Focus on moving the items you want or those you can actually keep. This will help the moving services company to do their work more effectively, making your move much easier.
5. Start Purging Early
Starting the decluttering process as soon as you can is one of the best strategies for how to purge your house for a move. If you put off decluttering until it’s too close to the moving date, you’ll probably feel pressed for time and under pressure to get it done. This will limit your ability to make rational decluttering decisions and, instead of deciding what you actually use, need, or love, you’ll wind up packing everything into boxes. Making deliberate decluttering decisions and going through your possessions with care takes time. Moreover, you can only successfully purge your home for a limited period before the quality of your decluttering decisions decreases.
To avoid moving with a lot of clutter, give yourself enough time to thoroughly go through your possessions and decide what you want to bring along to your new house. Starting the decluttering process early also has the advantage of making it easier to sell your home if you’re planning to do so. A tidy, uncluttered, and well-staged home is more appealing to buyers and makes the selling process much smoother. It’s not always practical to begin purging before your move. However, if at all feasible, try to begin the decluttering process right away.
6. Have a Garage Sale
When thinking about how to purge your house for a move, have a garage sale to get rid of items you don’t want or need. Start by going through each room and deciding what you can live without. Once you’ve sorted through everything, start pricing items for your sale. You can advertise your garage sale through word of mouth, online, or by putting up signs in your neighborhood. On the day of the sale, be prepared to haggle with customers. Some people will try to lowball you, but don’t give in too easily. After your sale is over, you’ll have less stuff to move and more money in your pocket. This will make your move less stressful and more affordable.
7. Recycle Any Items That Can Be Recycled
As you think about how to purge your house for a move, make sure you recycle anything that can be recycled. This can reduce the amount of waste that’s produced during the move. There are many ways to recycle items from your home. You can take the items to a recycling facility, or recycle them yourself.
8. Use Up Consumables First
Aiming to use all consumables before moving is another great tip for how to purge your house for a move. To have enough time to use up consumables before your move, start doing this the moment you learn you’ll be relocating. For instance, use up as much of your pantry’s contents as you can to reduce the amount of food you need to move with. You can also try to finish up personal care items like lotion, body wash, shampoo, and household products such as laundry detergent, paper products, and cleaning supplies. Books and other items can be included in this group. If you have the time, begin reading and passing them on to reduce the number of books you need to bring along. Use up what you already have and only purchase what you need before moving to transfer as few consumables as possible.
9. Think About How Your New Home Will Affect Your Needs
When decluttering before a move, consider what you’ll actually need and have space for in your new home. For instance, you may need to do away with some bedroom furniture if your present home has more bedrooms compared to the one you’ll be moving to. If your current residence features a dining room, but your new one doesn’t, part with the furniture you won’t be needing or have space for. Consider the number of rooms, the number of bedrooms, and how the space is organized in the new house. Take into account what you’ll have room for, where they’ll go, and the items that’ll fit in your new home. To save time, money, and energy while moving, now is a wonderful opportunity to get rid of furniture and goods you won’t need or have room for in your new home.
10. Purge by Category rather Than by Room
One of the best tips for how to purge your house for a move is decluttering by category rather than by room. Regardless of the space that they typically ‘live in,’ group all similar objects together in one spot, then purge them simultaneously. The layout of your new home will likely differ slightly from that of your old one. You’ll probably need to adjust where and how you’ll store things. Before moving, it’s best to organize your belongings by category rather than by room, so you can see just how much of each item you have. Instead of choosing what seems ‘enough’ for a certain space, you’ll be able to select how much of each sort of item is ‘enough.’ Additionally, having all-like items in one place may encourage and challenge you to be a bit more brutal in your decluttering exercise. For instance, gather all the books scattered around your home. Then, instead of considering how many books you presently store in each location, select how many to keep based on your whole book collection.
11. Consider Weight as You Purge
Take into account the weight of the stuff you’re bringing with you when purging your home. If you’re relocating by yourself, the heavier the items you pack, the more trips into and out of your former home will be needed. If you’re engaging a moving company, the less weight you’ll be carrying, the more affordable your relocation will be. If you have heavy electrical appliances you no longer use, consider selling them to your local electrical contractor or AC contractor at a fair price. Moving offers a fantastic opportunity for purging anything, particularly heavy stuff that you no longer use, need, or value.
12. Purge Items in the ‘Just in Case’ Pile
In most cases, things you cling onto ‘just in case’ you need them ‘someday’, or all the items you retain for hypothetical scenarios in your head are clutter. You don’t need, use or value them, you’re simply anxious about letting these items go. You should take care of the ‘just in case,’ ‘someday,’ and ‘what if’ junk now that you’re moving. Try to be as realistic and honest with yourself as you can. Don’t move with anything you don’t need.
13. Purge Sentimental Items
Purging sentimental items can be quite challenging. Instead of starting with them, focus on easier decluttering tasks first. Begin by purging your bathroom, pantry, coat closet, etc. where you’re more likely to make decluttering decisions that are more logical and less emotional. The more you declutter, the better you’ll become at it. Additionally, simpler decluttering tasks help you develop ‘decluttering muscles’ so that when the time comes, you’ll be better equipped to handle the more challenging tasks, such as your sentimental, difficult-to-let-go items. However, don’t wait till the last minute to purge your belongings. It often takes longer to look through and make decluttering decisions on sentimental objects. You will likely need more pauses when purging sentimental items, meaning you’ll need more time. You don’t want to have to declutter sentimental stuff in a hurry and while under pressure.
14. Use a Portable Storage and Moving Container
Among the strategies for how to purge your house for a move, portable storage, and moving containers are very nifty. Consider having a portable container delivered to your door if you’ll need to sort through a lot of stuff or if you’re moving into a smaller house but want to save furniture or heirlooms for the future. Simply fill it up with the things you wish to store. The container can either be stored at your place or in a safe storage center. As an alternative, you can use portable containers to load boxed items at your own pace as you wait for the day of the move. They can stay in your driveway for as long as you need them. This is why storage containers are popular among people buying homes.
15. Go through Everything
The final tip for how to purge your house for a move is to go through everything. Although it may take some time, the effort is worthwhile. Check your cabinets, go through the junk drawers, and give every other aspect of your home a thorough inspection. Nothing should be overlooked, unopened, or unsorted. Motivate yourself by remembering that you’ll eventually have to move and face whatever it is you choose not to do now.
New homes often have unique demands, so it’s important to start purging your house for a move as early as possible so you can focus on what you need to get rid of, and it will also help the movers do their job more efficiently. Start with the rooms that are easiest to purge, such as the guest room or the home office. Then, move on to the more difficult rooms, such as the kids’ rooms or the kitchen. As you go through each room, be sure to put items in the correct pile.
If you’re not sure whether to keep something or not, ask yourself if you’ve used it in the past year. If the answer is no, it’s probably time to get rid of it. Once you’ve gone through the entire house, it’s time to start getting rid of the things in the ‘throw-away’ pile. You can either donate them to a local charity or have a garage sale. Moving can be a stressful time, but purging your house before the movers arrive will make the process a lot easier and make room for that home addition you’ve been craving in your new home.