“The less you own.
The less owns you.”
Have you ever thought about why your house seems so crowded?
You’ll know the answer to this question when you are planning to relocate.
Until and unless you have to shift somewhere with your things, you won’t know what all have been stacked in the corner and forgotten. In hurry, you simply pack everything up and dump it in your new place. This costs you a lot of money and unnecessary packing and moving.
If you can spend some time before packers and movers cost calculator or packers and movers arrive, to declutter your place. It will not only save you time but also help you organize things in a better manner before the shift.
How do decide where to start with decluttering?
Congratulations!
You finally decided to declutter your home. This first will make the rest of the process of moving simple for you. Managing and organizing things should be first on our list as it makes packing and moving easier. You can take the help of your friend in moving but to clean your house off all the unwanted items, you need to do it yourself.
With a broom in one hand and a garbage bag in the other, you may be confused as to where to start with this big work. Don’t worry we got you covered.
Select the clumsiest of spaces in your house and start there. Its’ not about the storage room at all. You can pick any room you want and start there. Once you’ve picked the spot now it’s time to manage things.
Here, are a few points that you would want to consider while decluttering the area.
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Style and area of the new place
We have a habit of experimenting with new places. Whenever we go on to select a new place we simply look at the convenience. So, if you haven’t measured the length and breadth of the rooms you may want to think again.
Be calculative while decluttering your space. Imagine the item setting perfectly in your new house. If you don’t think there would be enough space for it, you can ditch it. If you’ve found a house of European style, then you would want to auction your classic antiques.
Condition of the items
Damaged cases, broken trinkets, and torn-down diaries need to be thrown out. There are many things in our house that we think of repairing and reusing but that time never comes. Old hand grinders, fans, microwave ovens, that can’t be used should be discarded as soon as possible.
If you have an old sewing machine that is not put into use anymore, why would you want to carry it to the new place?
The emotional value of the items
Every item in our house has some emotional value attached to it. These things have their place in the memorabilia. Some of them may not be useful anymore but still are a part of our house. If you can get over them or not it is your decision. It is better if you can sell them off so that, they don’t gather dust in the corner.
Cost of moving that thing
If you have items that you don’t use but want to shift you must find the price of moving them. If the cost of moving them is more, then you may want to rethink about shifting it. Things having relocation cost is more than their actual price, it is better to sell them off.
These points will help in decluttering the space effectively. This will help you save time, energy, and money on moving items.
How to declutter before packing and moving?
When you have set the parameters, the right things get easier from here. Now you must plan how to declutter the area. Roll up your sleeves, keep the list aside and think about where to dispose of the items that are left after cleaning the space.
Prepare the essentials
Keep some boxes or cardboard boxes ready while decluttering namely for sale, recycling, charity, give away, and trash. Be ready with the cardboard boxes, markers, stickers, and other such essentials before decluttering the place.
Start with one thing at one time
Hurry and haste make things go to waste. Start early so that, you have a lot of time to complete the packing and moving on time smoothly. If you try to get things done in one day or two, it can lead to other bigger problems. Instead of turning this into an emotionally and mentally challenging task make it fun. Pick one spot at a time and start fixing the house. This way, 2-3 hours daily can help you complete the decluttering and you won’t even know it.
Stay concentrated and be constant
Mark your calendar with the part you want to complete in a day. This will keep you motivated. Don’t skip in between or it will get accumulated and make it a burden. Delaying any task will only double your work for another day. So, don’t get distracted and focus on decluttering the place before moving out. Start with small tasks and watch your work getting completed soon.
Ask for guidance
It is never enough to have an extra pair of hands and an extra set of eyes. Call in favors from your friends, neighbors, or relatives to get the decluttering done soon for you to pack and move. Having your friends do it with you, won’t seem like a burden. You can ask them to come home for lunch and help you with declutter complicated areas such as wardrobe, kitchen items, etc.
You can give them away if your friends need any items that you don’t want to carry to another place. They will be a great help to sort things out before packers and movers set their foot in.
What to declutter in your old place
Let’s move on to troubleshoot another point and that is what should you declutter before starting to pack. Here, are a few things that you can take care of during decluttering your place.
Substitutes
Get rid of two and get a two in one. Now a day you get things in a compact form. Like for example if you have a tea and coffee maker, take it out and buy a two-in-one coffee-tea maker instead. This will enhance the beauty of the kitchen and you won’t feel bad about getting rid of it.
Unmatched items
Most of the time we end up accumulating things that are of no more use and have outgrown us. The best examples are dresses and footwear. They stay in a corner gathering dust. While moving, you dust it off, pack them up and leave. This increases the number of boxes and you don’t realize carrying junk from one house to another. Either you sell them off or give them away to charity.
Broken furniture
“Identify the essential, eliminate the rest.”
Someone must’ve shifted a lot and knows the greatness of decluttering. Too many unwanted items can crowd your space and make it hard for you to organize and pack. Broken furniture falls in this category. If you can, sell broken equipment and furniture. This will clear the space and allow you to organize the packing and moving effectively.
Expiry items
Pick a spot and start cleaning. You’ll find half of the items over their expiry date. Pull those cosmetics, food items, medicines, and other such items that have expired or are going to expire soon. You don’t need to shift them so, get rid of them as soon as possible.
Stored and forgotten items
There are so many things in our house that are left unattended. You store them to keep them edible or non-edible but end up forgetting about them completely. To avoid unnecessary wastage, it is better to donate it to the NGOs or feed it to the animals.
These points will help you in decluttering the space faster and move efficiently from one place to another. If you have lesser items to pack when packers and movers arrive, it will be easier for all of you. It will cost you lesser and you’ll save a lot of time and energy.
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