Over time, we accumulate a lot of stuff that we don’t need or use. Moving is one of the best opportunities you get to clear out these items and declutter your house. Not to mention that it helps ensure a more stress-free move to your new home. After all, moving into a new house should be a fresh start — there is no need to take unnecessary clutter with you.
To declutter before you move house,
- Hire a storage unit.
- Prepare for, and commit to, decluttering your home.
- Work one category at a time.
- Organise items into set piles: keep, donate, sell, recycle, bin.
- Make the most of vacuum pack and storage boxes.
1. Hire a Storage Unit
The chances are there will be items that you don’t want in your new home, but that you don’t feel ready to get rid of yet. The best compromise for this is to hire a purpose-built storage unit where you can store as many items as you like, without them taking up space in your new or current home. We recommend a purpose-built unit because it should be climate-controlled, clean, under surveillance and insured, meaning your items are kept safe and in excellent condition for as long as you need.
2. Prepare and Commit to Decluttering
This might sound obvious, but decluttering your home is a time-consuming and tiresome task so you should prepare yourself. First, make sure you have the adequate supplies; we recommend bin bags, vacuum bags, storage boxes, and a clean space on the floor to sort items.
Next comes the mental preparation: commit to a time in the week where you will declutter. Whether this is a set date, or a certain number of hours you’d like to complete, try and stick to it. Make sure you do this well ahead of your move — at least two to four weeks before the date — and in manageable chunks.
To speed up the process, you should also determine a system for your decluttering process. This will look different for each person, but this should be a few rules that help you determine if you will keep an item. Nathan from Falconer Removals says that its a good rule of thumb to get rid of an item if you haven’t used it for two years – and if it has no sentimental value.
3. Work One Category At a Time
The best method for decluttering has been a subject of debate for a long time. It ultimately comes down to personal preference, but there is one method we’d recommend: working one category at a time.
Marie Kondo, named as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, and star of Netflix series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”, is the expert behind this method.
“The KonMari Method™ encourages tidying by category – not by location – beginning with clothes, then moving on to books, papers, komono (miscellaneous items), and, finally, sentimental items. Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy.”
If it helps, you can create a checklist of these categories to tackle in a systematic manner. This might be as general as “kitchen, bathroom, bedroom” or as specific as “sauce packets, medication, books and t-shirts.”
4. Organise Items into Piles
When you’ve made a start and determined what you’d like to do with an item, sorting it into a set pile helps keep your decluttering process simple. We’d recommend a keep, storage, sell, recycle, donate and bin pile, but you can add or remove these depending on your preferences. When you’ve completed a section, get rid of the recycle, donate and bin piles as soon as you can.
5. Utilise Storage Boxes and Vacuum Bags
Remember to make the most of storage boxes and vacuum bags for the items you do keep. For example, vacuum packed clothes stored under your bed can save space in your wardrobe.
To find out more about our removals, antique removals and storage services, head to our website or contact Nathan.
