What to Leave Behind Before You Move

No matter when you’re moving, a lot of times it often comes down to a lot of last minute rushing around, and frantically trying to tie up any loose ends that might occur. Oftentimes, last minute packing or not being able to choose what to bring with you or not is a huge factor in this eleventh hour scramble, and can easily throw your entire schedule off. 

There is an easy way to avoid this, however. Though it can be really hard to make final decisions, especially about things you may have had for a long time, it’s important to declutter ahead of time and save yourself a huge amount of stress the night before your move. 

How to Declutter Before a Move

At some point during a move, we all reach the point where we just want to get rid of everything we own so we don’t have to deal with packing or lifting another thing. It would make everything so much easier, wouldn’t it? Well, unfortunately, not really. We have good news, though: there is an easier, middle-of-the-road route you can take instead of going full minimalist. The solution is decluttering and making big packing decisions well ahead of your moving date. By decluttering with a ton of time to spare, you’re saving yourself time and stress overall, while simplifying your move and making the entire process easier for yourself. 

How Do I Declutter

Decluttering is a process that can seem extremely intimidating upon starting it, but is easy to get in the groove of once you’ve started. Before you move, go through all of your items room by room and sort them into ‘keep’, ‘donate’, ‘give away’ (if you know anyone who may have been eyeing some of your things), ‘sell’, and ‘throw out’. By setting up a bunch of categories, it can make things a lot easier to sort through. 

Things to Get Rid of When Moving

• Clothing

Getting rid of old, unworn, or unwearable clothing is an easy way to declutter your home and save yourself a lot of time on packing. 

• Bulky Items

Excessively awkward or bulky items, like weird decorative pieces that you bought on a whim without taking into account a future move can free up a lot of space in not just your new home, but in your moving van. 

• Papers

Old bills, medical documents, or just random documents that aren’t relevant anymore can take up a surprising amount of space, or can just be weirdly hard to pack. If you don’t need them anymore, get rid of them!

• Old Furniture

Have an old chair or nightstand collecting dust in your basement? Donate or sell these on Facebook Marketplace or eBay to get them out of your hair prior to your move. 

• Unused Appliances

We’re all guilty of impulse buying appliances that we use once and then maybe never look at again (hello, milkshake maker). If your kitchen is covered in bulky appliances that you don’t use, or maybe that are upgraded already in your new home, sell, donate, or throw them away!

By being proactive and getting rid of old, unworn, or unused items before your moving date approaches, you’re saving yourself time and stress, and might even make a little bit of money in the process! It’s easy to be intimidated or get caught up in the constant stress that is the moving process, but don’t worry! With the right preparation, you’ll be setting yourself up for great success. Still need to find a mover? Look no further than Carey Moving & Storage for your one-stop moving needs.