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Tips & Tricks
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Are you a pack rat? If so, take advantage of your upcoming move to clear away some of the clutter. Rather than transporting all the useless, unneeded, or broken junk from your current home to your next, get rid of it before the big moving day arrives.
If you own your current house and plan to sell it, you have a financial incentive for decluttering. Getting rid of your excess junk will greatly enhance the likelihood you will sell your home while fetching a good price. Otherwise, prospective buyers will be distracted by the piles of clothes in every corner, the endless stacks of paper, and the stacks of boxes blocking walkways.
Having a home overflowing with your belongings will force potential homebuyers to focus on safely navigating to the nearest exit rather than paying attention to what your house has to offer. Even if you do your best to conceal it, the clutter will still make itself known. Furthermore, would-be buyers may associate the condition of the clutter with the condition of the house. As a result, your house may not sell within your desired time frame or price range.
If selling your home is not a concern, your relocation is still the ideal time to declutter. By starting early enough, you can clear the clutter even before you begin packing up your belongings. If you have waited too long, you will have to combine the two processes. Either way, moving forces you to go through your entire household, making it perfectly suited for decluttering.
So how do you get rid of all the extra stuff now occupying your home? Begin by selecting a single room, such as the kitchen. Focus on one cupboard or closet at a time and gradually work your way around the room. As you go, evaluate each and every item you encounter. Decide whether an object is something that is genuinely useful, something you can sell or give away, or something that has outlived its usefulness and should be tossed away. Force yourself to make the decision on the spot. When you've completed one room, move on to the next, continuing the process until you have successfully decluttered every room, closet, and hallway.
Throughout the process, be ruthless in deciding what you will toss. You can likely throw away a lot more than you think and never miss it. Once you've decided something has to go, immediately place it in your "to go" pile, preferably outside the house. (If you have a substantial amount of clutter, consider renting a dumpster from your local waste disposal company.)
As a general rule, get rid of anything you have not used in over a year. You'll be amazed at how much falls into that category, particularly among your gadgets and small appliances. Resist the urge to hold onto an item with the rationale that it just might become useful... someday. More often than not, those kinds of things are never needed again, ever. If they are, you can borrow one, rent one, or buy another one when that time comes.
Be particularly honest when sorting through your clothing. Many closets are packed full of clothes that are outdated and do not fit properly. If you tend to hold onto clothes because they might fit again if you could lose another fifteen pounds, stop lying to yourself. Certainly you can and should strive to manage your weight. However, even if the day comes when you have successfully lost the weight, those clothes will be long out of fashion by then. Ultimately, they are occupying prime real estate in your closet while offering nothing in return.
Your clutter is already robbing you of the full enjoyment of your current home. Why would you want to pay to transport it to your new home where it will perform the same function? Identify your move as an opportunity to gain control over your possessions before they gain possession of you. Then pledge to keep them under control as you settle into your new home. Protect your new home as a safe haven rather than as a storage locker for new clutter to accumulate.
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