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Decluttering Before the Big Move: Where to Start

When it becomes obvious to you that you will need to make a big move, you will naturally start making decisions about what to take with you. Don’t pack by rote. Use it as an opportunity to look at what you have. Packing, moving, unpacking, and getting accustomed to your new home will be much easier with a lighter load. Here are tips to help you get started:

Have a Simple Home Inventory

When you begin by making a packing list, you could discover what it is that you really need to take. Lawrence Moving experts suggest it is important to start by making a list of your belongings. Go room-by-room and write down everything that you want to move. Visit every room, and write brief notes of items of furniture, appliances, clothes, kitchen things, papers, etc. This will provide you with a good launching pad and stop outdated clutter from filling a box.

Pick one room, drawer, closet, or shelf and do it all in one place before moving into other areas. Because it’s done in small bits, you can see the process and stay more motivated to see the outcome. This helps to avoid the house being a huge sorting marathon.

Sort Items into Clear Categories

After the starting point, make it clear for each level by not using complicated prompts. A helpful idea for a system is to separate the items into groups of keep, donate, sell, recycle, and discard. Don’t form a big maybe pile, because it can be another type of storage instead of an answer.

Give Unwanted Items a Destination

Sorting is half the solution to the problem is as there are unwanted items that will accumulate quickly again. Before you move, determine where each item will be taken after you leave (to a donation center, recycling service, a buyer, or the trash). Some of the usable items can be sold to recover money, and other usable items can be donated to have another use.

Protect Your Essentials

It is important that key documents, keys, medications, chargers, valuables, and basic toiletries are kept together and easily accessible. Include these, but not inside a packing box that moves. If you have them with you, this can save time when you arrive and help you not have to search for them.

Do a Review

Do a walk-through of each room again as if for the first time before the movers arrive. Look in closets, cabinets, and drawers-or in storage areas, outdoors-for any items that you missed. Once again, this last review is a great opportunity to check that unwanted items have been removed from the house.

When it comes to a large move, the process of decluttering isn’t as much about having ownership of as few items as possible as it is about moving with purpose. You minimize work and make the new home place easier to organize when you determine what to put in before you pack it. Take it steady, make decisions, and make it a realistic new beginning.

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