{"id":7578,"date":"2013-02-12T09:00:12","date_gmt":"2013-02-12T16:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsider.com\/?p=7578"},"modified":"2019-07-15T08:37:25","modified_gmt":"2019-07-15T15:37:25","slug":"5-tips-for-decluttering-before-a-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/2013\/02\/12\/5-tips-for-decluttering-before-a-move\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips for Decluttering Before a Move"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Decluttering\"<\/a>Decluttering before a move<\/a> can save you time and hassle, not to mention money. It can be an emotional process though, especially when you are already going through so much change. I’ve found that many times I hold onto things, not because I want them, but because it\u2019s just hard to let go of an item that I may be sentimentally attached to.<\/p>\n

Decluttering can be a freeing experience though, and it leaves you more time and energy to focus on the things in your life that are really important.<\/p>\n

Here are my top tips for decluttering before a move:<\/b><\/h2>\n

1. Go Room by Room<\/b> \u2013 I need to see progress when I\u2019m working on a project. It\u2019s much easier to stay motivated about packing and decluttering when that progress is visible. Going room by room allows you to tackle one project at a time and see nearly instant change. It doesn\u2019t hurt that you can avoid making a mess out of your entire house at once.<\/p>\n

2. Pack The Important Stuff, First<\/b> \u2013 One of the great things about moving is you can declutter a bit backwards. Usually you pull out the things you don\u2019t want. When you move, you can start by packing the things you DO want and aggressively decluttering the rest. I find that it\u2019s much easier to pick out what I do want than to pick out what I don\u2019t want. As you look at the odds and ends that you have left over at the end though, it\u2019s easier to decide what you don\u2019t need.<\/p>\n

3. Be Honest with Yourself<\/b> \u2013 It\u2019s easy to convince yourself that you need something that has sat on your shelf, unused, for years. Decluttering requires you to be completely honest with yourself. Do you really see yourself using the item in the future? Is it something you love? If not, then it\u2019s time to pass it on to someone who can make use of it.<\/p>\n

4. Out of Sight, Out of Mind<\/b> \u2013 There are always going to be things that you go back and forth about whether you really want to get rid of it. For things that you are unsure about, put them in a box <\/a>and set them in a corner in your garage or somewhere you won\u2019t pass by it often. I think of this process as letting my donation box age. If a month goes by and you don\u2019t go hunting for anything in the box, then it\u2019s usually safe to donate the whole thing. At that point I don\u2019t want to add the clutter back into my home anyway so it\u2019s easier to say goodbye to than it was when I sorted the items in the first place.<\/p>\n

5. Envision your New Home<\/b> \u2013 It\u2019s so much more calming to set up your new home without all the extra clutter. When packing, picture what items you really have room for in your new home. If it\u2019s going to be too big or doesn\u2019t go well in your new space, get rid of it before your move.<\/p>\n

What are your tips for decluttering before a move? Let us know below in the comments section.<\/em>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\"decluttering\"<\/a>This post has been a guest blog by Rachel.<\/p>\n

Rachel writes at BusyMommyMedia.com<\/a> where she helps moms beat the busy by providing simple solutions for every day life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Decluttering before a move can save you time and hassle, not to mention money. It can be an emotional process though, especially when you are already going through so much change. I’ve found that many times I hold onto things, not because I want them, but because it\u2019s just hard to let go of an item that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198,"featured_media":7617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11,10,198],"tags":[39,40,512,112,130,2169,174],"class_list":["post-7578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-moving-2","category-organization-tips","category-packing-2","category-planning","tag-cleaning","tag-clutter","tag-decluttering","tag-moving","tag-organization","tag-planning","tag-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/198"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7578"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50072,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7578\/revisions\/50072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}