Moving into a new home can be a fresh start—an exciting adventure to begin a new chapter in your life. It can also be a nerve-wracking, stressful experience and a daunting task.
While you could simply throw everything you own into boxes and hope for the best, this approach is a recipe for disaster down the line, including but not limited to disorder, lack of space, and excess boxes everywhere.
That is why one of the most critical aspects ahead of moving day is decluttering your home fast and getting rid of some of your belongings. It’s the perfect opportunity to evaluate what you own, accept what you must keep, and let go of things that no longer serve your life goals.
This article outlines the nine essential steps to declutter before moving day to ensure a stress-free decluttering experience that helps you start your new life journey on the right foot.
1. Combine Motivation and Strategy
Decluttering before moving day requires both your brain and your heart.
Motivation without a strategy is a breeding ground for chaos—you will lose track of what you’re doing and where you keep your things. Might even end up frustrated midway, making your early drive a short-lived ordeal.
On the other hand, strategy without motivation is a slacker’s playground. You will micromanage everything to the last minute and delay executing your plans until too late.
To get the best of both worlds, consider starting with a detailed yet realistic plan—establish manageable steps and potential timelines, then visualize the ambiance you want in your new home. There’s no better motivation than that!
2. The Goal: Downsizing
As you establish your vision for your new home, remember that this decluttering journey only has one goal: downsizing.
Moving into a new home is the perfect opportunity to start over with a clean slate. You have to pack everything away, so you might as well evaluate what you have and let go of the possessions you do not truly need. It’s the start of a new era, and a little bit of rebranding isn’t that bad.
If you’re less decoration-oriented and far more practical, remember that packing your stuff is much easier if you have fewer things to pack. Giving your motivation and strategy the final goal of being as minimalistic as possible will make it easier to declutter before moving.
3. No Time for Maybes
Considering that downsizing is the main goal, hesitation is not a luxury you can afford. To ensure your decluttering is as efficient as possible, ditch the “maybes”, metaphorically and literally.
As you organize your possessions and pack them before moving, sort them into two main categories: keep or give away. You can expand these main categories as much as you want—for example, separate into “donate” or “sell” subdivisions.
However, the rule of thumb is to avoid “maybes”: you keep an item or you don’t. A box labeled as maybe only delays the inevitable and makes your decluttering less efficient than it could be.
For example, by decluttering your books, you can start by sorting through your books and deciding which ones you want to keep, donate, or recycle. Consider donating used books to local libraries, schools, or book charities where they can be of use to others. For reads that are too worn or damaged to donate, recycling books would be a sustainable option. You can also declutter used novels by selling books online or having a yard sale. By decluttering your books before moving, you can reduce your load and start fresh in your new home. Be sure to check tips on how to pack books for moving properly.
In short? Be swift and merciless.
4. Go Room by Room—and Start With What You Visit the Least
When decluttering ahead of a moving day, it’s best practice to go room by room. Not only does it help you remain organized, but it also makes it easier to keep track of what you need to do and allows you to visualize your progress much more quickly.
To get an extra boost of productivity, start with the rooms you frequent the least. The garage, attic, or storage rooms are always packed with items you may not need as much as you think, so focus on them first and give yourself plenty of time to sort it out.
By the time you’re done, you’ll have downsized quite a bit and perhaps even started packing.
5. Browse Your Items and Make Easy Choices First
Once you have chosen the room you’ll start with, it’s time to browse the items you’ll find there. This is where things get tricky.
Going through your possessions and deciding which one you must get rid of is never easy. That is why trying to declutter before moving is so dreadful: you must browse hundreds of items and carefully consider their utility and emotional value.
Your best bet is to start on an easy level. Broken items, things you no longer use, or expired products are easy to get rid of and don’t require much thinking, so starting with them can make decluttering faster and motivate you to keep going.
Leave memorabilia and items with emotional value for later—once you have consistently downsized other items and got on track with your decluttering goals. By then, it’ll be much easier to make the choice.
6. Schedule Your Declutter Time
Consistency is critical if you want to succeed as you declutter before moving. Many people attempt to start with huge efforts and dedicate a whole day to downsizing their homes, but only a few can consistently maintain that pace throughout the following weeks.
The solution? Make it a routine and set aside a specific time for decluttering. Whether it is just five minutes or five hours, be sure it matches your time constraints and fits the amount of decluttering you must go through.
Making this activity a routine is the best way to do a little bit every day and achieve consistent results without rushing.
7. Write Things Down
People make a common mistake when decluttering and downsizing by relying on their memory. While you may be fantastic at remembering birthdays and important dates, a pen and a piece of paper will be your best allies this time.
Writing down a list of things to declutter is a great way to keep track of your progress. Likewise, making a list of the items you own can help you spot duplicates and visualize what you truly need, which makes it easier to part ways with your items.
8. Bring Friends and Family
The more, the merrier, and preparing before moving out is taxing for just one person.
If possible, ask family members or friends to give you a hand. Share with them your strategy and checklist, and alongside them, you might browse through rooms and items much faster than you’d do otherwise.
Best part? Having company over makes things less boring and much more engaging, which keeps you motivated. If you have children, this is a wonderful opportunity to let them see what you own and teach them the importance of order and letting go.
9. Don’t Be Afraid to Call the Professionals
Everyone’s circumstances are different.
Some people own too many things, others have difficulty letting go of emotions, and more than a few may feel overwhelmed when forced to go through this all alone.
If so, consider hiring expert help. Plenty of professional organizers have insider knowledge to help you declutter before moving. With their help, you can craft a realistic strategy, a doable timeline, and manageable goals. Their neutral perspective can also give you insight that you may not have been able to perceive on your own.
Declutter Before Moving to Start Anew
Moving is a new beginning, and your utilities and items reflect that. It’s a wonderful opportunity to evaluate what you have and what you wish to keep with you from now on. These tips can help you manage what you own and outline the future you want, but keep in mind that only you know what makes you happy.
Downsizing and decluttering is not about minimalism—it is about bringing with you only those things that bring you joy, comfort, and assistance, whichever they might be.
