How to Declutter Your Home Before Moving: 10 Decluttering Steps

Yes, packing for a move is as important a task as you’ll ever find in any good moving checklist. And yes, you should start the packing process as early in your home moving preparation as you possibly can.

And yet, there’s one essential job that you should do even before you begin to fill up those cardboard boxes, and that crucial task is none other than decluttering your house before moving to a new home.

Don’t get tempted to just throw everything in the boxes to finish the packing task “faster”.

Instead, follow our step-by-step declutter checklist for moving that will guide you through the home purging process – 10 simple and easy decluttering steps to help you save time, money, and space.

How to declutter before moving? Get ready for Step 1.

Step 1. Understand why you must do it

When you understand the right reasons why you’re doing something, that particular piece of knowledge will add purpose and incentive for you to complete the task at hand better and faster.

In the case of a house move, understanding why you should declutter your home before moving out will help you save time, money, and space in the new home – three potential stressors that, if neglected, may easily make the home moving process a lot more challenging for you.

How Much Money to Save When Moving

Here are the top 5 reasons why you should declutter before moving out:

• You will lower your transportation costs. Why? More things to move will increase the total weight of the shipment, which in turn will inflate the moving cost. Remember that your moving company will determine how much your household items weigh before they charge you with the final bill.
• You will save plenty of packing time. Why? The job of decluttering for a move will take some time to complete but later, you will be thankful for being able to pack much faster thanks to the decreased number of items to prepare for transit.
• You can pocket some cash from the yard sale. Why? Choose to sell some of the still usable things you’re not taking with you and you will earn some money that will go toward your moving budget. Be mindful that this is a classic case of a win-win situation.
• You will save storage space in the new home. Why? This is pretty obvious, isn’t it? Space management is especially important when moving to a smaller home – that is, when you’re downsizing.
• You will reduce the level of moving stress. Why? Believe it or not, excessive clutter can spike the overall stress when moving to a new home. The mere thought of knowing that you will pay more money to transport your possessions and that you will lose more time packing your home for a move should be rather stressful for you.

How to Save Money on a Long-Distance Move

Step 2. Know which items to get rid of before the move

Considering step 1, you can rest assured that your decision to declutter the entire house is the right one.

After all, it’s important to keep in mind that together with finding low-cost cross-country movers, moving fewer items to the new home is one of the very best cost-saving tactics when moving home.

Now, the next step before you is to know what to declutter before a move – that is, which items you should definitely consider NOT taking with you to the new house or apartment.

• Broken or worn-out items. Why would you pay to move items that you will need to replace soon anyway? Worn out clothes, shoes, pieces of furniture, broken electric appliances, children’s toys… get rid of all the things that have served you well but are now good for only one thing – recycling.
• Clothes and shoes you’ll never use again. Some may not fit you anymore, others may be too old-fashioned for you – whatever the reason, moving such items will be totally and completely pointless.
• Items past their expiration dates. In addition to being pointless, moving any items that are past their expiration dates can also be dangerous for your health. Expired medication, cosmetic products, and groceries should be thrown away immediately.
• Duplicate household items. Seriously, how many toasters do you need? Storing 8 extra sets of bed sheets, 10 bath towels, 6 identical blankets, and 3 spatulas will only make your house move a real hassle. It’s time to let go of any extra items that serve the same purpose.
• Books. Under normal circumstances, some people will not usually re-read a book once they’re done with it. Are you one of those people?
• Forgotten items. The task of inventorying your home will most likely uncover items that you have long forgotten about. Usually, things boxed away in storage rooms such as garages, attics, basements, and walk-in closets suffer such out-of-sight-out-of-mind fate. The fact that you have forgotten about their existence is a clear sign that you don’t actually need them in your life.

What to Pack When Moving: PACKING TIMELINE

Step 3. Follow the 12-month decluttering rule

Below, we will give you more details about how to declutter before moving, but right now it’s the right time to warn you that no matter how determined you are to save money on your move by hauling fewer items, at some point, you are expected to face a dilemma whether or not to move specific items.

Ask yourself if you really plan to use that item in the near future, and remember that I’ll keep this thing because I might need it someday is not the right attitude when you’re moving house on a limited budget and you wish to spend as little money on your upcoming move as possible.

Ultimately, the best way to deal with tough choices when decluttering your home is to be ruthlessly honest with yourself.

One good way to declutter your home without getting overwhelmed is to use the 12-month rule that many moving experts advocate. That decluttering rule states that if you haven’t used an item in the last 12 months, then you don’t really need it, therefore you’d be better off selling it, gifting it, or donating it so that you can lower effectively your transportation cost.

This is nothing but indisputable logic – what possible need can you have for a household item if you haven’t touched it or seen it in more than a year?

Use the principles of this practicality test to determine what to do with your things in question – especially true for clothes and shoes – before having to wrap them up in packing materials and place them in cardboard boxes.

How to Pack for a Move in 60 Steps

Step 4. Start early to give yourself more decluttering time

The home moving process offers many universal truths and – surprisingly as it may sound – some important life lessons as well.

One such universal truth is that sorting through all your possessions will take time, usually more time than you have planned for the job. To make things even more complicated, decluttering is then followed by the most time-consuming task in your MOVING CHECKLIST – packing.

You definitely shouldn’t wait until the last moment to start making some important decisions regarding what you should do with all the clutter you’ve managed to accumulate through the years.

So, what should you do to guarantee enough time for the task of decluttering your apartment, or decluttering your house? The answer will hardly surprise you: start early. Start ASAP. Start NOW.

The beginning of the decluttering job is easy enough – by now you should know perfectly well which items you won’t part with no matter what (100% YES label) and which ones you are definitely leaving behind (100% NO label).

In the end, it’ll come down to the MAYBE- and NOT-SURE-labeled possessions of yours – the exact moment of time when you’ll need to repeat to yourself to be ruthlessly practical in order to bring down the moving expenses to a minimum.

Start with the no-brainer decisions – all the things with which you don’t feel any special connection – as a rule, non-personal items such as pieces of furniture, electric appliances, kitchenware, and bathroom items.

Move on to more personal items, such as clothes, shoes, books, and electronics, and then leave any sentimentally-charged items for last so that you don’t get discouraged in the process.

Think about the relationship between quantity and weight too. For example, moving 5 more shirts, 5 extra pairs of jeans, and 2 additional pairs of shoes won’t affect the final bill as much as moving 12 large and heavy books, for example.

How to Pack for a Move in 3 Days

Step 5. Use the 3-box decluttering trick

Starting the home decluttering process early is crucial for a successful move, but it’s not nearly enough to pull it off, for you’ll need to know just how to declutter easily and efficiently as well.

Our tips for decluttering before moving continue with a proven method to sort out your stuff and reduce the number of things you’re about to move at the same time.

Regardless of which room you plan to declutter next (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room, or storage room), you are strongly advised to use the trick of the three boxes to complete that laborious task fast and easily.

Don’t forget that decluttering and organizing your household items go hand in hand, so they should be handled simultaneously.

So, why should you have 3 boxes with you while decluttering every room in the house?

• Box 1: Things you’ll keep. As you’re going from room to room and through drawers, kitchen cupboards, closets, armoires, cabinets, bookshelves, etc., place inside that box all the items you are definitely moving with you to the new home. How could you possibly part with the first edition of The Catcher in the Rye that your partner gave you on your 20th wedding anniversary?
• Box 2: Things you’ll sell or donate. Do consider selling, gifting, or donating any items that you won’t ever need again but are in good overall condition. You shouldn’t just throw away still usable possessions – do the right thing and help out your moving budget or let somebody else put them to good use.
• Box 3: Things you’ll throw away. Items broken beyond repair or worn out beyond all usability have no business in the moving truck together with your other regular stuff. Remember to recycle or dispose of them properly.

As you’re sorting out your items, you may happen to come across some items that are tricky when it comes to the destination receptacle. If you really can’t decide which box to drop them into right there on the spot, set them aside but get back to them as soon as you can.

Self-Packing vs Professional Packers

Step 6. Be consistent and keep your focus

Our declutter checklist for moving continues with a little piece of advice on how to declutter quickly before moving out.

The 3-box sorting principle will enable you to speed up the process, but it’s the way you approach the moving task that will give you the biggest advantage in terms of saved time.

Consistency when decluttering your home for a move is key.

• Do not put off that vital task until a later time – you know what will happen when that “later time” is reached, right?
• Declutter one room at a time – dividing your decluttering attention among several rooms will cause you to lose time, and later lose track of your priorities.
• Try to keep yourself motivated – set mini-goals and then reward yourself every time you reach such a mini-goal. Rewards can vary greatly depending on a number of factors – from checking your e-mail and social networks, through playing a few YouTube videos, all the way to treating yourself to a nice dinner at a nice restaurant – after you’ve decluttered your entire home, of course.
• Maintain your focus – staying focused is the other important ingredient to complete the job faster so that you have enough time for packing. Avoid any major distractions that will only slow you down.
• Get timely help – don’t underestimate the time you need to declutter your home so that you can start the actual packing process. Should you sense your decluttering progress is too small, involve all family members, including any children that are old enough to help. Reaching out to your friends is also an option, though you’d better keep that call for the packing marathon.

Let Your Friends Help You Move: The Moving Game

Step 7. Sell your unwanted items ONLINE

Depending on the size of your home, the number of items in it, and the time you have until your moving day, you may be really interested in knowing how to declutter in a weekend, or how to declutter in one week.

Either way, the 6 steps above will enable you to do just that – to purge your home of any unwanted items so that you triple winner of time, money, and space.

Here come the final few steps to decluttering your home for a move – the actual physical removal of all the items you’re not moving to the new residence. First, let’s take a look at your options for selling your unwanted things ONLINE.

• Determine how much time you have until your move-out day and act accordingly. One thing you should bear in mind is that selling stuff online can take a while and you just may not have enough time to wait for those articles to get sold over the Internet.
• Prepare the items you wish to sell online – clean them well if needed.
• Set a reasonable price for each item for sale. You want to sell them fast, so overpricing them is not the best tactic here. When unsure, check what similar or identical items go for on reputable websites.
• Take quality hi-res photos of the products for sale and remember that those photos can often prove to be a deciding factor when selling things on the Internet. Take close-up images of any problematic areas and mention them in the product description.
• Write a good, catchy description with important product information and anything else you think might appeal to potential buyers.
• Point out how your things will be shipped and what payment methods you will accept.
• List your things for sale only at reputable websites such as Craigslist, Amazon, and eBay.

Move It or Sell It: What to Sell Before Moving

Step 8. Organize a profitable moving sale

Without a doubt, one of the best ways to declutter before moving is to sell at a garage sale all the things you’re not moving to the new home.

The logic behind the idea is clear – you’ll get rid of most or even all unneeded things prior to moving away and get some much-needed cash in return. No matter what you think about the matter, it’s usually a win-win scenario for everybody.

A profitable moving sale before moving out should be the perfect ending to your house decluttering efforts. Here are the most important things you need to know when organizing a garage sale (yard sale) for a move:

• Schedule your moving sale for a Saturday, if possible. Most people are off work at the weekend and may decide to visit your garage sale for a change.
• Start the yard sale early in the morning – 8 am is usually a good time. The idea is to have more time to sell your stuff for a profit.
• Check the local regulations if a special permit is needed to organize and hold a moving sale. If yes, then get that permit in advance.
• Don’t overprice your moving sale items, but don’t underprice them too. Not surprisingly, reasonable pricing is the key to a successful garage sale before moving out.
• Make an effort to make the entire sale area more attractive for people, for example – tie up colored balloons and play music in the background.
• Greet the potential buyers with a smile on the day of the moving sale and be prepared for lots of bargaining.

How to Organize a Garage Sale Before Moving

Step 9. Gift or donate still usable items

When decluttering your home for moving, it’s possible that you come across some household items that you are not taking with you but are not really for sale either. Additionally, you may not have enough time to sell those things, neither online nor at a garage sale prior to the move-out day.

So, what should you do with any items in great condition which you’re not moving for one reason or another? The answer is obvious: gift them to friends or family, or donate them to charity.

You know that your friend Mike has always liked that red couch of yours, don’t you? And now that you’ve decided not to haul that bulky piece of furniture across the country, don’t you think it’s the right time to thank Mike for all his help with a thoughtful gift?

If you do know that an item you own but not moving will make a family member or a friend of yours happy, then don’t think twice but give it away as a nice gesture and a token of your friendship.

Ultimately, the best way to declutter for a move is to donate some or most of your usable and practical items to people in need. It’s the right thing to do no matter how you look at it. But where to donate used items before moving?

Find a list of reputable charitable organizations in your town or city – charities such as Goodwill, The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Move for Hunger, and Direct Relief – and contact the ones that you think support a worthy cause. Make sure the items you intend to donate are clean, usable, and in good condition.

Charity Watch is a website that offers a complete list of charitable organizations in the country.

Where to Donate Used Items Before Moving

Step 10. Recycle properly the useless stuff

The final step to decluttering a home before moving is to find the right place for all the items that are either in a very bad condition or are too useless or outdated to serve anybody.

The right thing in such a case is to recycle that useless stuff in an environmentally friendly way.

If there are recycle bins close to where you live, then you should throw away the unneeded items into the corresponding receptacles. If not, then you may need to contact a recycling center in your area and take those useless items there to be disposed of properly.

By recycling, you’ll also show that you care about the environment and you’re doing your small yet important contribution toward a cleaner community.

Click here to find a recycling center near you.

How to Get Rid of Unwanted Items When Moving