![It's not easy to decide what to keep and what to get rid of when moving.](https://www.mymovingreviews.com/move/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/keep-get-rid.jpg)
Highlights
- Moving is an opportunity to leave your old life – and your old belongings – behind and start afresh.
- When deciding what to keep and what to get rid of when moving, you need to consider the value of the item, the cost of moving it to your new home, and the risk of damage to the item during the move.
- Be sure to take with you the things you will need in your new life, the things you truly love, and the things that will be very difficult or impossible to replace.
- Get rid of items that have no practical value and no special meaning to you.
- Remember that the fewer things you decide to bring along, the cheaper and easier your move is going to be – and the more clutter-free your new home and your new will be.
Moving is many things – a stressful experience, an expensive undertaking, a difficult endeavor, a great challenge, an exciting adventure… Yet, above all, it is a chance for a new beginning – a brand new life in a brand new world.
It gives you the opportunity to start afresh and leave behind anything you didn’t like in your old life – from your shabby old home and crappy old job to your boring daily routine and unwanted reputation.
It gives you the opportunity to build the life you’ve always wanted for yourself, do what you’ve always wanted to do, create your dream home, find your dream job, start wonderful new relationships, and surround yourself with things you truly love.
So, should you “leave it all behind and move on”? Or should you keep all that defined your life and your self for so many years? Or just take the things that you love and get rid of everything else?
No one can help you make that choice in regard to values, relationships, habits, and the like.
When it comes to material items, though, things are simpler – you can take the items worth taking and throw away the rest.
But how to decide what to keep when moving? What to get rid of before you move? Which items are worth the money and effort required for their relocation and which ones aren’t?
Here are some guidelines to help you make the right decision:
How to Decide What to Keep and What to Get Rid of When Moving
![Only you can make the right decision about the fate of your items.](https://www.mymovingreviews.com/move/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/packing-for-moving.jpg)
The fewer items you relocate to your new home, the smaller the moving costs will be, of course. But this is not the only benefit of paring down your belongings before a move – packing and loading will take less time and effort, there will be fewer things to keep track of and worry about, unpacking will be faster and easier, and, most important of all, there will be no junk and useless clutter in your new home.
So, when packing for moving, make sure you take only things you actually want to keep and truly enjoy having around. If in doubt, consider:
1) The value of the item
Whether an item is worth moving depends not so much on its financial value as on its practical use and/or sentimental meaning:
# To determine the practical value of an object, ask yourself:
- How often do you use it? Is it there out of necessity or out of habit?
- How convenient is it? Does it make your life easier or more comfortable?
- Is it in good condition? Does it function well and fulfill its purpose?
- Is it high quality and durable?
- Will it fit into your new home (in terms of space, layout, and style)?
- Will you be able to use in your new surroundings?
If something is used only on rare occasions (if ever!), has already worn out or become outdated, doesn’t function properly, doesn’t fit into your new house or apartment, or won’t be useful in your new lifestyle, it’d be better left behind.
# Items with great sentimental value include family heirlooms, personal favorites, and keepsakes you’re emotionally attached to. These are irreplaceable items you will want to hold onto, no matter what, so they will be definitely on your packing list.
Yet, make sure you keep only the things that really matter to you, not every single object from your past (keep the painting your best friend drew for you at your graduation, for example, but take photos of all the artwork your kids did in pre-school and don’t bring the actual items along).
Collector’s items, vintage items, pieces of art, and other rare or unique objects that are very difficult (or impossible) to replace should go to your new home as well (unless you don’t like them and don’t want them anymore, of course).
2) The type of your move
If you’re moving locally, you will probably decide to take most of your belongings with you -transporting them to your new address won’t be very difficult or very expensive, the climatic conditions will be the same, the lifestyle in your new surroundings is unlikely to be very different from what it was before the move, etc.
Therefore, it doesn’t make sense to throw away furniture, appliances, and other larger and costlier household items that are still in good condition and fit into your new home, or any of the clothes and shoes you wear often, or any home décor, bedding, personal items, hobby materials, etc. that you like and buy similar ones after the relocation.
If you’re moving cross country, it will be best to leave most of your large, heavy, rarely used and not dearly loved belongings behind and bring along only items of great practical or sentimental value.
It will be very difficult and very expensive to move a lot of things such a great distance and, besides, your new area and your new lifestyle will be quite different from before, so you won’t need many of your old items anyway.
![Consider the moving costs when deciding what to take when moving.](https://www.mymovingreviews.com/move/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/money-birds.jpg)
If you’re moving abroad, you’re advised to take only some personal items and your most valuable possessions with you.
Moving household goods overseas is extremely difficult, costly, and risky, not to mention that most of your things won’t be appropriate for your new life in your new country.
3) The moving cost
The relocation cost is another important factor to take into account when deciding what to keep when moving.
The moving cost depends on the distance of the move and the complexity of the job:
- In the event of a local move, the moving cost is based on the time it takes the movers to perform the relocation (prepare your items for shipment, load them onto the moving truck, transport them to your new home, and unload your goods);
- In the event of a long-distance move, the moving cost is based on the actual distance to your new home and the weight of your shipment;
- The more specialized extra services (furniture disassembly, hoisting, etc.) are required for your move and the higher quality packing materials are needed for ensuring the safety of your possessions, the higher the moving cost will be.
To find out how much it will cost you to move your old items to your new home, you’re advised to fill in a moving quote and request binding on-site estimates from several reputable moving companies – when you compare the offers, you’ll get a good idea of your final moving cost and will be able to decide what to take and to get rid of before the move.
Good to remember: If an item is very difficult to move and/or the risk of damage to the item during the relocation is very high (because the object is very delicate, highly sensitive, oddly-shaped, too heavy, etc.), it would be better not to take that item with you. If it is an irreplaceable item you can’t bear to live without, you may want to consider using custom crating services (or other specialized moving services, as appropriate) to ensure its safety during the relocation.
My wife and I are planning on moving to another state and we have a lot of furniture in our current apartment. I like how you mentioned it is the same price to buy all new furniture when compared to pay to move your old furniture. We will get rid of our old furniture as well as everything else that we deem unnecessary for our new home.
Thank you for your tip to get rid of the furniture and equipment you won’t be able to use in your new surroundings. My husband and I are moving internationally and won’t be able to bring a lot of our furniture. I will be sure to keep these tips in mind as I look for a moving company to help me.
I like that you talked about what to keep and what not to when moving. My friend is relocating soon. She’ll have to make a decision about her living situation with some professional help and then she can start deciding what to keep.
I know it’s a sensitive subject these days, but something to add to your “move list” are guns. Unless of course you’re moving out of the country(US).
This was very helpful! Thank you.