Despite all the possible benefits it brings you, decluttering may feel like a difficult task, especially right before you need to move house. The great news is that it doesn’t need to be,l as you can make the process faster and easier. Let’s find out how:
Get Motivated
Decluttering can be an emotionally charged and sometimes overwhelming experience, especially if you have never done that before. There is nothing wrong with looking for proper motivation before you get started. Remind yourself of how good it feels to free up space, save money, and make some money as you make a fresh start. You would be surprised to find how liberating it feels to get rid of items you don’t need anymore in your new home.
Start Early
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they start pre-move decluttering is that they don’t start early enough. You will have many more things than you could ever imagine going through, so depending on your home’s size, you may need to start months in advance before you move. That makes your decluttering process far less stressful and easier to manage.
Start With the Rooms and Items Least Used
You should start the decluttering process with the things you use least often. Focus on the rooms you use the least, and ensure you have plenty of time to go through everything until you have about half or a quarter left of anything you had in there. Start with your basement, garage or attic and look for a way to consider what items are of value and have a purpose in your new home. That way, by the time you reach the essential things, you will have the mindset to keep things manageable. You can pack the items you plan on keeping in plastic bins, handling things within your daily routines and around the rest of the house.
Don’t Be Sentimental
No matter what you do, you will go through items with emotional ties to you; that is just a fact of life. Try to focus on the present when you see an item that brings you down memory lane, as you need to focus on decluttering, so you will need to be a bit ruthless to make it work. Many people out there declutter on their own and tend to waste their time going through items and little knick-knacks tied to old memories. Don’t be one of those; focus on keeping things to a more manageable size and numbers. There will be a time for new memories and items you can keep, but for the moment, you need to focus on the job and cut away the things you don’t need.
Involve Your Children
Though this may take a bit longer, you will find things far easier if you involve your children in decluttering and have them handle their belongings. If you have the patience and time to allow for that, they will learn a valuable lesson about moving. They will develop the necessary emotional strength to handle decluttering later in their lives when the time arrives.
Schedule a Time for Decluttering
You should not schedule set times or periods to declutter daily, but two to three hours of this weekly is more than enough to get the ball rolling. Creating a routine where you do just that, and nothing else will help in the long run.
Let’s face it – moving house is not a simple project. There are endless things to take care of, and all those errands could be overwhelming. However, no matter how busy you are, don’t forget to address the needs of your pet dog, as it will be much more difficult for your beloved pet to adjust.
To help your puppy get used to the change more manageably, try these five excellent moving tips:
Count on these smart tips, and your dog will adjust to the new place before you know it.
With a reasonable strategy by your side, moving the house could happen easily. Quite the opposite, making mistakes during the relocation would force you to face lots of challenges. Is it time for you to leave your old place and start fresh in a brand-new home? If so, make the most of the experience by steering clear of these common moving mistakes you are likely to make:
Moving the house could be a wonderful experience, but it could also be really tricky. Now that you know the typical mistakes you are likely to make, try to avoid them at all costs for a stress-free relocation.
When the time comes for you and your family to move homes, you will be faced with a ton of choices. From how to organise the whole process, to whether to do it yourself, or hire movers. Undoubtedly, it is very important to consider DIY vs hiring professionals. There are pros and cons to either side, so it is up to weigh them in and choose what best works for your family.
Pros of moving yourself
Cons of moving yourself
Pros of hiring movers
Cons of hiring movers
It does not matter where you are going or how long the journey is, be it to the end of the world or just across town, and you will need an essential moving bag with some of the items you will not want to lose among all the other items you may be packing. Having a proper organization of all the necessary items, and storing them in the moving essentials bag can be very helpful in saving you from the stress of impromptu movements.
The length of your trip plays a significant role in the size of the bag and amount of essentials you may need to carry. If the trip is going to be short, you can improvise with a gym bag. But, if the trip will be longer than usual, you may need something much bigger than gym bags, since you may leave other of your belongings behind. The idea of a moving essentials bag is that it should contain all the necessary items you may need on your trip. You do not need to overpack a moving essentials bag. All you need are the most important things you need, and you are good to go. You should also organize the bag accurately for easy access to those essentials.
Now, what are those things you may need to pack in your moving essentials bag?
What should be packed in a moving essentials bag varies from individual to individual, but there are some important things an average person cannot do without. They are:
Basic toiletries: You would not want to go through the experience of looking for your toothbrush or sponge when you want to take your bath or brush your teeth. To solve this problem, you could pack a toiletries bag with these basic toiletries you won’t be able to do without. Some of them are deodorants, toothpaste and toothbrush, bathing soaps and sponges, hand sanitizers, perfumes, creams, etc.
Your keys and wallets: Two of the easiest things to misplace are your wallet and keys. You just have to pray you did not lose them when you were on the move, or you may have misplaced them forever. It is advisable to store these two items in a purse and keep this purse in your moving essentials bag. That way, you are more certain that it is safe.
Medical supply: Health is wealth as they say. So, neglecting your health can be often disastrous. That is why you need to pack your medication in your moving essentials bag when you are ready to move. The regular medications you use and those prescribed medications you may not be able to obtain on your way should be an important part of your bag. Don't assume anything, if you think you might stay longer, take the full medical kit. If not, select the ones you will need, in case of emergencies.
Your important documents: Everyone is very careful when it comes to handling important documents, keeping them in hidden places in homes and offices. But, what if you are on the move? You may need them where you are going so the same care should be accorded to the documents. The essential documents that are popularly carried are passports, driver's licenses, social security cards, registrations, certificates, amongst other things.
Some handy electronics: There are some electronic devices and gadgets you use almost every day. Nobody is talking about your television sets, fridges, air conditioners, and all. Simple gadgets like phones, laptops, smaller radios, headsets, etc. are those handy devices you may need. You also need to pack their chargers, or you may have just carried heavy loads for nothing.
Some clothes: You cannot go for a trip of more than a day and not pack some clothes with you. Bringing your full wardrobe is out of the question, but there are some of those personal clothing you would need with you. Some of these clothes include underwear, pyjamas, pants, shirts, skirts, and other warm clothes in case of cold.
A portable tool kit, some edibles, and water: You may need to do some repairs on your trip so a tool kit may come in handy. This tool kit could contain standard tools like a wrench, screwdriver, measuring tape, circuit tester, small hammer, etc. Also, imagine a scenario where the journey takes longer than usual, or you did not have time to eat before moving. If you did not take water and edibles with you, you might regret the journey. So, put a few edibles, water, and a portable toolkit to the list of items to be contained in your moving essentials bag.
Conclusion:
There are some other things you may need, especially if you are a nursing mother, or a father travelling with a family. But, these things listed above can be classified as the essentials. So, whenever you want to make a trip, long or short, look at this list and pick most of these items. You will be glad you did.