Moving to a new home is an exciting chapter in your life, especially if you’re a first-time home buyer or you’ve finally closed in on your dream home. Planning your itinerary, packing up, and relocating can also be stressful and time-consuming. One way to ensure an efficient and stress-free move is by organizing and decluttering your belongings: Decluttering helps you streamline the moving process and guarantees that you start fresh in your new space.

Wondering how to declutter before a move? To help you navigate this task, we’ve gathered expert tips and tricks for how to pack a messy house to move. For those looking to minimize their environmental impact, consider incorporating eco-friendly moving practices, such as using reusable packing materials and donating unwanted items instead of discarding them.

How to Organize a Move

Spontaneity has merits, but a comprehensive and carefully planned moving organization will help you avoid a chaotic moving day. Start by setting a timeline for your move: Determine the season (summer, winter, Spring Move) and date you need to move, then figure out how much time you’ll need to complete all the necessary tasks before moving.

Don’t you love checklists? Not only do they help you keep track of the tasks you’ve completed and the ones you still need to take care of, but checking off each finished item is so satisfying. Create a comprehensive checklist of everything you need to do before, during, and after the move. This allows you to break the process into smaller, manageable steps, making it less intimidating and easier to tackle.

Starting early is one of the most important tips for organizing a move. Don’t leave it until the last minute, as this will prime you to rush decisions, make mistakes, and trigger unnecessary stress. Begin the moving and decluttering process at least a few weeks before your moving date, giving yourself ample time to go through each room and category of items.

5 Decluttering Tips for Moving

1. Create a Sorting System: Before you dive into decluttering, create a sorting system to categorize your belongings. One effective method uses three categories: keep, donate/sell, and discard. As you review each item, decide which category it falls into and pack it accordingly.

2. Strategic Packing: Choosing the right boxes and the best packing method will go a long way toward ensuring a successful move. For example, you might want to try the four-box method: I.e., using four boxes per room, one for items you want to keep, one for donating/selling, another for the junk you plan to discard, and another for relocating to a storage facility or a friend’s house. As you sort through your belongings, place them in the appropriate box, and watch as your home becomes visibly decluttered.

3. Go Room by Room: Taking on too much at once rarely goes well. Instead, tackle the decluttering process one room at a time. You might want to begin with the least used or smallest rooms, such as the basement, attic, or spare bedroom(s); this approach will build momentum, make the task feel more manageable, and guarantee your move starts on the right foot.

4. Creative Storage Solutions: Think outside the (moving) box: If you struggle to part with certain sentimental items, consider creative storage methods. For example, take advantage of any available space under your beds, purchase organizers and/or shelving units, or even rent a storage unit for items you don’t have room for but just can’t throw out.

5. 80/20 Rule: The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, we tend to use only 20% of our possessions 80% of the time. Remember this rule when you’re decluttering before your move, and prioritize the items you use frequently or that have some obvious practical value in your daily life. On the other hand, get rid of the things you rarely, if ever, use, or the don’t even serve much of a purpose.

Streamlining your move through decluttering is a smart and practical approach. By starting early, creating a sorting system, and using expert tips and tricks, you’ll be able to efficiently declutter before moving and make your move much smoother. For more expert moving tips and professional moving services, contact Maffucci Moving today.