6 Tips For Downsizing Before A Move

 

Moving can be very exciting. It marks the start of a new chapter full of fun and exciting possibilities. That said it can also be a bit overwhelming. Did you know that moving happens to be one of the life events that people find most stressful?

A big part of that is the process of packing up your entire home and getting it ready to move. If you’re gearing up for a move you may be wondering, how do I take the stress and anxiety out of this process? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve pulled together a list of tips and tricks to make downsizing before your move a bit more organized and a lot less stressful.

First thing’s first. You should know that Moving Day will creep up on you fast, so it’s best to get organized ahead of time. Create a timeline and map out what you need to accomplish before moving day. This will help you stay on top of what to get done and ensure that nothing gets overlooked.

Think you’ll need help later on? You don’t have to wait until moving day to get help. You can book your Tasker early or set a reminder to book at a future date.

When getting your house organized, you should go room by room, right…?

Wrong.

Follow the KonMari Method, which encourages tidying up by category, not location. Work in this order: clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous items, then finally sentimental items. This way you won’t turn one room completely upside down, or end up knee-deep in a pile of clothes.

Taskers recommend categorizing everything into the following categories: trash, donate, sell, and keep. How you categorize your items will depend on your own personal needs, but clients typically start with the first three categories, as below:

Trash

  • Anything no longer in working condition
  • Unneeded files & clutter
  • Outdated equipment (e.g. toaster, treadmill)
  • Expired medicines
  • Expired cosmetics

Donate

  • Clothes
  • Books
  • Mattresses
  • CDs/DVDs
  • Furniture
  • Artwork

Sell

  • Electronics
  • Jewelry
  • Appliances in good condition
  • House plants
  • Antiques

Sorting out the three categories above is easy, and Taskers can help with junk removal, cleaning, or organization. Deciding what to keep, though, is something you’ll have to figure out on your own. This step is hard, since we can become surprisingly attached to things we don’t need.

Just remind yourself: the more you can get rid of now–by tossing, donating, or selling–the less you’ll have to move later on. Consider this a chance to purge the non-essentials and move forward with the things that make you happy.

That vintage poster from your travels abroad? Keep. Chipped mugs? Toss.

Paper has a tendency to stack up over time. In the process of downsizing, you’ll probably find pamphlets, magazines, or even tax returns from years past. Carrying these around is way too cumbersome. If you don’t need something, toss it.

For the things you need to keep, see if you can digitize either by saving them to a drive or uploading them to the cloud. Same goes for old cassettes, photos, and CDs. A Tasker can help you with this if you’re unsure where to start.

As you continue to sort out your items, another problem emerges: How to actually sell or give away the things you no longer need. Here are a couple ideas:

  • Host a “house cooling” party: Get together with friends and family, and see if anyone might want something you no longer need. This can be a creative (and fun) excuse to reconnect with loved ones before your move.
  • Donation drop off: For items that are ready to be donated, hire a Tasker to pick them up and drop them off to the organization of your choice.

Now that you’ve downsized, the only thing left to do is book a Tasker for Moving Day. For tips on actually booking your moving task, check out our Moving Task Description blog post.

Information provided by The Hutch is for general and informational purposes only and we make no warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, or validity of any content.

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