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Packing for moving home can be an opportunity to take stock of your possessions and get rid of unwanted items; approach it like you would with decluttering but on a larger scale. And don’t leave it, the sooner you can start sorting things out the better.
More Than Clearance can help by disposing of anything deemed as rubbish with a partial house clearance and selling articles of value on your behalf; thus offsetting some of the cost of your move. But first, you need to decide what to keep and what to get rid of.
GETTING ORGANISED
To start with, it may make the packing process easier if you do one room at a time and to separate everything into four: Keep, Sell, Charity, Rubbish. A good principle to follow is that if it’s neither beautiful nor useful it may be time to say goodbye to it! Then you just need to decide if you’re going sell it or give it away to a good cause. The rubbish part is relatively easy: just put everything that is irreparable, outdated or just plain junk, etc. in the bin or the recycling.
BE RUTHLESS
Things that you’re not sure about put to one side, but try and be a bit ruthless; you don’t want to be moving stuff to your new home that in a few weeks time you end up getting rid of anyway. You want to make it as easy as possible after the move to find a place for everything; and you don’t need any superfluous stuff cluttering up your new home and making your job harder.
ITEMS TO SELL
When it comes to the items you’re thinking of getting rid of don’t overvalue the things that you think you may be able to sell; just because it’s old doesn’t make it an antique, unfortunately. More Than Clearance can help with this as we’ll be able to give you a fair assessment of their market value.
WHERE TO START
The bedrooms are as good a place as any to make a start with the packing. When sorting through clothes it might be an idea to collect all the garments of one type together (such as jeans), then you can make a direct comparison between them, which should help you to decide what’s worth keeping and what’s not.
DO YOU USE IT?
When it comes to the kitchen there are often electrical appliances that have sat unused in a cupboard or have been taking up valuable room on the counter top for ages. If you’re unlikely to ever use them again, now is a good time to get rid of them. Check tins and perishable goods for ‘use by’ dates and anything out of date should probably be binned.
BOX IT UP
As you work your way through your possessions start to box up the things you’re going to keep but don’t need immediately like unseasonal clothes etc.. The more you can get done early in the process the better; there is always more to do than you think. Boxes can be supplied by More Than Clearance if needed (or we can do the packing for you).
LABEL YOUR BOXES
Clearly label everything with the room they are to go into along with a list of contents. It will help in the long run; when faced with a pile of boxes in your new home it will make life a lot easier if everything is in the right room and you’ll then be able to find any particular item you’re looking for by checking the contents lists.
THE ESSENTIALS
A ‘personal items’ box is a good idea, containing important documents like passports, as well as valuables and irreplaceable keepsakes. It’s also a good idea to have an ‘essentials box’ – stuff you’ll probably need right away after moving home, consisting of things that you use on an everyday basis like the kettle, toaster, toilet paper, etc.. It may be the last box you pack because you’re still using some of the items up to the last minute (that final cup of tea or coffee in the old house for instance). If you take these boxes with you in the car you’ll know where they are at all times and it will help you to get started in your new home.
If you haven’t already done so, check out Part 1 of the More Than Clearance Guide To Moving Home
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