How to Declutter Your House Before a Big Move

My husband and I are in the depths of another move.  This will be the second time we have moved a long distance in the last 4 months.  Needless to say, we are not looking forward to moving again so we have committed to making this one as easy as possible!  What made our last move hard?  We have way too much stuff!  That is why I am creating this series on how to declutter your house, room by room before a big move.

We need to get one thing straight before we begin. When I say “declutter” I am basically saying “get rid of junk.”  Now I know not all of the things that you will be getting rid of is junk, but just hear me out.  We have a lot of unnecessary things in our homes that stress us out even if we don’t know it!  

Imagine opening up your closet and there are only a few of your favorite outfits to pick out (stick with me).  You don’t have to stress about what to wear because you only have a few choices.  You will then also have less pile up of laundry because you will have to do the laundry consistently if you don’t want to go to work naked.  Sound great?  Now think about having less dishes.  No pile up in the kitchen sink?  That’s enough to get me excited!

Why would you want to declutter before a move, then?

1.) Less Boxes, Less to Carry, and Less Back Pain

We had so many boxes when we moved last time.  I swear half of our moving truck was boxes! Those things are not easy to take back and forth from the truck to the house either.  Hello lower back pain!

It’s simple.  When you have less stuff, you will have less boxes!  That means you could get a smaller truck, there would be less to pack, less to unload, and less to unpack.  Hallelujah!  You could also skip the chiropractor visit at the end of the move.

2.) Your New House will Look Spick and Span

My favorite thing about moving is that you get to start over.  You can re-decorate, put furniture in new spots, and re-organize! I love organizing my desk once I take everything out of it. It just feels so nice and fresh!

Think about this.  How much easier would it be to re-organize if you had less stuff to worry about?  Everything would have a home!  

In my house, we have a problem with pens.  We have so many pens!!  Why?  I have no idea.  But after about a week of organizing my desk, there will be pens everywhere because we just take one out and then throw it in a drawer.  Now imagine if we had three pens instead of thirty.  Excuse me while I go throw out my pens….

3.) Reduces Messes in the Future

Wouldn’t it be great if you had less to clean?  Less toys to pick up after the kids, less dishes, less clothes to wash.  Well now you can!

If you just keep the things you absolutely need, then there will be less pile up of dishes and laundry, less toys scattered around, and less to stress about!  Sure you will have to make sure you wash the few dishes you have once they are used, but then there will not be pile up in your sink for days on end!

You may be thinking “this sounds great and all, but I don’t really have that much junk to get rid of.”  You, my friend, are going to be surprised!  Stick with me for the other parts in this series as I take you step by step to decluttering your house!

Have you ever moved?  What are some things that have helped your move go smoother?