Moving can be incredibly overwhelming, even if you’ve done it before. From personal belongings to everyday items and furniture – it quickly adds up to be a LOT of “stuff”. However, moving can be the best time to purge and decide what makes sense for your new home. Below is a list of factors to consider based on my recent moving experience – good luck!
First, let’s start with why you should purge instead of just throwing everything into the truck and figuring it out later:
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Less spent on packing supplies with fewer items. Boxes, paper/bubble wrap, moving blankets and other supplies can add up quickly.
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With that, it’s better for the environment! The less waste and weight on the truck can help reduce your carbon footprint. If you really want to make an impact, consider posting your moving boxes on Facebook groups for free pickup!
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Building on that point, total weight is used to calculate costs when utilizing a moving company. Or, if you’re ordering your own truck – the less stuff, the smaller the truck and fuel used. Seems obvious, but items really add up when you start to box them!
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If you plan to purge weeks before packing, you save time on that packing process as there is no need to box up items that may sell or be donated!
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Speaking of selling, this is so underrated in terms of time and effort. Facebook Marketplace is an absolute life saver to sell any items you won’t be taking. With easy pick up, have people PAY YOU to remove items you no longer need! This gives you fresh cash for new items that make sense for your new space.
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Lastly, purging means more space in your new home. I’ll talk about factors to consider below, but this makes it easier to find the right place for items you actually need.
How to decide what to take:
I highly recommend going room to room and making an inventory list of keep, sell and donate. We kept a Google Sheet where we tracked the status of each item, how much we sold it for and what we donated for tax purposes.
Here are factors we considered and questions we asked ourselves:
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Will this item serve a functional purpose in my new home?
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Is this item in good condition?
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How much did I originally invest in this item?
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Would I make a good profit selling this item?
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Does this aesthetically align with my new home?
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How often do I use this?
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Is it worth the hassle moving the size/shape/material (potential fragility) of this item?
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Do I have too many items in this category?
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Does this item have a sentimental value?
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Do I really need this? Do I keep saying that I’ll keep it ‘just in case’?
We asked ourselves these questions in this order, sometimes reaching our answer before making it halfway through the list. This list is not to make you feel like you should get rid of everything right away! There are items we took knowing that they are just to get us through the “in-between” which is the time of move-in to when we are ready to transform a space. We know we can sell those items at a later date, but having a coffee table for function now is better than spending on a new piece that is only temporary.
How to pack for an easy first week:
A little bonus tip here! We packed suitcases full of clothing for a week which made all the difference to easily grab what we need and move onto tasks for the day. We haven’t even gotten to unpacking our closets and shoes, so having those key, staple items we know we use & love has made life so much easier. We also packed our valuables, documents and important tech in specific boxes that rode with us to have on-hand.
Any other moving tips you’d like to hear of? I’ll be sharing a post full of all of them in the coming weeks once we’ve had the full experience under our belts! Thanks for being here.
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