Moving for the Minimalist: How to Declutter Your Life

Moving is difficult enough without a mix of clutter and unnecessary items added to the mix. By de-cluttering your life before a move, you can create a minimalist moving opportunity, and come out lightweight and worry free on the other side. Remember, everything you pack, you’ll eventually have to unpack, so it helps to take a good look at each item, and decide whether it’s worth keeping.

At Coffey Bros, we understand how stressful moving can be, which is why we’ve compiled this list of steps to simplify and declutter your moving process.

1. If you haven’t used it in the last year, you don’t need it: Aside from sentimental knickknacks, like the candlesticks from your wedding, or that old guitar your dad bought you as a teenager, a good rule of thumb to use when decluttering is: “If you haven’t used it in a year, get rid of it.” We’re all guilty of holding onto useless junk from time to time, cluttering up cabinets and closets with things we “might” need later, but probably won’t use. This is a great time to ditch that stuff and move into your new house a few pounds lighter.

2. Trim the wardrobe: Before you move you’ll empty your closet, empty your drawers, and pack everything away lovingly for the long journey to the new homestead. Clothes are quick to pack, lightweight, and easy to overlook as necessities. Stop! Before you pack up all of those outfits, take the time to go through them all and make sure everything still fits, is in good condition, and is worth the trouble of unpacking and hanging or folding on the other side. You might be surprised to find out how many articles of clothing you no longer wear, or even like.

3. Donate old toys: If you have children, you know how quickly they can grow out of things, and while some items are nice to keep around, like piggy banks and favorite stuffed animals, there are bound to be items you no longer need. Rather than pouring the heaping toybox into a moving box, go through your children’s toys with them and determine which are new, which are still used, which are most loved, and which are disposable or too young for your child. You can donate these unwanted toys to a family in need to be loved again, and as an added bonus, there’s suddenly less to pack.

4. Raid the toolshed: Out of sight is out of mind, and the tool shed, garage, and basement are a great place for gardening equipment, tools, and old supplies you just don’t need anymore to hide out. Whether you’re a handy woman, or Mr. Fix-it, a move is a great opportunity to finally get rid of that broken lawn mover, rusty weed puller, and chipped hedge trimmer. This also provides an opportunity to mend, or clean up old tools that need a little extra TLC before the move.

5. Clear out junk drawers: We’re all guilty of having those one or two drawers that seem to accumulate just about anything that doesn’t fit into a pre-sorted category. Leftover birthday candles, loose change, scotch tape, and random pens get tossed together until they’re needed again. Cleaning out your junk drawers will help cut back on packing items you probably won’t use again, and it will also help you find some things you may have been searching for but couldn’t find.

6. Sort your linens: Towels, blankets, and pillows take up more space than you think, and while they’re lightweight to move, they often have an expiry date. Childhood quilts with favorite cartoon characters and faded alphabet probably only gets used now for the beach or camping. Old towels with stains on them could come in handy for polishing the car, but will you really go through the effort of cutting them up and storing them with the cleaning products? Getting rid of faded, stained, and torn bedding and towels is a great way to create new space at your new place, and start fresh with bright clean bedding.