You’ve probably heard the recommendation to declutter all your belongings well in advance of a move, but that’s not always possible. Your daily life may be so demanding you don’t have the free time to complete this task, Or, you may simply have so many belongings that you can’t get through them all before the move.
Whether your move is sudden or whether your daily life has just swamped you so you don’t have any free time, this can put a bit of a wrench into your moving plans. Discover some tips on what to do if you’ve realized you won’t have time to get through everything before the move.
1. Triage
Take a moment to think about which items, rooms, or boxes you want to go through even if you don’t have time for the rest. Start with the most urgent items first. Next, look for easy wins. For instance, choose boxes that won’t ask you to make hard choices or those that mostly contain items you can donate.
2. Delegate
Asking for help is valid when you don’t have time to do it yourself. Maybe you have some family members who would be willing to lend a hand. Or if you don’t have family in the area, consider hiring a professional organizer to help you declutter. You can also save time and effort by utilizing professional packing services.
3. Choose Donation Over Selling
You may have heard that a garage sale can help you get rid of unwanted items. But before you decide to hold a garage sale, think about how much work that will be. In some cases (such as when time is scarcer than money), you may be better served simply donating unneeded items.
As a compromise, you could try selling any valuable items via an online selling platform (or give them to a family member or friend to sell for you), then donate the rest.
4. Use an Auto-Discard List
Sorting through all your belongings is hard not just physically but mentally and emotionally. The more you can accomplish without thinking too hard, the faster the process will go. One way to streamline is to make a list of things that should be automatically discarded.
You may have your own categories of items to add to this list, but some ideas include things that you can’t put on the moving truck or in the storage unit or those that can easily be replaced when you arrive at your new home. This could include things such as:
- Garden and lawn chemicals like pesticides and fertilizers
- Cleaning chemicals (other than what you’ll need for your move-out clean)
- Aerosol cans, including things like hairspray and cooking spray
- Paint or paint thinner
Other items such as houseplants and perishable food also can’t go on the moving truck, but you’ll likely want to deal with those individually. You can ask your moving company for a full list of things to avoid putting on the moving truck, then decide which items to put on your auto-discard list.
5. Store It
If you need to downsize or move long-distance, you may feel like you’re in an especially tight spot. In this scenario, professional storage can be an especially useful service. Your professional moving and storage company can load up anything you haven’t had time to go through and store it for you until you have time or space for it later on.
6. Let It Go
Moving can be stressful, especially if you blame yourself for everything that goes wrong. However, just because you don’t have time to complete all the commonly recommended tasks such as decluttering and organizing doesn’t mean you can’t still have a successful move. Take a deep breath, move on, and remember you can organize the rest when you have time.
As you can see, a number of strategies can help you lessen the burden of sorting through everything in your house and yard when you don’t have the time and ability to do so. For more information on professional moving, storage, and packing services, get in touch with Dixie Moving & Storage, Inc., today.