Moving tips from a professional: Declutter before you start packing
By Amanda Scali

16/03/2017 12:00am

Moving tips from a professional: Declutter before you start packing

When your new home is about to settle and moving day is looming, you may be anxious about how to start sorting and labelling your possessions but the insider tip is to declutter before you start packing.

Of course, if you are downsizing your home at the same time, it's likely that anxiety may give way to fully-fledged panic so please read this carefully—DON’T PANIC, DECLUTTER!

According to our friendly expert removalist, decluttering first is one of the best ways of reducing both the stress and cost of your move.

Moving tips from a professional: Reverse the cluttering process

Even if you are not planning to move, decluttering on a regular basis reclaims space in your home and creates a more restful environment.

Most houses become cluttered via stealth; a gradual process of acquiring and bringing more items through the door, one at a time.

Eventually this creates a storage problem, especially if you replace items that are outdated, inadequate or need repair, but don’t get rid of the old ones.

Just how many toasters does one family need?

Decluttering—reversing the cluttering process—is accomplished using the same principle by which cluttering occurred, by taking items out the door, one at a time.

If the theory sounds easier than the practice, your mindset may be an issue.

Moving tips from a professional: Assess your objects objectively

For some people clutter is inevitable, because instead of them owning their stuff, their stuff owns them—it has an emotional hold on them that defies logic.

If you have clothes you have not worn in two years, you’re probably never going to wear them again (or fit into them, sigh), with the possible exception of your special-occasion finery.

It doesn’t matter how soft and beautifully made your mustard leather bomber jacket is, if you haven’t worn it since the 80s, it’s clutter!

That jacket might have been hideously expensive back in the day but, viewed objectively, does it have anything other than sentimental value now?

While a garage sale seems like a great idea, the investment of your time and energy during this busy period likely won’t be rewarded by a significant return.

Just as we can dismiss the wares at neighbourhood garage sales as more trash than treasure, we need to be realistic about the value of our cast-offs.

Moving tips from a professional: Declutter before you start packing

Spending just 15 minutes a day decluttering your house now will pay off when it comes to packing and later unpacking all those boxes, especially if the whole family gets involved in culling their possessions.

Be as ruthless as you can bear to be and if you are uncertain about the fate of a particular item, sleep on the decision.

Take care not to discard items that may be important to others without consultation, negotiation, or perhaps a little bribery.

If you are diligent about decluttering you will reap the benefits at moving time.

Moving tips from a professional: Look forward to a clutter-free new home

The professionals at McGrath Real Estate enjoy nothing better than seeing our happy clients settled in their new homes.

Helping you to move with the minimum of fuss is just another of the extras we provide as part of our 6-star service.

If you’re thinking of making a move, talk to us about our extensive range of properties in Adelaide’s beautiful coastal and western suburbs.