Most of the time, moving to a new home is a daunting task that gets the best people in the worst of times. Moving becomes even more difficult and arduous when there is a lot to manage, organize and pack. It’s even more difficult to move those countless items you swear you don’t remember buying or seeing, making the process more expensive than it already is. 

Some people also find it difficult to part with items that hold emotional or sentimental value as parting with them seems to tug at their heartstrings quite strongly. Thus, such items are often not let go and stay throughout the move and the unpacking in the new place. But there is no need to worry. Even if you have any items that you don’t want to take with you but don’t want to give them away too, there’s a solution. You can rent a storage unit and store your cherished and treasured possessions there until you decide what to do with them later. 

But other than sentimental items, here are 5 things that you can throw out before moving to lighten the load on your mind, wallet and moving truck. After all, a little decluttering goes a long way in a mess and chaos free moving experience! 

1. Old clothes

No one seems to realize just how many clothes they have until their wardrobe or closet is split apart inside out for a move. There are always clothes that don’t fit anymore, that are worn out and faded, clothes that are damaged or socks and gloves with a missing pair that are hogging up precious closet space. There are also clothing items that just do not spark joy anymore according to the Marie Kondo method or are ill-fitting. There is no need for such clothes in your new home so throw them out, donate them to shops like Goodwill and other local thrift shops or organize a garage sale. You can even recycle them and transform them into newer, fresher pieces.

2. Books

Although throwing out books is a bookworm’s worst nightmare, there’s still validity in throwing out old, worn-out books or the ones that have completely fallen apart. Books that are yellowed, crackled, crumpled, and damaged beyond recognition are the ones to be thrown out, recycled, or donated to paper manufacturers so they can be given a whole new glow-up! See it this way – if you declutter your bookshelf by throwing out the damaged, unnecessary items, you can reclaim the space for newer books and then ultimately newer fictional characters to love, new fictional settings to explore and new fandoms to dive into. Plus, this can also be your excuse for an enjoyable, delightful book buying spree.

3. Old furniture

Moving to a new place means a new, fresh start. So, another way to declutter is to throw out any old, damaged and worn-out furniture before moving. This way, there’s no added baggage of moving furniture that isn’t needed anymore. 

If you plan on buying newer furniture, do sell or donate some of the furniture you already own but don’t need, despite its condition. This way, it will find a new home to make cozy instead of rotting away in the streets, dumpsters, or alleyways.

4. Out-of-date electronics

We all have miles of unwanted, damaged, and unnecessary cables, earplugs, earphones, cords, USBs, and other electronic gadgets in our homes somewhere. This is your time to go through all of them, keep what you need that works and throw the rest of them out. But be sure to dispose of them in an orderly, appropriate manner because you cannot throw electronics in the trashcan like you would discard tissue paper.

5. Piles of Paper

Even in the 21st century and a highly digitized era, we still have piles of paper in our homes, taking over our sacred physical space in drawers, cupboards, and cabinets. Whether these papers are taxes, fee challans, bills, kid drawings or just random scraps with random numbers and dates written on them, they need to go. You can digitize the important documents and throw the extra piles out. This will make for a hassle-free packing and moving experience without getting tangled up in piles of unnecessary paper. 

Conclusion

There are more things to throw out before moving that we don’t need or want anymore so feel free to discard any unnecessary items, donate them or give them away to your friends, family, or neighbors. After all, moving needs to be as organized as possible to avoid the dreaded moving-day panic and last-minute decluttering and packing. Be sure to check the five essential things to throw out mentioned above and then you can go from there and declutter accordingly. Because moving day doesn’t always have to be messy and chaotic. It’s a new place you are moving to – it is one reason to celebrate!

Main Image Photo by Michal B on Unsplash