Relocation can be an emotional time both in the sense of leaving somewhere you have made magical memories and also in having to go through years of ‘stuff’ you have accumulated. The best advice we hear time and time again when moving is to ditch the excess baggage. Many people who take it with them only end up storing it in the garage, and it never sees the light of day. So just how do you start sorting through the whole of your house and purge your stuff before preparing to pack up and move?

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Getting Started

Some people might think It’s easier to throw all their junk in boxes and deal with it the other end as they unpack. But not only will this cause a buildup of needless stuff in your shiny new home but it will also cost you more in removals. Instead, let your moving company focus on the important things, and you focus on the purging. The trouble with sentimental items is that tell a story of our lives. Therefore we become emotionally attached to these things rather than just the memories. That’s why it’s best to leave the sentimental stuff until last and start with the easy stuff. What’s the easy stuff? Old clothes that no longer fit or have never been worn. Old technology you have kept hold of in case you ever need it again. You won’t. The kid’s old school reports and drawings. For sentimental reasons keep a few, but if you have stacks of them, be brave and recycle them. Any duvets, bed sheets and towels that are tattie or have gone a strange shade of gray. Herbs, spices and tins of food that you just don’t use. There is no point hauling these to your brand new kitchen. If they are in date, donate them. The same goes for old wires and cable that you haven’t got a clue what they even do. And old magazines that may have piled up. Realistically you’re not going to read them again. This is all the easy stuff. So just start donating, recycling and throwing all this right away.

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The Sentimental Stuff

Sentimental stuff varies from person to person. Some people save their kids’ baby clothes. Others save their high school prom dress or hoard shoes they’ll never wear again. For others, it’s boxes of cinema tickets, invitations, and letters. Try and follow the Marie Kondo method of de-cluttering and only keep things that spark joy. If you hold an item in your hand and it doesn’t spark joy, then you no longer need it. You can thank the item for the joy it once brought, and the memories it has created. But then let it go. If it helps, you can take digital photos of these items and keep them stored on your laptop.

The Big Box Method

Another way to purge junk is to designate a big cardboard box to each room. And then get every family member to go around that room and find items they no longer want to put in here. Aim for at least ten items each. This idea works well in storage cupboards, lofts and attics and bedroom wardrobes. Ask yourself if you need five similar looking jumpers or if you really need an extra crockery set that you never use. Anything that has been in the attic for over a year and not touched needs to go immediately. Put kids toys they longer use in this box, as well as old makeup, old batteries and miscellaneous rubbish lying around.