10 Easy Steps to Decluttering Your Home Before a Move Since moves are often stressful, you’ll want to be well-prepared so that you can ensure everything runs smoothly on moving day. One excellent way to stay organized is by disposing of items that you no longer need before the moving truck gets there. When you have fewer things around, you have less belongings to pack, saving you time and money. If you need to purge your items before a move, here are 10 easy steps for decluttering your home. Get Started Earlier You can get started on your plans before the decluttering process begins. This stage can include thinking about what items you want to dispose of, how to get rid of them, and more. Give Yourself Enough Time When decluttering your home, you can underestimate the time it will take to perform this task. It will likely take you two hours to plan, and then up to three hours per room for the decluttering process. Don’t forget about outdoor spaces as well, or any other areas you may neglect to think about. Make a Detailed List Find a notebook or spreadsheet that you keep in an accessible spot and make a detailed to-do checklist. Keep everything together so that nothing gets lost. Use Digital Planning Tools If you prefer to make lists digitally, you can use apps like Excel, Google Sheets, and Numbers. These programs give you the tools to add and sort columns, and you can include information like the task and its deadline and then mark it as completed. Plus, if anyone is helping you with the decluttering process, you can easily share these documents with Google Sheets. Task management apps like Asana are also a helpful tool that can keep you on track with your deadlines and projects. You can add friends or family to the task list to stay more organized. Take it One Room at a Time Before you begin decluttering, you’ll want to start one room at a time. Doing multiple rooms at once can be overwhelming and could lead to you not completing any tasks at all. Clean out Closets and Storage Rooms You’ll want to clear out spaces that hold many items, like your closets and storage rooms. A good rule of thumb is to put things in the giveaway/sell pile that you haven’t used in a year or more. When you’ve had belongings in storage for years, taking them with you will just create more of a mess. Instead, you can sell, donate, or have the items removed—it’s up to your discretion. Decide What Items to Keep Once you’ve gone through all of your items, you can decide which ones you want to keep and which you’ll need to get rid of. You’ll need to think carefully about what you really need because many moving companies charge by the weight of your items. If you have heavier objects that you no longer use as much, then consider donating or selling them, and you can save on costs while having less clutter in your new home. You can also have a garage sale or give your neighbours some items to reduce the number of things you will be moving. Use Labels When you organize all your items, make sure that you label everything so that there are no mixups. You can use things like sticky notes or other products that differentiate your belongings. Plus, labelling is useful not just for moving, but the unpacking process as well. When your things are clearly marked, you’ll know which room they will go in, and it’s a more straightforward process for your movers since they’ll see where the items should go. Remove Junk from Your Home Once you’ve gone through all your items and labelled them, you should have a pile of things that need to go in the trash. You can get rid of these belongings in various ways, such as selling them, donating them, calling a junk collector, or renting a disposal bin. However, some things, like old electronics, have a specific way of being disposed of, which helps to preserve the environment. For these items, be sure to do your research on how to remove them in your area. Haul Away Your Junk Suppose you have items that need to be disposed of in a specific way or have heavier things that can’t be picked up or donated. In that case, consider hiring a professional junk removal company. Junk removal experts will take away any of your items, and if they are in good working condition, will repurpose or even donate them. Our team at Junk Works does an excellent job of getting rid of your junk and making your move hassle-free. Now that you’ve followed these decluttering steps, moving should be a breeze. With less junk around, this will end up saving you money, time, and fewer items to build up clutter in your new place. Leave Your Junk Removal to Junk Works At Junk Works, we have put together an expert team of technicians who have years of experience in junk removal in Toronto. We are efficient, timely, and don’t require you to do any prep work beforehand. All you have to do is schedule an appointment, and we will be there for any of your junk removal needs. No matter where your junk is located, our team will go into any room to retrieve it. We also ensure that we don’t make a mess or damage anything, and are always respectful of your home. If you want to find out more about us and how we can help you with junk removal during your move, be sure to visit our website and call us at 1-888-888-JUNK. Our friendly team will speak to you about your specific requirements, and we will get rid of your unwanted items as soon as possible. We look forward to working with you! 10 Easy Steps to Decluttering Your Home Before a Move