How to Downsize Before the Big Move
So you’re planning to move to Colorado. Congratulations! Have you thought about what things you need to pack and what you can leave behind? Clothing, bedding, kitchen supplies, toys, furniture, and accessories can take up a lot of boxes! You may not even realize how much stuff you actually have, until you start to pack. Before you start filling your boxes, think about downsizing your possessions so you have less to pack and haul to your new home. Check out these simple tips on downsizing.
What’s Hiding in the Closet
Here’s where you should start when moving to Colorado: Take inventory of all of your clothes. This may seem like a daunting task now, but just think how much less you’ll have to pack when you slim down your wardrobe. Sort your clothing into four piles: Off-season, keep, toss, and donate. All of your clothes need to go into one pile or another. Be honest with yourself too…if you’re never going to wear it (or you’re still hoping to fit into it) then don’t keep it! It’s best for the whole family to take part in this activity, especially kids who outgrow clothing in a minute. Only take what you’ll really wear to your new home. You’ll be amazed at how clean your closet will look at the new place.
Knickknacks Galore
Tchotchkes, knickknacks , and other items that are taking up space on your shelves don’t need to come to the new house with you. If it’s hard for you to slim down your collection of stuff, try limiting yourself to one boxfull. Go around the house and pick only the items you really love, or the items that can’t be replaced. Everything else should go to the curb or to Goodwill with the clothes.
Office Overload
A home office is often a place where clutter builds up. This is mostly old paper work, bills, and correspondence that you never got rid of. This is the best time to do just that. Double check that you no longer need old documents and then send them to the shredder. Manuals and instructions for household items can be tucked into a manila envelope and left for the family who occupies your home. Don’t drag those along with you. Keep only what you must and place it into a filing cabinet that you plan on taking with you. If possible, scan your documents into the computer and back them up on a hard drive. This way you don’t need to take along any paper at all. Consider lightening up your bookshelf as well. If you haven’t read it in the last year, get rid of it. You won’t need those college text books anymore.
Kitchen Crazy
One of the most daunting rooms to pack up is the kitchen. Between cutlery, pots and pans, utensils and cookbooks, there is a lot to box! Assess the items in your kitchen. Don’t bring along anything that is broken or anything that you hardly use. No sense in hauling that bread maker you got for your wedding if it’s never even been unwrapped. As for supplies, take this opportunity to replace anything that you don’t like or that’s broken once you move into your new house.
Over Accessorized
While your home looks beautiful because of your great taste in accessories and decorative items, those things can be tough to pack especially if they’re breakable. Instead packing up all of your accessories, stick to the ones you like best that will look good in your new home. Keep items that hold strong sentimental value and leave behind anything you can live without. You could also think about slimming down your CD collection, if you have towers of CD’s you never play. If you don’t have the discs, you won’t need to take the towers either.
Yard Sale
Before the big move, hold a yard sale with your old clothes, knickknacks, kitchen supplies, and accessories. You can make a couple hundred dollars by selling your old stuff and use the money towards new things for your new house. If you have valuable items that you’d like to sell, try putting them up online.
These are just a few of the places to downsize when you’re getting ready to pack before moving. Keep in mind that if you can’t bear to part with some things, you don’t need to bring them to the new house! Keeping things in a storage facility is always a good option if you move a lot or if you have kids that will be heading off to college soon.
These tips and tricks are brought to you by Erie Construction. Follow Erie Construction on Twitter to receive more tips about home improvement.
