How To Purge Your Home For A Move
Are you planning a move and you have to downsize the stuff you currently have? I know this is a tough time, most people don’t like to get rid of things that’s why we have so much stuff.
But how do you purge your home for a move? Often the best ways to purge are to take your time and to go through things with the knowledge that letting some things go is going to be mentally tough.
But the end results will be worth it, living with too much stuff isn’t going to do you any favors.
If anything, it can make the process of moving to a small home harder because you won’t fit the items into your new home easily.
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Purging Your Home For A Move
It can be financially based or just practical for you to move to a smaller home and getting rid of some of the things in your current home is going to be hard.
You are probably going to have to work hard at getting rid of some of the things that you have kept and that’s OK.
There’s a reason why you have it in the first place, they might have sentimental memories and often these are the toughest items to let go of.
Just knowing that you must be prepared for the memories that come flooding back and how they can affect your ability to move quickly through the process of decluttering.
You have to focus on the end result, moving into a new home, and how much space you will have without taking so much stuff that you currently have.
There will be less cleaning to do too, giving you more time to do the things that you want to do.
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Where To Start Your Purging
The simple answer is to just start, pick a room, any room, and just start going through the things in this room.
You shouldn’t plan on doing a room at a time, this is going to be a big task, going through everything you own and making choices as to if you want to keep it or if it needs to go.
As you go through things and find things that need to go, putting them into a container like a plastic box keeps things looking tidy as you sort through your items.
It is going to be mentally draining, which is why you shouldn’t do too much in one go.
It’s a great practice to start small, this allows you to practice for when things become more difficult. There are going to be tough decisions ahead, and practicing those feelings is going to make it easier to deal with them when the time comes.
Make A Plan Of Attack For Purging Your Home
Creating a plan is going to help you, this plan needs to contain your motivation for downsizing and how great it’s going to be with less stuff to worry about.
Write down your goals for doing this purge, (just use a simple notepad for this.) this can help to focus your mind on the task and it can feel like it’s holding your hand with the process and the decisions you have to make.
It’s going to include a process that will help you to decide what is staying and what is going.
But most importantly it’s going to help you with the items that are going and how you are getting them out of your home.
There aren’t any second chances, we have to make decisions and stick to them to make the move possible.
What To Include In Your Plan Of Attack?
You will need a simple checklist to help you make decisions on what is staying and what is going on during this purge.
- Is it going to fit in the new home?
- Do I want it in the new home?
- What has to go if I keep this?
Honestly, answering these questions each time you get stuck or you have items that are going is going to help you with your purge.
What To Do With Items You Purge
When it comes to purging the inevitable happens, you have stuff that you need to get rid of.
With the items that need to go, you also have a couple of questions to ask.
- Should I give it away to friends or a charity?
- Does this need to go in the trash?
- Can I sell it?
You shouldn’t force items on friends or family, they might find it hard to say no, but you don’t want to fill their home up with items they don’t want or need.
A charity will accept most items, it’s important to check with them first before turning up with a donation.
If something is broken or just not worth anything it’s time to think of the trash, but wait, can you recycle it or parts of it?
Don’t hang on to it if you can’t simply recycle it, it’s not worth the stress to have it sit in your home longer than it needs to.
Selling the item is an option that you should consider, don’t have the item sitting there for too long, if it doesn’t sell quickly then it needs to go to charity.
Check out this book all about selling the items you purge from your home.
Emotional Pain When Purging Your Home
You are going to feel emotions as you go through things in your home.
You have memories attached to everything you own and those memories are going to come flooding back, there are going to be happy and sad memories, and dealing with these is part of the process of purging your home.
You have to give yourself the chance to feel those emotions, pushing them down and not dealing with them isn’t good for your health.
Take pictures of the items you are letting go as this will help you deal with the loss of the item.
Resources To Help You With Purging Your Home
The more things you can learn about purging your home will make the experience less stressful. Here are some articles that I think will help.
- 4 Things To Purge From Your Home
- How To Purge Your Home Quickly
- How To Purge Your House From Clutter Before Christmas
- 12 Ways To Declutter Your Life
- How To Use Your Home Management Binder
Grab Your FREE Organizing Labels
- Easy to use
- Make your home more organized