When you move to another home in the same city, you can take your time, sort through your items and have a more organized home when the move is complete. By staging your move and using a storage facility mid-way between the two addresses, you'll prevent a lot of clutter from being moved to the new house. Here is how to set up a staged move and have a better relocation experience.
Sorting and Organizing
Moving is an opportunity to sort through all of your personal items and donate some, throw out some and recycle other items. Start your new home clutter-free by taking the time to organize your items as you prepare for the move.
Find a self-storage facility half-way between your old and new addresses and rent one of their storage units. If nothing is available at the half-way mark, find a storage locker closer to your new residence. You may decide to keep some items in storage for awhile after the move, so having one closer to home makes sense.
The Decluttering Process
With a storage unit secured, you can begin to go through your house, room by room, deciding how to deal with each item. You'll group your items according to the following criteria:
- items to sell in a garage sale or through an auction site
- items to be taken to a thrift store or donated to a specific charity
- items to be recycled or thrown away
The rest of your items you'll keep and move. But this category can further be organized into groups to be taken to the storage locker as follows:
- items that you're unsure about keeping, but aren't ready to part with
- seasonal items that you won't be using for several months
By using the storage locker to hold these last two groups of items, you keep from taking up valuable space in your new home. This is just the first round of sorting and organizing, so you can do this step quickly.
Packing Gives You a Second Chance
As you pack, you can go through a similar cluttering and organizing process. With each item you are ready to pack, decide if you need it in the new house right now or if you can keep it in the storage locker until some time in the future.
One way to help this process along is to ask yourself if you will be using the item in the next month in the new home. If not, keep the item in storage until you need it. This way you will only be moving into the new house those items you use every day or in the next month. This gives you a new home that is uncluttered and easier to settle into.
Post-Move Activities
Once your move is completed and you feel settled in, you can readdress the items in storage. Some of the items you may enjoy having in the house now while others can stay in storage until you need them later. By using storage units as a staging area, you have the opportunity to move into an uncluttered space with lots of room in which to move around.
