Moving is stressful.
Not only do you need to box up all of your belongings, if you’re moving to a more compact living space, but you’ll also need to decide what’s coming with you, what’s going in the trash and what’s being donated.
Below you’ll find our top four tips for downsizing before the big day.
Break the task into manageable pieces
Have you heard the quote about eating the elephant one bite at a time?
When you start the process of going through your stuff, don’t look at the totality of the project—take it room by room. (Trust us, the latter will be far less overwhelming.)
Start early
You should also give yourself plenty of time to do it. Sure, we all know someone who would cram the night before an exam. When you’re 19 and in college (and there are a few pots of coffee involved), that’s manageable.
Cramming for a move (aka, putting everything off until the week before) will have an already stressful experience feeling that much worse.
If you can declutter one room a day, where you create piles for keep, toss and donate, you’re bound to feel much better than if you put it off until the last minute.
Go through old clothes
If your kids have clothes they haven’t worn in a year, donate them.
If their clothes no longer fit, donate them. Kids can grow very, very fast, so if the shirts, shorts, and (gulp) shoes you bought three months ago are unlikely to fit by the time the moving company shows up at your door, save yourself the box (or boxes). Why take it with you if you’re going to need to buy new stuff, anyway?
Now that we have the kids’ stuff out of the way, let’s move on to the adults.
You might also consider going through your (and your spouse’s) closet. The general rule of thumb is that if it hasn’t seen the light of day in more than 12 months, you might want to consider donating it to a local church, charity or second-hand store.
Go through old electronics
Do you have an old, dusty VHS player that’s taking up space in your garage? How about a first-generation Nokia cell phone, circa 1999? Is your better half still holding onto that 10-year-old digital camera (the one that’s been missing a charging chord for who knows how long)?
You can probably get rid of those, too.
Hire a local Denver, Boulder or Vail moving company to help you with the rest!
Once you’ve worked through your home and you’ve decided what to donate and what to toss, you might want to consider hiring and expert moving companies in Denver, Boulder or Vail moving company to help you with the rest.
At American Moving we have years of experience in helping families manages local and national moves. We offer packing services, storage services and moving services for residential and commercial clients.
For more information call our Denver moving company now at 303-469-6683. Our Boulder moving company location can be reached at 303-402-0100 and our Vail moving company office can be reached at 970-949-4949.