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• Tips for decluttering before you move house

Moving into your new home this year? Make the process easier by taking the time to do a spot of Spring cleaning and declutter your house ahead of moving day.

It’s no big secret that moving house will be easier if you’re taking less with you (fewer boxes, fewer trips between properties, fewer people needed to help, less to sort through when you unpack, etc.). But a house move also presents the perfect decluttering opportunity. And as Marie Kondo has taught us, taking the time to clear out the non-essentials from your living space can really help you to create a calming and happy home.

So here are a couple tips for effectively decluttering ahead of your move…

Categorise every item

Work through your home one room at a time to make it more manageable, and categorise everything in each room into one of four categories: 

• Keep - these are useful, loved or important items, that come with you to your new home
• Sell - higher value items that you don’t want or need can be sold (a little extra money is always helpful when moving)
• Donate - items that you can’t sell, but are in good condition, should be donated to charity
• Discard - expired, broken or otherwise unusable items should be discarded or recycled 

Be brutal. When categorising each item think: do you love it? When did you last use it? Does it serve a purpose? If you haven’t picked something up in over a year, you probably won’t miss it if you say goodbye. Being honest about the things you actually need will mean you can surround yourself with only things you love in your new home.

Get rid of excess furniture

One of the things that can make the biggest impact when decluttering is to get rid of any unwanted or unneeded furniture.

Measure the space in your new home and put together a plan for how you want to decorate. If you’re downsizing to a smaller property, it’s likely that you’ll need to trim down on the amount of furniture you have, or larger pieces might not fit. Or alternatively, if you’re moving into a significantly larger home, some of your pieces may be too small for the space. 

You also may just have a different vision for how you want to decorate. If you need to buy new furniture for your new home anyway, will your existing furniture match? Or does it feel outdated? If you’re planning on replacing something, you may be able to get rid of it before you move.

Sort out old paperwork

The dreaded task. Sorting through all of the old paperwork sitting under your desk. No one wants to go through their old documents, but you’ll feel so much better when you arrive in your new home without a huge box full of unidentified papers.

Paper adds up, so if you’ve lived in your home for a while, this alone could take a full day. So make sure you leave yourself plenty of time.

Shred any old letters or bank statements that you don’t need anymore, and throw them all in the recycling along with the manuals for items you don’t own anymore, old receipts and other miscellaneous, unneeded documents.

Only keep the useful or important documents and file them neatly away so that you can easily locate them when you’ve moved. 

Aim to have it all done by a month before the move - this will give you plenty of time to get rid of, sell or pack anything you need to. The earlier you start decluttering, the less stress it’s going to cause you and the easier your move will be. 

Still searching for your new home? Take a look at our current properties for sale in Honley, our lettings across West Yorkshire or contact Eastwood Homes at info@eastwoodhomes.co.uk.