One of the most common things we hear is “I didn’t realise how much stuff I had!”.
Deciding to move home presents a great chance to declutter and free up some space.
Don’t take on too much at once, break it down in to manageable chunks. One room at a time, one cupboard at a time.
Every home has more than its fair share of paper, usually including old bills, manuals for items no longer owned and piles of old magazines. Clearing these will make you feel better and give you a good start.
Touch every item in a cupboard and decide whether you want to
· Keep it
· Sell/gift it
· Bin it
If you decide that you wish to keep it, consider whether you are likely to use it again prior to moving home, if not then pack it away now, it will save handling it again before the move.
Selling it will not only bring in some money but will also save you money by helping to reduce the cost of moving 😊. There are various ways to do this including ebay, Gumtree, Facebook and local auction houses. The best method will depend upon the value of the items being sold.
Gifting it also has options such as local charities, friends or Freecycle. Some charities will collect free of charge but they may be fussy over what they take.
Disposing of small amounts can be done by using your
wheelie bin, but if you have a lot to clear then you may have to take it to the
local waste recycling centre, hire a skip or employ a company to clear it for
you. Check out our blog on waste disposal.
Successfully decluttering will help reduce your stress levels by reducing the amount of time it takes to pack and/or unpack as well as potentially reducing the cost of actually moving home.
If you have any tips that you have found useful please drop us a line.
When the time comes to move there is always the question of what to do with your books, people tend to fall into 3 categories when it comes to books.
There are various methods used including:
Load up and disappear – the van gets loaded up and then drives away, with all your items, never to be seen again.
Our van is too small – they start loading then notify you that their van cannot carry all your possessions, they then say that you will need to pay more to come back and get the rest. Alternatively, they load all the valuable items first, then drive off and do not return.
Extra charges – they call you up a day or two before moving day and try to charge more, as they are really busy and will call off the move if you don’t. This leaves you in a position where you either pay extra or try to find someone else, which may be difficult at short notice. Given the stress that you are likely to be experiencing at this time you may decide just to pay up.
Hostage – This is really a variation on the load up and disappear scam, except they don’t totally disappear, instead they contact you to allow you to buy your own items back. As some of your boxes are likely to contain personal items that cannot be replaced, such as family photos, they cannot sell them, so they try to blackmail you, the customer.