If you’re moving into a new home soon, it’s a great idea to declutter before moving house. Along with saving space in the moving van, this can also help you save money on removal service costs. Furthermore, it’ll allow you to use up as much space as you can in your new home. 

In this post we’ll go through everything you need to know about decluttering before moving house. Read on to find our suggestions on how to get rid of anything you don’t want in your new home. 

How to Declutter Your House Before Moving? 

So, how to declutter before moving house? Start by getting a few boxes and labelling them with sell, donate, reuse and bin. Then start going room by room through all of your items. Ask yourself if you really need something and what purpose it would serve in your new home. You’ll find you have a lot of things you don’t necessarily need such as old toys, books, clothes, sport equipment you don’t use anymore and others. Our suggestion is that if you haven’t used something in over a year you should get rid of it. 

After you’ve decided which items you don’t want, categorise them into the boxes. Some items might be in good enough condition to sell or donate. Others you can repair or upcycle into something new. And ones that are in particularly bad condition, you should just throw away. 

Sell Unwanted Items 

You should consider selling any items that are in good enough condition and would be worth selling. If you only have a few things that can be sold for not much money then the effort you would put into listing them wouldn’t be worth the amount of cash you’d make. 

If you’re unsure how much an item is worth try googling the item to see it’s current retail value and judge based on that. You can also go on eBay to look up how much similar items have been sold for. This will give you an idea of whether it’s worth selling an item or not. And if you have any antiques or rare items, it’s always best to get them appraised by a specialist. 

If you have a lot of low-value items such as clothes or toys, it might not be worth selling them individually. But what you could do is divide them into bundles and put them up as available for collection in a local Facebook group or on Facebook Marketplace. You could also try going to a car-boot sale, although this is time consuming and there is an entrance fee you need to pay. 

If you want to avoid listing charges a good marketplace to use for selling your unwanted items is Gumtree. You can list your items locally for collection to avoid additional postage charges and optimise your profit. 

Donate Items You Don’t Need

Any items in good condition that you don’t want anymore but that can’t be sold, could be donated to charity shops instead. 

Most local charity shops accept donations of clothes, shoes, books and other homeware, simply bring your items into the shop. You might have also received charity collection bags through your letterbox before which you can put your items in and have them collected. 

Most charities including Sue Ryder and the British Heart Foundation also offer a free collection service for large and heavy items such as big donation boxes or furniture. 

Before donating your items you can also ask friends or family members if they’d like to have them. Another alternative to finding your unwanted items a new home is listing your items on sites such as Freegle or Freecycle.  

Upcycle or Repair Old Items

Items that aren’t in perfect condition can still be salvaged with some TLC. You can reuse those items in your new home, sell them or gift them after improving them a bit. 

There are many tutorials on YouTube on how to carry out basic repairs and DIY projects. You can also find other resources online. It’s not a hard job to give your furniture a new coat of paint, or a quick refurbishment with some new fabric. 

You can look on social media platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram, or on DIY forums and blogs for some upcycle inspiration. 

Throw Away Anything You Won’t Use

After exhausting every other option you might find that some items would just have to go in the bin. But before throwing everything in your household wheelie bin, you should consider if anything can be recycled. Metals, paper, as well as some plastics and fabrics can be taken to your local waste collection centre to be recycled rather than thrown away. 

Conclusion

Moving can be the perfect excuse to get rid of items you have crammed in your house for years. Decluttering before moving house can be beneficial – especially if you’re downsizing. It can also be an excuse to buy new home decor and furniture for your new home. As well as that it can help you make some extra cash. 

Make sure to check our blog regularly for more moving advice and useful tips!