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6 creative ways to reduce clutter before you move

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There’s a reason why many Americans find moving the most stressful event in their lives; they have to go through all their stuff and pack it before relocating. When you realize just how many objects you’ve accumulated over the years, it’s reasonably an intimidating sight to behold. However, you can make your house-switch journey more easily manageable by decluttering.

Moving companies charge you less if you have fewer things to transportate across state borders.

If you’re moving to a major U.S. city, Houston (which consistently sees a lot of new people due to its affordable living, booming economy, and, of course, the no state income tax), then consider getting rid of all those excess items. You can keep your trip to your new home well-organized by reducing clutter in the following way.

1. Rent a Storage Facility Near Your New Home

First, you need to research your new neighborhood to find a decent storage facility where you can dump the stuff you’re neither bringing to your new home nor throwing away for good. What’s good about Houston is its cheap storage facilities. After all, the city’s cost of living is 8% less than the national average!

You can find many cheap, spacious, and clime-controlled storage units in Houston online. Many people are making good use of these storage facilities and using them to make space in their homes. These units lodge anything from household items to vehicles, helping you relocate as early as possible. It’s a great way to get rid of the clutter and not bring it to your new space.

2. Starting Planning the Purge

Decluttering is a time-consuming process, so map it out carefully. You need to determine what kind of stuff you’re hoping to throw away for good. Gather sturdy boxes to clear all the clutter away from your house for charity, self-storage, or a garage sale.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to your family, friends, and neighbors. They can lend you a hand and help you go through this stressful process.

3. Check out Different Methods

There are different approaches to decluttering your house. Let’s discuss the two major ones here. Here’s how you can go about getting rid of clutter before moving:

  • The KonMari Method: This philosophy simply states that whatever doesn’t “spark joy” in you needs to go, encouraging people to have a more minimalist mindset.
  • The Four-Box Method: Set up boxes namely as “Keep,” “Donate,” “Sell,” and “Trash.” It’ll make the decision-making process in decluttering faster and more efficient.

Home décor experts often suggest that you discard something you haven’t used for the past twelve months; this one-year rule is very helpful in deciding which things should stay and which must go.

4. Try The Room-by-Room Approach

Keep the decluttering process well-organized by trying the room-by-room approach. Start tackling one room at a time so you won’t feel overwhelmed. Make sure you declutter the least-used room first and then gradually move towards the most widely-used room in the house.

Focus on decluttering and organizing that space before moving on to the next. That’s how you will finish the decluttering process successfully and pack what’s left to move.

We mostly hoard stuff like mail, books, and other sorts of paper-based documents in our homes. So, these yellowed, decades-old documents should be the first victims of your decluttering mission.

5. Label all Your Boxes Carefully

One of the best tips for packing states that you should pack all your boxes. You can write down which room these things belong to or what kind of clutter they contain. Dedicate one box for documents, one for toys, one for Christmas decorations, and so on.

Also, labeling makes unpacking way easier after reaching your destination as it keeps the whole moving process organized.

6. Host a Small Yard Sale

Data shows that an average American tries to reduce clutter at home at least four times a year. Well, now it’s time you finish Project Declutter to completion by holding a yard sale. Make your plan to move to Houston a little more affordable by selling the goods you don’t need anymore.

You get to reduce your load and get some cash while the buyers find items they may need badly; it’s a win-win situation for everyone.

The Bottom Line

Moving is quite a stressful process. The thought of boxing your entire life up and transporting it to a place located miles away can be pretty overwhelming. But you can make it more manageable by getting rid of all the clutter from the house. Rent a storage unit, sort out your belongings, and get rid of excess items by keeping a minimalist mindset.

Host a yard sale to get rid of your clutter and take fewer items to your new home in Houston.

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