What to Declutter Before You Pay to Move It
Moving is priced by how long it takes, and how long it takes depends on how much there is. Cutting 15 percent of your stuff is not a lifestyle project. It is a discount.
The one question that decides everything
Would I buy this again, today, at full price, to put in the new place? Not is it useful. Not did it cost money. Would you buy it again. That question moves faster than any sorting system.
Room by room, the usual suspects
- Kitchen: duplicate utensils, the appliance you used twice, mismatched containers, expired spices.
- Closet: anything you have not worn in a year, and the jeans that are aspirational.
- Bathroom: half-used products and anything expired. All of it is heavy and none of it is worth moving.
- Garage: paint cans, dead electronics, the second broken drill, and boxes that have not been opened since the last move.
- Living room: DVDs, cables for devices you no longer own, decor you kept out of obligation.
- Paper: shred old statements. Filing cabinets are dense and brutally heavy.
Free quote, no pressure, no hidden fees.
Where it goes in Southern California
- Goodwill and Salvation Army for clothing and household goods. Some locations pick up furniture.
- Habitat for Humanity ReStore for furniture, appliances, and building materials.
- Buy Nothing groups move usable items fast and they come get it.
- Facebook Marketplace for anything worth over about $40. Price it to sell, you are on a deadline.
- Certified e-waste drop-offs for electronics. Do not put them in the trash.
- Household hazardous waste centers for paint, chemicals, and batteries.
Propane tanks, gasoline, paint, aerosols, pool chemicals, fireworks, and ammunition. Plants and open food are also better in your own car. Sort these out before the day of the move so nobody is scrambling at 8am.
Give yourself a deadline
Do the decluttering four to six weeks out, before packing starts. Once you are packing, everything gets thrown in a box because deciding takes longer than taping. Sort first, pack second, and the whole move gets shorter.
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