Reducing the weight of the moving truck will decrease the total cost of your move when using professional movers. There are several ways to reduce your weight, but the easiest way is to pare down items you don’t need. Like most families, items found in the backs of our closets, bottoms of drawers, and corners of the garage rarely get used to their full potential and could be put to better use by someone else.
Not sure whether you should hold onto an item before the big move? We’ve got a system to simplify your decision-making process. Separate the items you don’t need into 3 piles – Donate, Sell, or Toss. Here’s an easy list of things to pare down that could drastically reduce the weight of your freight.
- Clothes you haven’t worn in the last year. If you haven’t worn an item of clothing in the most recent season, it will likely stay in your closet next year, too. Consider giving the item to a good home – ask friends and family, donate to a shelter, or sell to a consignment store. If the item is new with tags or has significant value, list the item online through a site like Mercari or Poshmark.
- Books you haven’t read yet or are no longer relevant. Though purchased with good intentions, stockpiling books can lead to an expensive and unnecessary expense in your move. The average reader reads about one book a month. If you can’t read it within the next year (limit yourself to 12 books), then consider removing it from your collection.
- Kitchen appliances you never use. Whether it’s your grandma’s pyrex bowls collecting dust or a George Foreman grill you got for Christmas that’s still in the box, someone else may be able to put that item to good use and keep your kitchen less cluttered. List vintage kitchen items on eBay, and lewer, more popular items on a local marketplace.
- Seasonal/home decorations you left in storage. The booming seasonal decoration industry pushes the latest trends, and these trends often become outdated in a year or two. If you haven’t pulled these items out for storage in the last year, consider donating them to a local charity thrift store.
- Paper documents you no longer need. In our previous blog post, we shared a simple list of papers to keep and what to do with the rest. Having a streamlined system will save you stress in the future, too.
In addition to saving you money, taking the time to declutter can simplify your life and make room for the things that matter most.
