How to Declutter Your House for a Fast Move

You're planning to move as soon as one particular event occurs--the new job, the house purchase or finding the perfect apartment. You want the move to go as easily and quickly as possible, so you're thinking about decluttering now instead of later. That's an excellent plan! Decluttering might seem insurmountable, particularly if you've been living in the same place for a long time and don't typically get rid of anything. The process is really not all that difficult, however, as long as you can set aside some time and work up some discipline.

Things You'll Need

• Several medium-sized boxes
• Felt-tipped markers

Instructions

Preparation

1. Decide whether you want to have a yard sale or sell some items online, or whether you'd rather donate everything you're not bringing with you.

2. Get some medium-sized boxes from the supermarket to help you sort things as you go room by room. In addition, buy a couple of felt-tipped markers so you can label boxes that have items you're going to keep.

3. Set aside a certain block of time for decluttering as often as it will take to get the job done. If you're the type of person who likes going at projects full-tilt, you might want to set aside a full day or an entire weekend for decluttering. If that idea bogs you down, then devote an hour or two as often as you can, and work through the rooms that way.

Decluttering

1. Choose any room to begin. For an example, let's look at an imaginary kitchen. The snack bar has a pile of mail on it, as well as some magazines you haven't read, next semester's timetable from the local technical school, paperwork from the cat's recent vaccinations, and more.

2. Set up your boxes for items you're throwing away or recycling, items you'll deal with right now--such as responding to an invitation or paying a bill--and items you'll be packing and taking with you on the move. These might include birthday cards or personal letters. Don't save anything that you can easily replace after you move, such as free catalogs.

3. Move to the next counter and deal with other objects the same way. Anything you want to keep but don't essentially need before you move can be packed into a box if you have time to do so now. For instance, even though you might really like your refrigerator magnets along with the photos and cartoons there, those can be packed away now.

4. Open one cupboard and take out anything you don't want to bring with you when you move. You'll need to be disciplined about this, or you may wind up moving everything. Continue through the rest of the cupboards, cabinets and closets in the kitchen, doing the same thing. Decide what can be donated or sold, and which items can be thrown away. Don't bring a bunch of plastic yogurt containers or glass olive jars on your move--you will accumulate more with time. Decide whether you really want all those cookbooks or if any can be sold or donated. Do you really need two shelves of coffee cups? You get the idea!

5. Continue, when you have time, through the rest of your house or apartment, using the same method. You'll want to go through the biggest closets when you have a large block of time, because you don't want to quit in the middle of the job with stuff from the closet lying all over the room.

6. Organize the boxes in two separate areas, with those containing items you're going to bring with you, and those you're going to sell or donate. After you've gone through your entire place, everything should be well-organized and decluttered, and your upcoming move will be smoother for it.