Pre-Move Organization Tips

I recently attended a speaker panel of some of NYC’s top moving companies and one of the foreman mentioned that anyone could open a moving business in April – August and be wildly successful.  The spring & summer months are peak moving times and cause many people stress and anxiety at just the thought of moving anywhere from 2 to 20 years worth of possessions. Ease the load, literally, and follow these tips below to streamline the process.

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Time & Money

Avoid personal time and or money lost from packing and paying to move items you don’t ultimately need. I once worked with a client who moved 7 years of mail to 4 different apartments simply because she couldn’t bring herself to sort through it all.  Set a timer and sort through the pile of items you have been avoiding for an hour at a clip.  If you feel motivated and want to keep going after an hour, continue to work through the items.  By setting small, achievable time limits and goals, you’ll make steady progress on sorting through your possessions.  You’ll find that by doing this work up front that not only packing but unpacking and setting up your new home will be a much easier task.

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Donate, Donate, Donate!

Sorting through your items and letting go of the things you no longer use may leave you with many things others can still get great use out of.  Some charitable organizations will even pick up your items such as Pick Up Please. Or to earn some extra money and say goodbye to your neighbors, have a garage sale.

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Pantry Clear Out

Don’t forget the pantry! Take it from Maeve’s Method founder Maeve Richmond and “toss five.”  In her blog on spring cleaning for the kitchen, she advises, “This is a particularly useful project in the kitchen and will help you to inventory your supplies moving into a new season. Take 10 minutes to toss five expired, almost empty, or out-of-season things from your pantry, freezer, and fridge.”

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Let It Go

A move is a great time to reassess the items that no longer serve you and your family. Been meaning to look through x, y and z for years?  This is the time! Values change over time and so do the items that are necessary in your life. Maybe you’re downsizing. Even if you’re moving into a larger space, think of how freeing it would be to only bring items you love and use into your new home.

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Downsizing

What proves to be an even more complex move is seniors that are downsizing.  Downsizing can represent many different things to many different people including reviewing 20, 30 or even 40 years worth of possessions in a home, facing the reality of big life changes and accepting the reality of living within your new, likely smaller space means.  Break down the large and daunting goal of assessing the entire house by planning to sort through the house room by room, day by day or even just hour by hour. Work through sorting items at a pace that suits all parties involved and stop prior to emotional or physical exhaustion to prevent burn out.

A move provides a built in fresh beginning.  By taking the time to do this work before a move, you can achieve that calm feeling in a space all your own.

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What steps do you take to ease moving stress? Let us know in the comments below.

Photo Credits: odlpackaging.co.uk via Amazon, Clementine Daily, re-fabbed, Karolina Grabowska, Clem Onojeghuo

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