Moving house? De-cluttering is essential before moving

As someone who’s moved house several times in fewer years, I find the best thing to do before the daunting task of packing up is to do a big de-clutter and house clearance. Apart from having the clarity of a de-cluttered home, you’re not paying for moving rubbish from one house to the next. Here are my house clearance tips before moving house.

House Clearance tips

My tried and tested method is to have three boxes (each lined with a bin liner) labelled ‘keep’, ‘give away or sell’ and ‘chuck’ at the ready. Going room by room also helps to break down the mammoth task into small achievable bites.
Before you get started, have plenty of bin liners, sturdy boxes and labels or a sharpie pen handy.

During your house clearance, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Is it broken or damaged?

I have a rule of thumb that if something hasn’t been used or worn for six months, doesn’t fit or is broken then it goes. According to a survey last year, there are £2.4 billion worth of unworn clothes in peoples’ wardrobes in Scotland alone. Pop those in the ‘give away’ box and take it down to your local charity shop.

If you have a lot of paperwork that needs chucking, it’s a good idea to get a shredder to avoid any personally identifiable information getting into the wrong hands. Anything such as bills, out of date policies and paperwork more than three or four years old, shred and pop in the bin. If you’re concerned that you need a record of it, then take a picture from your smart phone and store the documents electronically. That will save a bunch on drawers overflowing with clutter.

If you’re moving house and need to sell your home first, the de-clutter and house clearance can really help. Having a clear, clutter-free home will be make it look bigger and more enticing to a buyer. There are some areas that will be more challenging than others such as the loft or clearing the garage but do a little section at a time and it will be worth it.
What to do after your de-clutter?

At the end of your de-clutter and house clearance, get the items you want to donate or giveaway and do that as soon as you can. The items to discard can be kept in one place out of the way so you can move onto the next task or room. Once you have clarity and can see progress it’s easier to go onto the next room or area.

Remember, Clearabee can remove rubbish from anywhere on your property. Whether it’s in the garage, loft, shed or garden, our professional and friendly rubbish removal teams can help with a full house clearance and do all the heavy lifting for you.

Think of what you could do with the hours and hours of time you’ll save packing and unpacking on the other side.