We’re in the midst of a long distance move to Massachusetts this month (in the nomadic portion of our move – we moved out of our apartment a week ago, but don’t move in to our new apartment for 10 more days – shacking up with family here in Ohio).
We challenged ourselves to see if we could move in just one moving container that we ordered (which held 305 cubic feet of items) and we did it! We ended up getting rid of half of our stuff when the last item was boxed up. It veered from decluttering to some serious downsizing by the end. It was really hard and painful – but letting go of useful stuff always seems to be, in my experience.
(They brought us two containers, but we only used the one on the right.)
Here’s what worked for us:
1. Pump Yourself Up – I looked at this move as an opportunity to really purge ourselves of things that were not adding to our life. Going into it all with that mentality helped me be more ruthless and make more decisions. Our mindset was super important being able to seriously declutter.
2. Start Early – I started tossing items, stemming the tide of the influx of items, and packing seasonal items as soon as I knew we were moving. I figured the sooner I started, the I’d experience the rushed-and-tossing-random-items-into-boxes-frenzy at the end. Moving and packing always seems to take four times as long as I expect it will. By pacing myself, I was able to really examine all of our items instead of giving everything a pass because I was tired of packing.
3. Essentialize – Since I knew we were moving many many months ago, I went room by room and took everything off the shelves and closets that were not essential and stuck them in boxes. I put them in a closet and told myself that if I didn’t go to the boxes to look for the items in the 2-3 months before we moved, I’d donate the box without even opening it. This turned out to be a rather painless way to declutter because it staggered the decluttering and by the time I tossed the boxes, I forgot what was in them.
4. Stay Away from Target. Just for a while. We had enough stuff to move, I didn’t need to bring more stuff to pack into my house until after the move. (Except, you know, diapers or food or whatever. I did let us eat.)
4. Crunch the Numbers – We did some math and found that we’d save more money by not having a second pod and rebuying a few of the bigger, bulkier items instead of paying for the second pod. Math!
5. Have a guiding rubric that you apply to all your items. Not a literal one, but maybe it’s the same set of questions, or whether you’ve used the item since you moved to your home, or whether you’ve used your item in the past X months or years. Whatever it is – be consistent and keep it top of your mind. Otherwise, we’d have ended up keeping a lot of stuff just because they are legitimately useful, even if we don’t use them. Our guidelines were: 1) Do we use this? 2) Do we love this? and if we hadn’t used it in the 5 years since we moved into our apartment, gone!
6. Know that the removal stage of decluttering is the most painful. Then once it’s gone, we tend to think about it less and miss it less. Decluttering is the hardest part, then once we have less stuff to unpack and fill our new home – woohoo! That’s the fun part.
7. Treat yo’self. We did whatever we could to make the moving and packing and decluttering less painful. You could hire a babysitter to get a few hours of peaceful, child-free decluttering time. Get takeout for a week. Watch TV. Go to bed early. Just knowing that the emotional and physical difficulty of packing and moving can be so hard, I planned accordingly and have tried to be easy on myself and my expectations for myself. I’ve made sure to get some physical activity because long walks let me escape the chaos and overwhelm of our apartment and also gave me more energy.
Whew. Half way done with moving. (And Mike is all the way done with his PhD – woo!)
Now if you have any tips for unpacking or getting to know a new state and city – let me know!
I’m in the process of helping my Mom clear out and pack up her house of 32 years so I totally feel this post. Some things are easy to get rid of ( she’s going to a condo, so won’t need a lot of the outdoor entertaining stuff, for example), others are taking a bit more time ( sentimental memories of stuff sucks). Like you, we’re trying to ask ourselves 2 questions about a lot of the things we can’t immediately decide on– If there was a fire, would we miss it? And If we could buy it again, would we? When you think about the opportunity to buy random $1 mugs again that rarely get used, it’s easy to pop something in the donation bin. And because stuff is just everywhere, there is very little that rises to the level of missing when you think about losing everything you own!
Yes! The fire question is a good one. We realized we wouldn’t be thrilled if we lost everything in our pod, but the only thing we really truly couldn’t replace is our wedding photos. So we pulled those out of the boxes and brought them with us!
When I moved from DC to Portland, I found that the getting rid of stuff part was easier than I expected (in part because I bought most of that stuff from IKEA right out of college, in part because I sold a lot of it so I was pumped about the extra cash, and in part because I did not pace myself very well and just wanted to be DONE with it all). The hard part for me was on the other side, when it came time to repurchase things I already owned not too long ago. For example, I didn’t bring any kitchen stuff with me, because my pots & pans weren’t particularly nice and I just assumed my dishes would break if I tried to ship them (I didn’t use a container this time — just suitcases & a couple boxes!). So now, six months later, I do have a full set of plates and bowls but my cookware is limited. I still don’t have a muffin tin, and while I rarely used the one I had in DC and it seems silly to spend the money to buy a new one, there are moments when I could really go for a cupcake. Little things like that are annoying because the expense adds up so quickly, but I’m getting better at reminding myself that I have lived for 6 months with very few possessions and I am perfectly happy this way.
Good luck with the rest of your move & congrats to Mike!
oh man I wish I would have had your wisdom back before I moved from Cleveland to Denver. I brought waaaay too much STUFF with me. And I wish my boyfriend would jump on the declutter bandwagon.
I am a decluttering zealot but your number 3 would certainly be a challenge for me. Just donate without even a peek inside? I don’t know if I could do it:)
I loooved unpacking in our new house because I did the KonMari approach- touch every freaking thing and see if it sparks joy. I was too overwhelmed by the packing process to do this well, but purged a lot more in the unpacking part.
Your logic regarding self-care/babysitting/exercise/etc will hold true in your new place. Pace yourself and take breaks when you need them!
I’m so tired seeing my stuff – going through it all constantly to continually declutter, packing it in boxes, arranging the boxes in our pod – that almost none of it sparks joy. Ha! Lugging around clothes for the kids to grow into is just making me sick of it. But I need the clothes!
Otherwise I have to buy all new ones!
I have/had a feeling unpacking would be more overwhelming since this is such a big move for us (and moving to a place where my parents aren’t around to take the kids so we can unpack like they did here!), so I figured I’d try to toss a bunch before we moved!
You are definitely the moving pro! Did you bring furniture?!
Did you take any furniture? That’s an impressively small amount of stuff, especially with 2 kids.
I like the idea of starting early. I also like the idea of taking the nonessential stuff and just putting it in a box. I just did this not on purpose because I had a bunch of my tutoring stuff in bags. I haven’t tutored since I had Max and I’m not sure when I’ll go back to it, so I decided to just toss the whole bag. Most of the stuff I’ve gotten good use out of it, but who is to say when I’ll use it again or if it will even being useful for a new set of kiddos, so, gone.
We did! We took our queen bed, Theo’s crib, a big couch, a poang chair from IKEA, a dining table, and a long hutch/toy thing. :)
We will have to replace the dining chairs and get Gabe a bed, but otherwise I think we’re all set. (Though we had tons of built in shelves and cabinets at the last place – so we’ll see if we need any of that stuff here!)
I’m not moving and I have no interest in Kon Mari or whatever, but I do need to go through a couple closets that I fight with (or haven’t opened in years because it’s tiresome to think about) and get rid of a lot of stuff. The office closet hasn’t been used in seven years.
Totally know how that goes. When you stay in the same place, it’s so easy to just let things get a pass and not examine them! (Also, Instagram has been OBSESSED with KonMari lately. Man.)
Wonderful post! And so great idea about the ‘nomadic portion’ of your move. I just love that! We are moving in the beginning of the next year, so I’m planning and organizing all the time. Some stuff is packed already, and other is sold. Like your tips, they’re all very useful and I now I find what I’ve missed and what should be done right now.Thanks!
I’m doing the long-distance move in a few months and feel like I have been decluttering for months…only now I feel like I need to really get serious about it. Blergh.
xox
great post, Ashley. I’ve never lived anywhere for very long, so I’ve gotten to be a pro at this, but I still somehow have way more than I ought to…
Wonderful post!
I’ve been moving from one place to another more than enough times. I never actually moved a very long distance. This winter me and my family will probably have to move overseas and this is why I searched the internet for some help. This post helps a lot and I will definitely bookmark it and come back later when I need it the most. Thanks for caring enough to share it with all of us.
Thank you for reading and good luck with your big move!
Excellent tips for decluttering before moving long distance. Getting rid of clutter is a good way to clear your mind and focus on the task at hand. Thanks so much for sharing.
I’ve had to move across the country several times in my life, however, I always look for ways to improve the experience and make it go more smoothly. Moving out of an apartment is difficult. I like your tip about starting early. That’s helped me not get overwhelmed by doing it all in one weekend. Thanks for the other tips as well!
I was reading through a couple of your posts about decluttering. I am really in love with your blog and the other posts you have but I was wondering where you take all your stuff when you are getting rid of it?
I’m using a lot of your tips but then some things are a little too nice for goodwill and then other things I question if it should be thrown in the trash. Just wondering!
SUCH a great question – in fact, I think I’ll write a blog post addressing this soon!
I mostly donate or give away, sell a little, and throw away as little as I can (I hate contributing to landfills – but also don’t have the patience to sell.)
I’m so pleased you’re finding my blog helpful! :)
Okay, so this is one of my favorite post so far I’ve read on this topic. :) I moved across the country about a year and a half ago and that was one of the worst experiences ever. I had been settled for 9 years in my lovely little apartment…. apparently packed to the brim with stuff. I got the job I wanted with a start date that almost made me say no, ha. You would think that since I was applying for jobs across the country I would have thought ahead and started purging and sorting. Nope. I had no time and threw everything in a truck. And almost cried when I added up all my expenses. Since then I’ve been decluttering and downsizing because I never want to go through that again and I’m appreciating having less stuff and more freedom that comes with that. I moved again just locally last fall to a smaller apartment after purging slowly throughout the year. I’m moving again this spring (locally again) to share a place and am still purging. Your tips are great! Start early and do the math are so important. And staying away from Target. Love that! I’m lucky I moved to a small town that has made it easier to stay away from excess shopping. I have to plan if I’m going into the next town over for the big names stores….or a mall, so that has curbed my random shopping habit I used to have. That’s my ramble. I’m impressed with your one storage unit. Your post added some inspiration and now I’m going to fill my donation/sell bin again!
Moving really is tiring and troublesome. Without the right knowledge you might put things in the wrong place and end up breaking it. Sad.
Number 1 and 4 tips is on top of my list. All of them are awesomely useful though, knowing it came from someone who experienced a lot in terms of moving and downsizing.
Good luck with the new chapter Ashley!
To Mike, congratulations man!
I completely agree that it’s important to start early. I have had some moves where everything was done with a week or more to spare and others where I was still packing boxes as we were loading the truck. That rush of randomly tossing things in boxes makes for such an unpleasant experience when you get to your destination!
I’ve been decluttering for months now! About to do an 800-mile move, and I am determined not to lug much stuff with me! Great tips. :)
This is the right blog for anybody who wants to seek out about this topic.
Wow, that is quite an impressive feat! I know I definitely couldn’t fit all of my things in a container that small, even if I did get rid of everything I was willing to. But I really like your tip about starting early; too often, I wait until the week that I’m moving to start even boxing up anything, and that adds a lot of stress. Thanks so much for writing, I’ll have to keep this stuff in mind next time I move!
Quick moving tip: Have all your boxes be the same size. That way it’s a lot easier to stack them into the truck or van.
A long distance move is something that my uncle would need to learn more about. Since I’ll be helping him out, it would seem like the both of us are going to be finding ways on how to move his stuff. Some of his stuff include couches, wardrobes, a fridge, and a washing machine.
I like your tip about keeping decluttering in perspective. Like you said, once you get rid of things, you don’t really miss it. Keeping in mind that you will be able to find new items after you finish moving, and how much easier the move itself will be with less stuff, can make the decluttering process much easier. Thanks for the article.
I’ve helped my brothers and sister move countless times. I understand the decluttering stage all to well, and I’m not even the one moving! I loved the Parks and Rec reference. Sometimes you have to build your morale in stressful times. It’s like our family tradition to get lots of pizza when someone moves.
These are very useful tips. I’m taking notes on this in case I’ll be needing this in the future. We all want a stress free moving and avoid any problem in the way.
While moving and decluttering, we can make different containers for our stuff.
The following are categories for containers:
* Garbage can
* Stuff that you will be giving away to friends, family, or goodwill
* Stuff that you can sell
* A recycling bin – cardboard, paper, glass and plastic are three of the most recycled items
* Things that you have not yet decided about, make sure to keep this container small
* Things that you are going to keep, make sure you keep this organized.
Renting a commercial storage would be an awesome way to de-clutter your apartment. I like how you mentioned that you need to keep yourself pumped up and excited about your project to ensure that you get it done as best as you can. Starting early would be the best way to go about cleaning out a space so that you have plenty of time.
I love that you mentioned treating yourself. For me, it is hiring movers. I can pack and declutter but the moving process is too much on my body now. I like having help to get things safely where they need to be.
Hey, great share…….
I really loved your post. We are also planning to move to a new location next month. I agree that every move comes with stress and challenges, but there are a few rules to follow to help ensure that you get what you’re paying for instead of becoming a victim of a rogue outfit that loads up your things and holds them hostage until you pay a lot more money.
I must say you have shared quite useful tips. I am surely going to keep them all in my mind while shifting.
Thanks for sharing these ideas. Keep sharing more….
Cheers!!
I’m not too great at knowing how to declutter, so I really appreciate these tips. I think I need to work on starting much earlier, as I put things off frequently. I really like the idea of using a guiding rubric to help in throwing things out. Thanks for this advice, I really needed it!
Tiny bit help is more important when we are doing a moving process. So I think this advice is more useful for all parents. we are moving house at the end of this month and while we have moved house twice before, we have never had a child in tow when doing so. We are packing up and getting bits sorted already and my girl seems to be dealing with the change quit
I really hate moving, and hopefully i won’t be needing one… again. But I will take a note for the tips and ideas that I heard form this article post for just in case my situation might change.. Thanks for sharing this by the way.
I don’t really like moving, and hopefully I won’t be needing one, But i will take note this tips great tips for just in case my situation might change…
Very impressive tips and suggestions.. I will try this if we plan to move! but for now i won’t needed theme but I still take a note for just in case my situation might change..
I like your philosophy of determining weather the stuff you have should stay or go with you in any move: (1) Do we use this? 2) Do we love this? and if we hadn’t used it in the 5 years since we moved into our apartment, gone!). I will have to try and convince my mom of this as she is going to start RV living. I think she will find your reflections and prepared ideas helpful. Thanks for sharing.
Great post. Those are really useful tips for long distance moving.
I totally agree with you! When it comes to moving, it’s always a good idea to get a head start. It will certainly help the move go over more smoothly. Nice tips! Thanks for the advice!
I’ve thought a couple of times about making a long distance move, whether it was across the country or across the world, and one of the obstacles I think about is what I’m going to do with all of the stuff I own. Decluttering and only keeping things that are important to me makes the most sense. When I moved out of my apartment, I threw a lot of stuff away, and I remember it being hard at first, but as time went on I thought about it less and less. Thanks for sharing the tips!
Thanks for sharing your long distance moving experience. It’s amazing that you fit everything into one container. I’m sure you’ll be grateful to less things to unpack when you get to your new home. I’ll try to stay away from the stores so I won’t be bringing new clutter home like you suggested. I’m thinking I want to do my long distance move in a similar way.
These are good tips! I remember moving to a new home as a child and having no clear sense of what was going on and now I realize how much easier it would have been had I been warmed up to the idea. It’s a really good idea to get your child warmed up to the idea of the new house before moving. This is some really great advice, it seems like you must have been a mover in a past life ;) Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you a lot for taking the time for you to share such a good information.I am sure they will really helpful!
This is awesome! It’s so easy to go through life just accumulating more and more stuff, but taking the opportunity to clean out your stuff when moving is an awesome way to make sure you never have too much! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Ashley…
I agree on your first tip, purging the item that you don’t needed anymore is the best way to have more space for the most important stuff. If once a person starts early planning for a move and he/she done the entire task and still have a much time, I suggest open a garage sale and sell the purge item or you donate into the orphans.
I am happy to have found this article about how to declutter a house before moving. It is good to remember to get rid of expired items. This would not only clean things up but also decrease potential health risks. Something else to consider would be to hire professional help to speed up the process when things are sorted through.
Thanks
Pretty good post. I found your website just right for my needs. Thanks for sharing the great tips and information on long distance movers . Good Luck!
I agree that the decluttering part of moving can be painful as you try to figure out what you can do without and what needs to stay. The last time my husband and I had to move, we did a lot of decluttering because we wanted to take as little as possible with us since we were moving to another state. I will be sharing these moving and decluttering tips with my sister who is moving soon.
I believe in professionals so this is a very useful article for everyone. Great content, very useful information. Thank you for sharing.
Good luck man. You are doing a great job, keep continue my dear. and thank you very much for your article, it is so informative.
I am going to be moving soon and I want to make it a bit easier on myself. So, I liked that you talked about how it would be smart to start early and to start by getting rid of things you don’t need. Doing that along with hiring a professional mover does seem like it would help the process be a lot smoother for me.
I started decluttering just for the sake of having more space, best decision ever!
I must say that tip # 1 and # 2 are so important if you are even considering a move! You have to get Pumped-UP because prepping for your move will get overwhelming and “starting early” is the key to it all!
Great Post!
Great tips. I think like everything, you just gotta do it. Don’t procrastinate. I do it all the time, I think about decluterring but few times I’ve actually done it. When I did, it was because I just straight up forced myself to take action.
Reach out to a moving specialist who will be able to pack up all your items with care and consideration so that everything makes it to your new home in as perfect condition as when it left your old one. Find out more about your packing options today.