Deciding What Items To Take or Leave When Moving

20 October 2014

Over-packing has always been a problem for the average mover. Some items have sentimental value, others “just cost so much”, and the rest is either too big to take or has us wondering if we want to leave it and buy it again later. With so many questions and choices, deciding what to take and what to leave can be very stressful. Take a few minutes to read the packing tips for moving  we listed below for your moving day and avoid over-packing.

Mack a list of Take/Leave when Moving

Take some time to write down your essentials or your “must-haves”. These are the items that you cannot leave behind under any circumstances. Items such as files/records, electronics, family heirlooms, etc. Basic essentials such as bedding or kitchen appliances can go on this list as well. Then go through and collect those items and pack them up first, check them off the list as you go.

Separate items into piles

Take one room at a time and a separate your items into three piles: Keep, sell, and donate. Once you’ve cleaned out every drawer and opened every box, back up your “keep” items into boxes. A great packing tip moving at this stage is to label the boxes used by the room the items belong to. You can use colored stickers (just remember to write down what each color stands for!) or just write on the boxes themselves. This keeps everything organized. Go a step further even and write down what types of items are in the box, such as “bedding”, “fragile dishware”, etc.

Ask yourself questions.

To decide what items you should keep, as the question “how often have I used this in the last year”. For kitchen appliances, it’s best to have used the item at least 4 times, but for items like clothing, two is acceptable. If you have to tell yourself that you might use it in the future or come up with “what if” answers, don’ take it.

The quality of the item

As for deciding what to sell and what to donate, that really depends on the quality of the item. If you have some shirts that are in good condition, but you know won’t sell for much at a yard sale, and then donate it. Same concept goes for toys or appliances. However, if you come across some items that are in good condition and that you are pretty certain could make you some extra pocket money, and then put into the sell pile. If you have to question whether or not an item is in good enough shape to sell, donate it.

The “keep” pile

Lastly, a very important packing tip for moving is to double-check your “keep” pile. When you’ve completed the process of separating your items into piles, always go back to your keep pile and sort through it. Make sure you’re absolutely going to use those items again. If your answer isn’t a definite yes, then put into one of the other two piles.

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