declutter now or after the move?

clutton_2

a very very wise person told me a few years back

"once its left the house you will hardly remember what it was" and that is SOOO true...

clutton_2

very tricky - lurve your legend !!

""please excuse my username- my husband set it to the email account when he was young free and stooooopid ""

reminds me of my first young tenant who on leaving was very loathe to give me her email address for future contact and finally reluctant told me it was

sexy-but-deadly !!

dianah

oh goodness, this is so relevant to me. i keep everything. absolutely everything.

we're buying a house and i have started going through stuff we don't use day to day - books etc. on a good day, i'm ruthless and either stick a lot of stuff in car boot sale box/charity box or bin. other days, i keep thinking 'oh i'd really like to keep this' and am very reluctant to throw stuff out/give stuff away - then i know i need to stop and come back to it.
you do have to be in the right state of mind.

but it definitely makes no sense to move stuff and then throw it out (and we're downsizing, at the moment we're renting a house with 4 bedrooms and 2 reception rooms, we're buying a 2-bed cottage)

i've already given away all the toiletries i don't use on a regular basis - i had far too many anyway and it actually felt quite good!

msgnomey

Fling before you move!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fire_Fox

verytricky69 wrote: »

thanks everyone- an overwhelming declutter now methinks! We already got rid of a lot of stuff for all the viewings etc- though the draws and cupboards are full of cr*p.

would you do it literally as you were packing stuff up or now?- If i go through all the draws etc in advance i'll just have to put the stuff we are keeping back until actual packing time- so would be doing it twice (if that makes sense!)

Stop trying to put it off: as you are packing up IS now! If you wait to declutter until you have exchanged you will run out of time and end up ramming the contents of the last few glory holes into boxes. You can pack all your winter clothes, the loft, garage and under the stairs for a start. Definitely go through the bills and paperwork as you will need that organised to contact everyone with your new address.

I would also work through your kitchen, get rid of utensils and electricals that are simply not used, write a list of all the food that is going out of date or you have had for ages but never used/ finished up and do a storecupboard challenge! Defrost the freezer and do the same thing, get the quantity down so you can easily eat up in the last month. Oh and clean the oven, then you won't have the dilemma of whether to leave it mucky in the last week. You will be too busy to do more than a quick once over.

dizziblonde

When we moved I started packing loads in advance - had a rubbish box and a packing box on the go at once. I enjoy a good clearout - trouble is my husband is a compulsive hoarder... he is never ever going to need an army survival kit (complete with rabbit snare) in the deepest darkest suburbs of Nottingham, nor a collection of completely ripped trousers!

mlz1413

Also when you pack remember to label which room each box is for as this allows you to take it straight to the correct room.

Pack the tea/coffee/milk/sugar/kettle AND mugs last and ensure they are installed before any unpacking is done - surprising how blood sugar levels can be levelled out with a cuppa!

ailuro2

do it now, start with the areas you know are the least habited, so the loft, the cupboard under the stairs etc.

Clear out the shed or the garage to make space for boxes of stuff you're taking with you - things like Christmas decorations, crockery you don't use often but will use again, decorating gear (you won't be needing that till you get to the new house, will you?)

Get as much as you can prepared, if you're really organised you can number each box and have a list of what's in it and where it should go in the new house.

Sammy85_2

Do it now!

We didnt and almost 10 months after moving we have a spare bedroom piled high with boxes still to be sorted.

goldengirl28

start now

we are yet to exchange on our sale/purchase, but we have already emptied the attic, above the fitted wardrobes and under the stairs

next week we are going to tackle the pantry and garden shed

good luck with it all