How to be ruthless when moving?

[kingcharlesbaby]

I’m moving to a smaller house and I’m struggling to pack without moving unnecessary things with me. I am feeling so overwhelmed!

Any tips would be gratefully received!

If you haven’t touched it, worn it or thought about it (whatever it is) in 6 months then bin or charity shop
There’s no point packing stuff up to unpack and then throw away
Before we moved we spent many weekends sorting our shed, loft and cupboards so when we did move it was all we needed
It was quite cathartic

That is a good rule isn’t it! Thank you!

I’m going to try that!

Don’t keep anything you can easily replace in future for £20 or less within a few days.

If something has sentimental value, but you know it has to go, take a photo of it.

I'm a big fan of the Marie Kondo method. You declutter by item type, rather than picking through everything.

www.onekingslane.com/live-love-home/marie-kondo-book-declutter/

If it's sentimental because it belonged to someone else, would they have kept it or chucked it out? That helps me focus that I'm just storing others cast-offs.

We downsized, this year, from a very large house to a 3 bed bungalow, we had lived in our family home for nearly 20 years. We were totally ruthless when we decluttered, any thing we didn’t use, like or enjoy, did not get packed. Once you get into decluttering mode, it’s quite addictive. Moved 6 months ago, not missed any of the items we didn’t take with us.

It’s hard but feels great once you’ve done it.
I do sometimes worry that the kids (now young adults) will one day say I threw out their childhood!

Choose what to keep, not what to discard.

In any room, look around and think what is irreplaceable, what do I love, what can I not manage without? Everything else is unnecessary.

Most books, DVDs, CDs etc can go.
Most photos, albums, are kept.
Most underwear is kept.
Lots of clothes can go (unless you are already very disciplined).

Bigger items, furniture- what will work in the new space? Everything else has to go, even if you love it.

Speaking from experience, the best furniture looks tatty when sat on the drive because it won't fit in the house you've moved to!

Completely agree with choosing what to keep, not what to throw.
E.g.towels and linens, choose 2-3 best/matching sets for each person and a set for guests. Everything else is surplus, no reason to keep it, donate it instead.
Repeat for everything else you have too much of - books,clothes, DIY stuff, pots and pans. Then you can relax you are moving with just what you need, no more, no less.

Doing things 15-20 minutes at a time, as frequently as you can, so you can cull through a few times.

Some questions that might help (some come from Minimal Mom on youtube who has a lot of these):
Is it worth the time and energy to keep it in good condition?
Is this supporting my current goals?
Is anyone happier for this being here?
Container method from Minimal Mom: is it container worthy? She talks a lot about making the container the bad guy and it being useful to make comparisons if it's something you have multiples - picking your favourites that you like and tend to go back to anyways and clearing out the rest.
Is anyone happier keeping this?
Is this sending me positive, negative, neutral messages? (a bit woo, but if something is a bit damaged and it repeatedly brings to mind that it needs repaired then it might need to go to someone else to fix rather than keeping it, if it's clothes that doesn't quite fit right or just doesn't make you feel good, may be time to pass them along).

Thank you all so much, also thinking that any old or mismatching towels and bedding gets replaced also so will be ruthless with that. Nowhere near as much storage for unused things at the new house.

Kids have outgrown a lot of toys and clothes so will give to a charity shop anything in good condition. Same with furniture, just keeping favourites.

I missed from a 2 bed house to a 1 bed - think starter home size about four months ago. We still have a lot of outside space and sheds for storage. I did worry about my 3 children feeling I'd thrown their childhood away like previous poster. I asked them if they wanted certain items and mostly they declined lol. I got rid of old towels, bedding, tea towels etc to charity shop, my son who was buying his first home or dump. Once we had moved in we replaced lots of our old bed linen etc with lovely stuff from charity shops -it's amazing what people throw away 😃
Tidying is super speedy now

I moved ...

Culling books is my big concern this house move.
I’ve come to realize that our 30-volume Encyclopedia, collected with care when DS was tiny, is an anachronism.
Any classic can be found for pennies on Kindle so it’s not worth the time and effort of going through boxes to find a cheap fusty copy from my youth.
And I know my attention span has reduced due to my IPad love and reading will take second place from now on.

The last time we moved we had 40 boxes with books in them. A lot were University notes and chick-lit. All gone now and we’re down to about 10.

It also means you can use the space in your new house where you would have put a bookcase for something else!

It can be hard to let go. I went through a de-cluttering and got rid of lots, but still have too much. One thing I did was try and get rid of anything I wasn't using and could buy again if I needed it later. I've a way to go, having less stuff does feel like a weight lifted.

Kitchen stuff is the worst. But we have things like a tagine, had 15+ years. Think we have used ONCE! It needs to go. If I decide in future to take up tagine cooking I’ll buy another and in the meantime it can actually be useful to someone who does use

Expat and serial mover here.

Make a list of everything you need or must take with you.

Sell, donate, recycle or trash everything else.

If you can’t remember it, you don’t need it.

We got rid of all our dvd cases years ago. It saved so much room. Instead we got the old school cd wallets/folders and stored the disks in there. We decided that there’s no value to donating dvds anywhere so we may as well keep the discs. It came in handy when we went on holiday - the lodge had a DVD player so we were able to watch things we liked in the evening

A bit morbid, but I am currently emptying my in laws property, it is absolutely ridiculous what we are having to shift through, whilst it has been interesting to find her first job offer letter (1946) going through years of paperwork, mountains of towels, sheets and curtains, random knick knacks and boxes and boxes of candles has been a massive headache. If you realistically aren't ever going to use it or look at it then get rid.

Sorry the morbid part is in knowing that family will have to do it for us, in a great cycle of sorting out.

I think you should tackle what you have stored in the attic / garage / cupboards first. This is stuff you know you don’t use so it should be easier to declutter.

I would then move into the kitchen / pantry and start reviewing what you want to take with you and what you don’t. Do you really need every single pan / appliance? Would it actually make you feel better / add to your home to buy new?

I've moved to a house half the size, thought I had been pretty ruthless but I am opening boxes and thinking why the hell did I pack that!
Find an honest friend who is happy to help in exchange for a meal or whatever. Then go room by room. Keep, Chuck, donate , sell. Do the Kondo 'spark joy' test. Do you love it? Then keep it. Ambivalent? Get rid. Imagine yourself in your new hone surrounded by only those things you really care about, that bring beauty in to your life.

Following

Clothes are another thing I want to cull.
With retirement just around the corner DH is not going to need all those outdated suits and ties. Plus his current workplace is more casual. Now seems the right time to reduce the range to 4/5 outfits per season.

I love the idea of Autumn and MAY have a few too many woolly jumpers…