DECLUTTERING BEFORE YOU MOVE: WHAT TO KEEP, SELL, DONATE, OR REMOVE

Moving house is a stressful time - but it is also a great opportunity to have a proper clear-out. When you're staring at a garage, spare room, cupboards and years of accumulated stuff, knowing where to start can be the hardest part.

You don't have to take everything you've accumulated with you. A little planning before moving day can save you from paying to move things you don't really want, need or use.

Whether you're moving across town, downsizing, helping a parent move, preparing a property for sale or simply ready for a fresh start, decluttering before the move can make the whole process easier.

And if you're helping a parent move into a smaller home, we've put together a separate guide that walks you through that process step by step: Helping Mum or Dad Downsize: A Practical Guide.

Start before moving day

The biggest mistake people make is leaving decluttering until the week of the move.

By then, you're tired, stressed and more likely to throw everything into boxes just to get it done.

If you can, start several weeks before moving day. Work through one room, cupboard or area at a time rather than trying to tackle the whole house at once.

Create four piles: Keep. Sell. Donate. Remove.

Don't ask:

“Could I use this one day?”

Ask:

“Have I used this in the last year?”

If the answer is no, think carefully about whether it really needs to come with you. A move is a good opportunity to let go of things that no longer fit your life.

1. KEEP: What is worth taking with you?

Start with the things you genuinely use, need or love.

Keep things that:

• You use regularly

• Have genuine sentimental value

• Fit your new home and lifestyle

• Would be expensive or difficult to replace

• You know you'll actually use again

Be realistic about your new space.

If you're moving from a four-bedroom home into a smaller house or apartment, you may not have room for every piece of furniture, every kitchen appliance and every box you've stored for years.

2. SELL: Is it worth the effort?

Some things are worth selling — but not everything needs to become a Trade Me listing.

Furniture, appliances, tools, bikes and other valuable items can be worth selling if they're in good condition and there's a reasonable market for them.

Before listing something, consider:

• What could I realistically get for it?

• How much time will it take to photograph, list and respond to messages?

• Will someone need to collect it?

• Am I prepared to store it while I wait for it to sell?

Sometimes an item worth $30 isn't worth three weeks of messages, arranging collections and storing it while you wait for someone to buy it.

Set yourself a realistic cut-off. If something hasn't sold by a certain date, move it into your donate or chuck pile.

3. DONATE: Could someone else use it?

If something is clean, safe and still useful, someone else may get more value from it than you do.

Good candidates for donation can include:

• Good-quality furniture

• Kitchenware

• Books

• Toys and games

• Clothing

• Homewares

• Working appliances

• Tools and garden equipment

Contact the charity or community organisation before loading up your car. Different organisations have different requirements, and some may only accept certain items or have restrictions on furniture and electrical goods.

And remember: donating isn't the same as getting rid of rubbish.

If it's broken, stained, damaged or unusable, don't leave it for a charity to deal with.

4. REMOVE: What simply needs to go?

Eventually, you'll have a pile of things that don't belong in your new home, can't reasonably be sold or donated, and simply need to go.

This might include:

• Broken furniture

• Old mattresses

• Damaged appliances

• Unwanted household items

• Old garden equipment

• Garage clutter

• General rubbish

• Items left behind after a property clean-out

Before everything goes in the rubbish pile, consider whether any of it can be recycled. This might include scrap metal, cardboard, e-waste, batteries, green waste or timber. Not everything that looks recyclable can go into your household recycling bin, so check the local requirements for the material or take it to an appropriate recycling facility.

If this feels too hard - Busy Little Truck can step in and help.  We sort through what can be donated, recycled or disposed of appropriately rather than simply treating everything as rubbish.

Instead of making multiple trips to different places with a trailer or trying to work out where everything needs to go, you can have the unwanted items removed in one go.

A simple way to work through each room

If you're feeling overwhelmed, don't try to declutter the whole house at once.

Pick one room and make four piles:

KEEP
Coming with you.

SELL
Worth the time and effort to sell.

DONATE
Clean, safe and useful to someone else.

REMOVE
No longer wanted, useful or suitable for donation. Where possible, recyclable materials can be separated from the rest.

Then deal with each pile before moving on to the next room.

You'll be surprised how much easier the process feels once every item has somewhere to go.

Don't forget the garage, shed and outdoor areas

The inside of your home is usually where you start - but garages, sheds and outdoor areas can hold some of the biggest clear-out jobs.

Before moving, look at:

• Old tools

• Broken garden equipment

• Unused pots and planters

• Outdoor furniture

• Old bikes

• Timber and building materials

• Boxes of forgotten belongings

• Garden waste

• Items left over from previous projects

These areas can also be where you'll find things that have been sitting untouched for years.

If you haven't used it in a year or so, ask yourself whether moving it to a new house is really going to change that.

What about sentimental things?

This can be the hardest part.

Photos, children's artwork, old school books, family belongings and things connected to people or places can be difficult to make decisions about.

You don't have to throw everything away.

Instead, try asking:

“What do I want to remember?”

You might keep a smaller number of meaningful items rather than an entire box of things.

For example, instead of keeping every school book your children ever brought home, choose a few favourites. Instead of keeping an entire cupboard of your parents' belongings, choose the pieces that genuinely mean something to you.

The goal isn't to create an empty house.

It's to create a home filled with things that still matter.

Give yourself a deadline

One of the easiest ways for decluttering to drag on is having no end date.

Work backwards from moving day and give yourself deadlines for:

Sell: List items early enough to allow time for them to sell.

Donate: Arrange drop-offs or collections before moving week.

Remove: Book your rubbish collection or removal before the final clean-up.

That way, you aren't standing in the driveway on moving morning looking at a mountain of things you don't want.

Don’t feel pressure to do it all at once

You don’t always know exactly what you’re going to use or need until you’ve lived in your new house for a while. Sometimes it takes being in a space to work that out.

So don't put pressure on yourself to get every decision right before moving day. It’s very common for people to have a second clear-out once they've settled in.

And if you've already worked out what you don't want but don't know how you're going to get it all out, that's where we can help.

Busy Little Truck removes unwanted furniture, household items, garden waste and general unwanted stuff around Tauranga, Mount Maunganui and Papamoa.

You sort out what stays.

We'll help with the rest.