A critical part of every big move is decluttering your house, particularly if you’re moving things into storage. Clearing your possessions reduces moving costs, decreases time and effort on move day and generally helps you feel a whole lot lighter. If you’re building a new place, renovating or just downsizing for a while, decluttering takes some much-needed weight off your shoulders. It can be very therapeutic. If you’ve got a big declutter job ahead of you but can’t decide how to approach it, follow these simple tips from Jake Storage and Removals Melbourne to declutter for storage like the best of them.

Don’t start with the wardrobe

Most people get overwhelmed thinking about where to– but often the wardrobe is the biggest mental hurdle. Instead of going for broke and attacking that first, however, get started on something easier. Try going for a less essential room like a laundry or a study to kick off the job. Once you’ve built some momentum, take a big breath and go storming into your clothes collection.

Apply the multiple rule

Do you really need that many towels, or five sets of bedding? Over time we collect multiples of household items and save them for a rainy day or when family comes to visit. However, in most cases, people tend to save way more than they practically need. Look past those multiple sets that you do need (think cutlery and kitchenware) and cull those you don’t.

One room at a time

Decluttering across the whole house leads to burnout. Approach it practically by choosing a smaller part of the house (a room or large cupboard) and commit clearing until it’s done. To save time later start loading moving boxes as you go. Only then can you move on to the next one. Try to move slowly, and identify a room or area to stack your unwanted goods. Anything in good condition you can bundle up and give to charity or sell online for some much needed moving cash.

12 months or it’s gone

This is a harsh one, but fewer belongings to move means cheap storage. Try it on anything where you need a quick keep-or-throw answer. If you’ve physically used it or thought about it sometime in the last year, keep it. If not, it’s usually a bad sign. Obviously, this isn’t the case for record-keeping like photos and family heirlooms, but it does force you to get serious about everything else.

Essentials only

We tend to purchase or hold on to items that sound practical in theory but hardly see the light of the day. Kitchens and bathrooms tend to be the biggest culprits for this. Pans, baking trays, pots and bread ovens all take up critical space. Same applies to the bathroom – soaps, creams, gels, sprays, the list goes on. Do you really need them all?

If you need further help about how to declutter house before your moving, contact Jake Storage Removals Melbourne at 1300 766 658.