Items You Should Toss Before Moving

Most Americans don’t realize how much stuff they have stowed away until it’s time to pack it up for a move. Moving is an excellent time to sort through the items you have, sell or donate what you don’t need, and throw out what’s trash.

Sorting through your possessions before moving ultimately saves you money because you won’t have to move them. Fewer items mean a smaller truck rental and less gas used. While it might be labor-intensive to sort as you’re packing, the effort is worth it in the end. It will be easier to find space for your items in your new house because you’ve only kept what you want and need.

Deciding what to keep is entirely up to you, but here are some items you can anticipate throwing away, donating, or selling.

Items to Toss

It goes without saying that you’ll find a lot of trash or damaged items as you’re packing and these can be thrown away. But here are some other things you don’t have to feel guilty about throwing away:

• Old Documents: There’s nothing wrong with keeping old documents and files, but these are made more accessible by scanning and digitizing them. Be sure to shred these documents before recycling them!
• Expired Products: Check the labels of anything perishable, like food, personal care products, makeup, medications (be sure to dispose of these properly), etc.
• Old Electronics: We all have that box of old electronics and cords that we might use. If you haven’t used them in the last few years, you toss or donate them guilt-free
• Used Office Supplies and Notebooks: There’s nothing like beginning a fresh notebook, but most people rarely finish them. If they hold no sentimental value, you can throw them out
• Dirty Items: Old rags, shower curtains, and cleaning supplies don’t have to follow you to your new house.

Items to Donate or Sell

Although donating and selling items take a lot of intentionality, it’s far better than throwing these items away. Donating or selling your possessions can keep countless items out of landfills and can be a blessing to other families who couldn’t afford them at full price. Plus, you can make a little money that will offset your moving costs.

• Clothes: Most of us have more clothes than we could ever need. Moving is an excellent excuse to go through all your clothes, piece by piece, and decide on your favorites. Be honest with yourself: does it fit, is it in good condition, do you wear it often enough to keep it, and do you have other pieces like it? You’ll be surprised by how many items you can purge when you evaluate objectively. Reducing your wardrobe by 25-50% saves you time packing and moving, and frees up space in your new home.
• Furniture: Likely, you won’t need all your furniture in your new home. You might want a new sofa or desk, or maybe your kids are no longer in toddler beds. Furniture is worth selling on social media because, not only do you make a little money, but the buyer will usually come to your house, saving you moving it to a donation center!
• Books: Books are heavy to move and require lots of boxes to do so. Cutting back on your book stash can save your back and boxes! Be objective about your use or need for each book and donate or sell anything you can part with.
• Dishes and Kitchen Equipment: Everyone has some mismatched dishes, glasses, and silverware, as well as kitchen equipment you no longer use. These are bulky, heavy, and take up a lot of unnecessary space. But these are excellent items to sell or donate.
• Kids Toys: If you’re like most American families, you’ve got more toys than a toy store. Take this opportunity to keep what you want for other kids (or grandkids) and donate or sell the rest.
• DVDs and CDs: Look through your collections and see what you can eliminate. Libraries always take CD and DVD donations!
• Jewelry: Valuable jewelry can earn you a good deal of cash. You can sell online, to a local jeweler, or even to a pawn shop.
• Musical Equipment: Musical instruments and equipment in good working condition are an excellent item to sell. Large instruments like pianos are cumbersome to move, but most buyers anticipate needing to bring their own equipment to move them. This not only saves you money, you earn some!
• Power Tools and Appliances: While it’s tempting to hold onto power tools and old appliances, think objectively about your use of them over the years. If you haven’t used them, then donate or sell them.

Do You Need a Storage Unit?

Even if you sort your items carefully, you might have more than you can reasonably fit in your living space. But that’s ok because Peavler Moving & Storage will not only be your professional mover, but we also offer storage units!

Our quality storage units allow you to keep all your possessions in one easily-accessible space. We have regular and climate-controlled units, and these come in a variety of sizes.

Peavler Moving & Storage is here to meet all your moving and storage needs! Contact us today for a free quote.