How to Declutter Your House: Our Top Tips

The time to move house is nearly here. The paperwork has been signed and the sale has been agreed. But is there something you can do to ‘make things easier’ before moving day arrives? 

Or maybe you’re looking to sell your house fast and get moving as quickly as possible.

Whichever you need to do, decluttering your house is an excellent place to start. When you do this before moving, you can save yourself significant sums on removal costs, as well as time and effort in the long run. Moving house is the perfect time to get rid of that old bed in your garage, or clear out your cupboard under the stairs. 

In this blog, we are going to outline some top tips that can help make this part of moving less stressful. 

The benefits of decluttering

You may be asking: ‘why do I need to declutter my home?’. It is a common question. 

To start with, the fewer belongings you take to a new property, the more room and storage space you will have. This can be hugely beneficial because it allows you to ‘reinvent yourself’ in the new house, and provides a leeway for any changes in circumstances.

There are also scientific benefits of decluttering your house. Studies have found that ‘less clutter’ in your home helps you to sleep better, reduces allergens, and creates a happier environment. 

Decluttering also means that you spend less money on fixing items, and can find items easier once you move. It will also mean you spend less time unpacking possessions you don’t want when you move into your new house. 

14 tips to declutter your home

Start slow

Moving can be a stressful time, particularly when belongings are starting to get in the way and you are watching your life get packed into boxes. 

Start by doing ten minutes at a time to make this task less overwhelming and take regular breaks. Look back at your progress throughout the day and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with decluttering.

Get five bins

When you separate the belongings you are throwing away into five bins, it can make the task a lot more enjoyable. This is because you can view the process as ‘recycling’ rather than removing things that you care for – and as a result, may be more motivated to get on with what can feel like a thankless task at times. 

The five bins we recommend are: 

• Rubbish
• Recycling
• Fix
• Donate
• Put away

Give items away

When you give items away, it helps you to benefit other people in the world, and can make you feel good as a result. The process of decluttering can involve games, clothes, books, and anything else you might find in a charity shop. Many charities even pick up bulky furniture if they think they can find a use for it – and this can save you time from moving it yourself. 

Those items you never wear? Someone else will make good use of them, plus a charity gets to make some money from your generosity. 

Give yourself time

Although it is important to be patient, don’t wait until the day before the removal van arrives to pack and get rid of items. Give yourself at least 2-4 weeks to start and set aside a few hours where you can go through each room and storage space.

Working in bitesize chunks will give you time to be thorough. 

Focus on one room at a time

This can help to break down the process a little. Let’s face it, decluttering a house is a thankless task. When you have kids running around it can be best to lock yourself away and tackle each room individually. Go into those cupboards, and put everything in the five designated boxes we mentioned above.

Check expiry dates

The chances are that your bathroom, fridge, and cupboards all have items that are out of date. Before packing things away, check the expiry date to see if you want to take them with you. 

Spices tend to last for years, but things like concealer, tins, and other items can hide in the back of a cupboard. This is a good chance to get rid of some of the bits and pieces that will otherwise sit there for another year untouched. 

Think of the last time you used it

This technique is a valuable one when decluttering clothes. If you have not worn something in the last 12 – 18 months, the chances are that you won’t wear it again. One way to achieve this is by hanging all your clothes up on a rail, and placing items which you have worn recently at the front. Anything left at the back that you barely recognise can be donated.

You should also check for when you have too many duplicates of sheets, towels, kitchen appliances and utensils – and then do the same.

This is a bit like a practicality test where you decide if an item serves a purpose anymore. 

Check if the item works

The electrical item that you keep under the stairs may have seen better days. There is a good chance that you have already replaced it and for some reason, are keeping hold of the old one.

If it doesn’t work, it can be put in a pile to take to the tip where possible.

Keep similar things together

When you keep similar items together, it makes decluttering easier because everything will be all in one place. Keeping remote controls and batteries in the same place, for example, along with any other electrical item (wires) means that you won’t be stressing about where everything is when it comes to unpacking. 

Create a checklist

Stay on track of what you have kept and what you have thrown away by creating a checklist. This allows you to stay on top of the process and ensure you know which rooms you have done. Also, you can label each box by the room you want it to go in and add a couple of words that describe what’s inside so you can unpack quicker. 

Take before and after photos

Want to know how you arranged the room back in your old house, or just want the satisfaction of being able to look at how far you’ve come? Before and after photos can be a reminder that you don’t need to keep hold of so many items, and that less can be more!

Leave the memories for last

It can be hard to get rid of old photos and keepsakes. These items tend to take the longest and can slow you down – so leave them for last.

Trying to get these done first can add frustration to an already testing time. 

Paperwork

This is a good opportunity to go through the piles of paperwork you have built up over the years. Do you need those old bills from eight years ago before everything went paperless?

Moving house is like getting a fresh start so keep what’s useful and discard any items that seem to be outdated. Manuals for items you don’t have can go, but maybe keep hold of your kid’s drawings!

Shred anything with your financial details, name and address to safeguard yourself against identity theft. Scanning any important items before shredding can help to declutter without losing the documents. 

Keep a necessities box

If you want to know where your Sellotape is, or the scissors when you arrive, then a necessities box can be extremely valuable. You can use this for any small ‘essentials’ which might otherwise get lost – other examples include toilet paper, hammers and nails.

This will allow you to put your favourite photo up on the wall in your new house, without digging through all your boxes in your new home.