Decluttering: Before the Move or After?

It’s a decision that ALL people making a move will face. It doesn’t matter whether you’re downsizing, upsizing, or rightsizing. Will it be better to pack and move EVERYTHING in your current house to your new house? Or is it better to do some light (or maybe heavy) decluttering prior to making the move?

As with everything relating to a downsizing move, there is no right or wrong answer to this question. Some people may feel more comfortable doing the decluttering ahead of time while others will feel more comfortable with the opposite approach. Whatever way you choose, just make sure you have carefully considered a couple of important things.

1.) Do you know your next space well enough to plan what you can bring and what won’t fit?

Make sure you have accurate dimensions for the important rooms in your new home and a solid set of photos or floor plans to work with prior to your occupancy. Measure the items you might be moving to make sure they will fit where you want them to go. If they won’t fit, consider decluttering them ahead of time. Additionally, take stock of your storage options. Will the things you’re not using on a regular basis fit in storage?

Maybe you don’t know your space well enough or are having a hard time visualizing your new setup. If that’s the case, decluttering after your move might feel a little easier or less stressful. It can be hard to know what to get rid of if you don’t have a vision for your next space or your new workflows within that space.

2.) Do you have more time available prior to your move or after?

If you can’t imagine how you’re going to find the time to work through decluttering while simultaneously preparing for a move and all that comes with that, consider saving your decluttering work for after the move. If the reverse is true about your timetable, carve out the time to do the work ahead of time.

3.) Do you have things in boxes from prior moves that have never been unboxed?

Those items could be easy candidates to start with for decluttering BEFORE your move. If you didn’t need them in your current home, you probably won’t in your next home. Save your box-moving muscles for more important items.

4.) Can you cope with chaos from clutter?

If you’re moving to a smaller space, it’s inevitable that you’ll need to reduce your clutter. You won’t have enough storage to hide those unused items away. If you don’t declutter beforehand, it’s possible you’ll move into your new space and have piles of boxes everywhere for weeks or even months as you work to sort through them. The number one reason people don’t work on decluttering, in general, is because of feeling overwhelmed and unsure where to start. If the prospect of chaos and overwhelm following your move is not appealing to you, it might be a better choice to declutter ahead of your move. In addition to the extra clutter being a bit chaotic, it could also be unsafe. Stacks of boxes all around could be tripping or fire hazards.

5.) How will your clutter impact your moving costs?

If you have more stuff to bring, you’ll need a bigger moving truck at the very minimum, which will cost you more. If you’re hiring movers, you’ll also need more hourly time with the movers. Will it be more cost effective for you to do some gradual decluttering before you have to pay to move everything? If money isn’t an object, this might not be a big consideration for you.

If you're having a hard time making progress, don’t forget that there are companies who help folks declutter for a living. These professionals would be happy to help you before or after your move. Reach out if you’d like some suggestions from our vendor list!