Look around you: look at all the stuff you have lying around your house.
When you’re packing for a move, it’s hard to know sometimes what to pack and what you should leave behind. Whether you’re upgrading your storage space or downsizing, having a few packing tips for moving will come in handy.
As you clean up around your house and get started on moving, gather up a few cardboard moving boxes and sort your belongings into must-keeps, must-throw aways and I-still-need-to-think-about-its. We’ll help you figure out what you should hang on to, and what you’re better off without.
Clothes You Don’t Wear
As you rummage through your closet with a wardrobe box nearby, ask yourself: do you really need all of these clothes? You’ve been trying to squeeze into your old high school jeans for years now, and there is literal dust on them at this point.
Listen, there is no shame in reevaluating your wardrobe and getting rid of old clothes. You can even donate clothes you don’t wear anymore to a local shelter, thrift store or nonprofit to help others throughout the Twin Cities.
Here are a few places you can donate your old clothes in and around the Twin Cities as you are packing for a move:
- Arc Value Village
- Bridging (also a great place to donate furniture and other household items)
- DAV Home Pickup
- Goodwill
- Dress For Success Twin Cities
Books You Won’t Read (or Re-Read)
Books are heavy, and the power of knowledge makes you strong! But that doesn’t mean you have to pack all your books up and drag them down the stairs, out the door and into a truck.
Sift through your entire Chicken Soup for the Soul collection, your dictionaries and your romance novels that did the job, and figure out what you’re going to read again, and what you could probably pass off.
(Really, you only need two books, which contain the entire sum of knowledge in the universe: What They Teach You at Harvard Business School and What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School.)
Things You Haven’t Unpacked Since Your Last Move
It’s okay, unpacking is hard.
But it’s also very indicative of the importance of what is in those old cardboard moving boxes. If you have a few boxes of stuff lying around, and you don’t even remember what’s in them, chances are you can get rid of them.
Now, before you do, we definitely recommend going through each box and making sure there is nothing valuable in there. Take time to relive the good ol’ days, indulge in nostalgia, then kick it to the curb. You’ll thank yourself later, when you’re moving out and you don’t have nearly as much stuff to carry.
Unused Dishes and Appliances
Sure, your apple-peeler-corer-slicer looks cool and is fun to say, but its main purpose the last few years has been to take up space in your cupboard. Do you need to pack it? Did you even remember you had it?
Same goes for extra plates, mugs and kitchen appliances. Don’t be stingy, ask yourself if you use it, and get rid of it if you don’t. Packing tips for moving may be tough to hear, but it is the time to get rid of stuff. So why not start with the kitchen?
Old Bedding
New house, new bedding, new you. Start fresh in your new place with some high thread count sheets and comfy pillows. Getting rid of old bedding can just feel refreshing, and can make packing easier.
Don’t get rid of all your bedding and pillows at once, but start with the really old stuff and phase it out slowly. After a move, you’re going to want to plop down in bed and get a good night’s rest. New bedding will do the trick.
Make Packing for a Move Easy
Cardboard moving boxes can help you as you sift through your old belongings and start to get rid of stuff. Decluttering your space ahead of a move will help you start fresh and make moving so much easier.
Want some more packing tips for moving? Try using reusable plastic boxes instead of cardboard moving boxes. They’re bigger, sturdier and easier to carry, so if you decide you do want to keep your Chicken Soup collection or all your beanie babies, well, you can.
Banana Box is the Twin Cities’ supplier of reusable moving boxes. We provide free delivery and sturdy plastic boxes to help you in your move. Request boxes for an upcoming move from Banana Box, and kiss your junk goodbye.