One of the best moving tips you can follow is to declutter your space before you move. If you’ve been in one place for a while, it’s natural that clutter builds up. However, you don’t need to take all of this stuff with you to your next place.

Decluttering before you move not only helps you start with less stuff in your new location, but it also gives you less to move. If you can donate or give away a lot of stuff before you move, that’s less to pack and unpack.

Here are some decluttering tips that will help you get things under control before you move.

Give Yourself Time

Packing and decluttering takes time. If you don’t give yourself at least a couple of weeks to get everything done, you could end up scrambling at the last time. When you scramble, you don’t organize or keep things safe, you just end up throwing everything into boxes and that makes unpacking a lot more difficult.

Start a Necessities Box

Create an essentials box where you’ll put everything you’ll need right away when you move. Label it necessities and use this box for things like toilet paper, tape, box cutters, etc. Tape this box up last in case you need anything in it, and unpack it first when you get to your new space. This will make the moving process much easier.

Leave the Mementos for Last

Looking through items that have sentimental value can take time. As you look through them, you start to think about how much they mean to you and that causes you to slow down your packing. Plus, it can be tough to decide whether you want to keep these items or give them away.

Therefore, leave all your mementos for last. Yes, this is putting off the harder decisions, but it’s also allowing you to get through the rest of the packing process as quickly as possible. You can use the time you have left at the end to make these tough choices.

Use the 3-box Decluttering Trick

When you’re thinking about how to declutter, one of the most efficient ways to get the job done is to use the three-box strategy. This means sorting everything into one of three piles: keep, donate, or throw away.

The throw away pile is likely the most obvious. Anything that is broken can go in this box, as can anything that you don’t need but that doesn’t have any value to anyone else (old paperwork, etc.). You may want to shred things before you throw them away if they contain sensitive information.

The donation box is where things may get more difficult. How do you decide what to donate? A good way is by thinking about the last time you used it. If you haven’t used something in the last year, there’s a good chance you can donate it.

Everything else should go in the keep box. Using this strategy can speed up the decluttering process.

Check Expiration Dates

When you’re packing up your pantry or other parts of the kitchen, there’s a good chance you’ll find some items (such as spices, sauces, etc.) that are past their expiry date. The same is true for makeup, self care items, cleaning products, and much more. This is an opportunity to get rid of those items that have expired so you’ll have more room in your new home.



Moving can be stressful and time consuming. Even if you declutter first, it can be a lengthy and often difficult process to get everything packed safely and moved to your new space. The good news is that the team at EA Movers is here to help. Our experience and knowledge make us the right choice for anyone who needs help with their move. For more information, to book a move, or to get a quote for your move, please contact us online or give us a call at (365) 800-6511.