How To declutter to save money moving (2024)

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Everyone knows when you move decluttering is a must on your list. This last move, I remember being out on a walk when The Lord spoke to me and said purge. Instinctively I knew that we would be moving. This set me in motion to declutter to save money moving.

By decluttering, I was able to save us thousands on our move. I’m not exaggerating about that amount. The original price quote was over $10,000 and we paid just over $6,000.

We got rid of so much stuff. Some examples, extra furniture, treadmill, bookshelves, two desks, and desk chair and lots of other random stuff. I would have gotten rid of more stuff but my husband was a little shocked at how fast I was decluttering.

How to start to declutter to save money moving

When you move across the country, or even across the town, you have to figure out what is the most important stuff to take with you and what you don’t need. And you have to figure out how to save money on that move!

Depending on how much time you have, is how long it will take for you to declutter. We didn’t have a whole lot of time so we did it really quickly.

I decided to start with our basem*nt and work up. The basem*nt had a boatload of extra furniture, workout equipment, a couple desks and some bookshelves that weren’t used. Every single piece of furniture in the basem*nt we got rid of.

Are you moving? If you are, I made these sticker labels you can print off for your move. My movers LOVED the fact that I had labels on each box. It made it easier for them to know which room the boxes needed to go to when they arrived in FL. I recommend purchasing colored labels and printing them on bright colors. To get the labels all you need to do is join my mailing list and download them.

While we were moving across the country, we also were downsizing. So we moved into a much smaller home. We moved from a home in the midwest where we had a basem*nt to a home in Florida where they don’t have basem*nts.

The stuff you are decluttering is going to help you save money on your move. Remember that!

Related: The Best Negotiating Strategies to save money when moving
Related:How to manage the emotional stress of moving

Donate or Sell it?

While you are getting rid of stuff, if you have the time, sell it. I sold some stuff and made some extra cash while we were in the process of moving. We also donated. I have a stack of receipts to Goodwill to go to the accountant come tax season. Some of the stuff we gave to our friends too.

The mantra that was used to keep, trash, donate. If there were duplicates I kept the best one and got rid of the others.

Toys

If you are getting rid of toys, ask your kids if it’s okay for you to get rid of them. Despite you thinking they are just toys, to them, they could have an emotional meaning you aren’t aware of.

Start with toys that they don’t play with anymore. Also, consider the age of your kids. Maybe they don’t need as many toys anymore.

I packed all my kids toys in storage bins. That way the kids could access the toys more easily after the move.

Kitchen

Decluttering the kitchen is the best feeling in the world! Do you really need 6 serving bowls and do you need all those wine glasses? Are those pots and pans in the best shape or should they be replaced anyway?

Plastic food storage containers, these things multiply in your kitchen as insects multiply. Since plastic does tend to multiply, please do not feel bad throwing some or all of it out.

Now that we are on the other side of the move, we are still decluttering. It is awesome. I love being able to go through some of the boxes that I thought we would get through before the move.

Garage and Storage Shed

This area was a quick easy clean sweep of donating and getting rid of everything in the garage. Some items to put on your list, snow blower, lawn mower, tools, yard tools, grill.

Downsizing

Now that we have a smaller home, we are learning to live on less and what do we really need. That is the question we keep asking ourselves.

I also want to encourage you to pray over each item you are getting rid of. Obviously, if it isn’t something that you use you should start there. I still have my Gram’s china in a box that I have moved 6 times. Yes, I have prayed over it every time and I’m just not ready to let it go.

I encourage you to pray anyway. Moving is so stressful and by praying you are acknowledging that you need a little help. Pray can and does change stuff. Try it and see!

Don’t forget to sign up for my email and download your labels for the boxes! You will be so happy you have those! You could even buy colored labels so they stick out more on the boxes.

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