You’ve probably heard the word “declutter” quite a lot by now. Decluttering brings about many benefits that will increase your quality of life. But if you’re about to move house, it takes on a whole new level of importance, helping to lower the chaos of moving. Here, we outline how it will make your move easier to handle and a guide on how to declutter.
What is Declutter?
Declutter can take on many forms so it can have different meanings to different people. In its most basic form, clutter is anything that is untidy and messy. When most people hear about clutter, they think of physical objects. These are usually the things that leave your home looking like a mess and, as previously mentioned, can come in various forms.
- Items that are rubbish and belong in the bin
- Items that are out of place or not stored properly
- Items that have no meaningful function
- Items that aren’t yours
How does a Declutter Help When Moving House?
If you’re about to move to a new house, decluttering is essential. Why? The main reason is that it’ll lower your removal costs. Since moving companies base their price on the volume of items they will transport, reducing the number of items is logical. Decluttering is one of the best ways to save money when moving house.
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How Much does Clearing a House Cost?
House clearance is a difficult and time-consuming task that sometimes needs to be carried out at a stressful time such as after a bereavement: or perhaps your business is moving to new premises and you need to dispose of old office furniture and carpets.
Advantages to Hire a Specialist for House Clearing
Of course, you can do it yourself but when you factor in the costs of hiring a skip and/or a van as well as your time, you may well decide that it is best to leave it to the professionals. A specialist house clearing firm will take care of everything for you, from disposing of rubbish to lifting carpets, offering a discreet, reliable service that is always sensitive to your requirements.
House Clearance Fees
How much clearing a house will cost depends on the size of the property, how many possessions need to be disposed of and whether there are any valuable items that can be sold to offset some of the cost. There are so many varying factors to take into consideration that it can be difficult to give an average price but the table below gives you a rough idea of the costs that you might expect for clearing a 3-bedroom house:
| Item | Recycling costs |
|---|---|
| General household waste | up to £200 per tonne |
| Mattresses | x 3 around £65 |
| Fridge freezer | x 2 £80 |
| TV | £20 - £45, depending on size |
What Services do House Clearing Firms offer?
A house clearing firm offers a wide range of services: they may offer removal and relocation services but will also be able to assist you in getting rid of all the things that you do not want to take with you to your new home. This service can be booked as part of a removal package or may be ordered as a separate service.
Finance You Move With House Clearing Services
The clearance firm will be able to assist you with lifting carpets, clearing loft spaces and cluttered garages and sheds, removing junk from gardens and yards. As they aim to resell or recycle as many as possible of your unwanted possessions, this will help to offset the cost to you. A specialist firm is likely to have an extensive address book of contacts where they can resell various items, ranging from bricks and paving slabs to valuable antiques and jewellery.
How do House Clearing Firms Help you to Keep Costs Down?
Every house and its contents are different and when giving you an estimate, house clearers will weigh up the negatives and positives overall. On the negative side are things that they will have to pay to dispose of, such as old mattresses and carpets. The cost of getting rid of these may be offset by the value of any items that they can resell.
How to Do With Emotional Items?
In addition to physical clutter, there is also emotional clutter. This is much harder to identify but can be just as detrimental to you as actual objects lying around. Emotional clutter is anything on your mind that keeps you from being 100% efficient or functional. There is an infinite range of things that could be on your mind so it can be very difficult to declutter your mind. Some examples are:
- You have no time to relax
- There are people having a negative impact on your life
- You are trying to remember all the things you need to do
- You are worried about issues with your family
How to Sort your Belongings and Items?
There are plenty of places that share decluttering tips, such as this blog. Identifying clutter in your life is not an easy task. However, once you do, it becomes much easier to deal with it. After all, determining what things clutter your life is the first step!
How Clutter can Help you to Lower your Moving Costs?
Another big benefit is now that you have less stuff, packing, loading, and transporting your belongings is much easier. Every little bit helps and if you reduce the number of things you’ll bring to your new place, the less work is involved. Moving house will be much easier and quicker.
Anyway, if you don’t currently regularly use something at your old place, what are the chances that you’ll use it at your new house? There’s no point to packing and paying someone to move something to your new house if it won’t be used and will just gather dust.
Save money and reduce the workload by decluttering before you move house. You’ll be glad you did!
How to Declutter or Carry on a House Clearance
Even though clutter can both be physical and emotional, we will focus on physical objects. This is because they are the easiest to identify and do something about them. Additionally, they play an important role if you are moving house. As such, we’ll outline steps for decluttering physical items.
It’s important to keep in mind that there is no right way to declutter. As long as you meet your goals then the decluttering process you use is a good one. However, there are a few steps you should take to make the process go more smoothly and to increase your chances of being successful.
1. Make a plan
Before you get to work, make a plan. For example, create an overview of your house and take note of the rooms that deserve particular priority or attention for decluttering. You’ll need to tackle each room one at a time and every room will require a different way of decluttering. Plan for these differences, and also ask yourself a few questions like:
- What supplies will I need to declutter?
- How much time can I commit to decluttering?
- Where will I put the clutter?
- What do I consider to be clutter?
2. Establish a sorting system
When you do start to declutter, you’ll need to decide where you’ll take your clutter. This is where a sorting system comes in. The exact details of the system you want depends on you, however, a popular method is to use 3 boxes or piles. Label them as:
- Keep: Items that you will definitely keep.
- Get Rid Of: Items that you don’t need. These are items that you will toss in the bin, sell, or donate.
- Storage: Items that you’ll put into a storage space, whether that is in an extra room or an external storage unit.
Of course, you are able to customise this sorting system the way you see fit. For example, instead of having a catch-all group of “Get Rid Of,” you can have several piles specifically for throwing away, donations, or selling. You can even create a new pile for things that you’ll keep but repair.
3. Declutter
Now it’s time to go through the room and examine each item. Think carefully about that item and determine which pile it belongs to so by the time you finish, everything will be categorised. Take your time and stay focused—don’t exit the room until you have completely finished.
When deciding whether to keep an item or get rid of it, ask yourself questions like these:
- Is it yours?
- Do you absolutely need it?
- When was the last time you used it?
- What function does it serve?
- Why are you keeping it?
- Does it give you happiness?
- Does it provide value to your life?
- Does it need any repairs, cleaning, or maintenance?
This is the most difficult part of decluttering because you really need to think carefully about each item. It can be tempting to keep a majority of your things but it’s important to be realistic and in some cases strict. Ask yourself the tough questions and decide if you really need each item.
4. Putting everything away
Now that everything is in the right category box or pile, it is much easier to put things away. Return the things in your “Keep” pile to places where it makes the most sense. We are only focused on decluttering right now so you can worry about properly cleaning and fully organising your things after.
Next, it’s time to get rid of the things you have labelled as “Get Rid Of.” If you need a tip, put the items into a box and place it in your car or garage until you are able to discard of them. If you’re selling a few things, go to a second-hand store or start placing online ads. Finally, group the items you’ll donate together so that it’s easier to go to the charity shop.
5. Relax and enjoy your new clutter-free space!
Your house should now be free of clutter. Decluttering can drastically change the look of your home and have a massive impact on how you see your space. There’s a lot more space, you’ll feel liberated from all your stuff, and you’ll have a more positive outlook!
Getting ready to move? Get some help with that!
Now that you’ve gotten rid of your clutter, your next step is to get someone to help you move. This step is made easy with our free and simple quote request form. Quickly receive up to 6 emails from trusted and capable moving companies. Compare their profiles, reviews, and prices so you find the right company who’ll make your move go smoothly!
