Ditch vs Keep

It’s no secret that we are a nation of hoarders. So many of us develop emotional attachments to inanimate objects, and others just can’t bring themselves to throw anything out. While it’s nice to hold on to stuff that brings back good memories, there is a line you need to be mindful of crossing. Too much hoarding can have a real practical impact on your family’s quality of life, and it can even affect your mental health too. That’s why moving house can be a great catalyst for starting to clear out some of your possessions. Of course, it’s also worth noting that you need to be careful not to go completely the other way and throw absolutely everything. Sure, minimalism has been the hot new trend recently, but is it really workable for your everyday life? In the case of most families, the answer is no. If your big house move is just around the corner and you need to decide on what to ditch and what to save, here are some tips on how you can make the final cut.

Are you keeping it just because you can?

It’s often a lot easier to throw out large, bulky items simply because they are what we come across first during the packing process. Smaller, more delicate items tend to get away with surviving multiple moves as a result of blending into the background. Sure, one of these small items, in particular, doesn’t take up much room on its own. But if you have multiple versions of it or a big selection of small trinkets, compiled together they could take up a whole drawer’s worth of space. Look at your items with a more critical view and decide whether you are keeping them just because you consider it more hassle to throw them out.

Listen to your gut

Trust your gut feeling when it comes to throwing out or keeping. If you have some sentimental items in your home – maybe family heirlooms – speak to moving companies about transporting them safely to your new place. If you come across an item that you don’t have the same feelings for, however, you can probably afford to get rid of it. A similar test goes for clothes. You might have something totally dreamy in your closet that cost you a lot of money initially – but it’s not to your taste, are you really going to wear it again?

Do you have more than you need?

Coasters, pens, coat hangers, mugs… it can often be very easy to build up a collection of certain items, and these can end up taking up a lot of space in your moving truck or car. Providing the items in question are inexpensive to replace, you probably don’t need fifty of them in the first place. Larger, pricier items are the exception to this rule of course. But if you have what is essentially lots of different versions of the same item, chuck a few out before you start packing up.