Moving home or relocating? Declutter before you pack so you don’t take the clutter with you.
Declutter before you move
Doing some fact finding on the internet recently, I came across an article which mentioned the results of a survey on stress conducted by the energy company E.on in 2015. The survey had found that an average Briton moves home five times during their lifetime and that the stress of each move will last for more than three months.
At Carefully Sorted we often work with clients who need help with a house move and we know from experience that the most effective approach is to declutter and get organised before you move, not pack up all the clutter and take it with you.
One of our recent assignments was for a client who is leaving her small modern flat in a converted factory in the East End of London to move to a bigger space on the south coast. She is very excited about the move, as her new home will give her sufficient space to display her large collection of contemporary British art, much of which is currently in store.
During our initial consultation, we agreed that the best course of action was to tackle the store room first. The storage space is in the same building as the flat so our plan was to clear and organise it so that boxes of possessions from the flat could be moved there as soon as packed, sealed and labelled, thus streamlining the entire packing process.
Streamlining the packing process
The store room was piled perilously high with household items. The first task was to empty the space and see what was there. While doing this we found that several of the storage boxes were damaged, or were rather flimsy, and that some were so full that they were virtually impossible to move. We also found delicate items with inadequate packaging, so they needed our attention too.
We emptied the storeroom and put everything out in the corridor. Then we worked steadily through it with our client, identifying items for recycling and others for the bin. We replaced broken and inadequate boxes with better ones so they are ready for the move and divided the contents of some boxes (particularly those containing heavy coffee table art books) into smaller boxes so that they were not so heavy.
We wiped down and dusted everything that our client was keeping and put it back in the store room in a tidy and logical way. We are now ready for phase two when we will start work in the flat itself and put in the store room boxes which are packed, sealed and labelled ready for the movers.
Our client isn’t moving until the new year, so this is excellent forward planning. She tells us that she now feels infinitely more in control of the moving process and isn’t worried about the packing suddenly getting on top of her. She was also amazed at how quickly we worked and how much we achieved.
CONTACT US TODAY FOR A CHAT
If you are moving home and heed help with sorting, decluttering and packing, why not consider bringing in professional help? We think you’ll be amazed at the difference we can make. Get in touch today.
Carefully Sorted is proud to be a member of APDO The Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers.
Originally published on LinkedIn on 23rd November 2016.
