Get My Clean-Up & De-Clutter Before Moving List below!
I am hoping this list will help you with decluttering your home, spring cleaning or getting ready to move!
Most of us think we are pretty good at cleaning up
and keeping our house tidy, right?
But why do we still have so much clutter everywhere?
My family will be moving next years and getting our home ready for selling and the eventual move, I am trying to picture the house through the eyes of potential buyers.
Actually it turns out my house is far from tidy.
Even those who try to clean up and regularly clear out know the feeling of having just too much stuff.
I blame my husband. Well, not really, but the old saying:”
As soon as I throw this out I will need it again and have to spend good money to buy a new blah, blah, blah, is a sentence that probably sounds familiar to most of us.
Of course, I am guilty too.
I keep things with the hope they might fit again, like the cute pair of jeans I had worn before my first child was born,
or the special sweater that Mom gave me for Christmas.
We do tend to keep stuff like that because we hope they may fit again, even though they have been too small (or big) for years now.
We prepare “for the worst-case scenario” and keep a lot of odds and ends in case they might be needed in the future.
But be honest: How many times did you actually need any of the stuff that you had laid aside?
Of course, it makes sense to recycle things and not throw everything in the trash.
But what happens if we keep each gift bag, box and item because you think that, you could use it again sometime down the road?
All these little “maybes” end up to a pile of clutter in desks, drawers cupboards, the basement and the garage.
Being forced to clear out big time before our move I started to ask myself this question:
Keep or discard? And I decided to separate myself from the things that I have not used for years.
But the first thing I made was a list to cross off items day by day!
I still have eight to nine months to go before moving, and fingers crossed by starting now it will make it so much easier for staging the house in spring.
Daily Clear Out and De-Clutter List
Print this list and do just one task a day, cross off and move on!
- Old newspapers and flyers
- Old magazines
- Old department store catalogs
- Expired Coupons
- Perfume samples (use that day or discard)
- Shampoo & Conditioner Samples (use that day or discard)
- Nearly empty shampoo bottles (use up or discard)
- Remnants of assorted wrapping paper (really, how many tiny, tiny gifts do we expect to wrap?)
- Greeting cards with no sentimental value
- Socks with holes (you’ll never find the time to fix them if you have not done so by now!)
- Underwear with rips, holes, stains (Embarrassing! These HAVE to go. Imagine you had to go to the hospital and be in them!)
- Old T-shirts (unless you have a pug to dress for Halloween, or can use as rags, toss them out)
- Shoes that are too worn, too big or too small (donate if in good condition or toss)
- Old or stained towels (can get second life as a cleaning rag)
- Expired cosmetics (YUCK! these could be loaded with bacteria)
- Broken and bent clothes hangers
- Expired Food (only one place the GARBAGE, or compost if non-meat or dairy )
- Expired drugs (recycle at the Drugstore or recycle station)
- Dried-nail polish
- Worn clothing beyond redemption
- Tights with rips
- Broken or “almost dead” Pencils, Pens, Highlighters and crayons
- Cleaning supplies – use if possible, Note: remainders of various cleaning agents can NEVER be mixed into one bottle, as they might create dangerous fumes. If you cannot use them, recycle properly during hazardous waste days.
- Old sunscreens (discard. Sunscreens do loose effectiveness and may cause sunburns. Also don’t mix different brands
- Broken electrical appliances, (Dispose of properly!)
- Dishes and cups with sheer and cracks
- Purses that you no longer use or love (donate if in good condition)
- Instruction Manuals of devices that you have already disposed of
- Shoeboxes that you no longer need
- Take-out menus of your local restaurants
- Old Yellow pages and other Telephone books
- Receipts that you no longer need (keep only one with valid warranties)
- Old Calendars (If there is a particular picture you love, put it into a picture frame)
- Travel magazines and brochures (Oh’ boy, I have a whole dresser filled with them!)
- Christmas lights that are broken (Dispose of properly!)
- Outdated computer software CDs
- Old books that you no longer need (donate)
- Obsolete Documents from your university education or training, you will never need again.
- Cable to devices, you no longer have, or that don’t work anymore
- Houseplants that have seen healthier days! Remember when they still had flowers or green leaves?
Do you have any other ideas?
Please post your suggestions in the comments below!