Your Complete Guide to the Pre-Move Purge

Parting is such sweet sorrow. Unless, of course, you’re talking about all of your household junk. By eliminating unworn clothes, out-of-date televisions and college-dated futons, your future moves will be a hundred times easier – trust me. You won’t have to pack as many boxes, and you could save quite a few Benjamins as well. Not to mention, it just feels so good to declutter and start fresh in a new home.

For many though, deciding what to keep and what to toss can be a challenge (I’m looking at you, hoarders). Even if you haven’t used or worn something in years, it’s easy to tell yourself that you might need it one day (spoiler alert: you won’t). So to help with your pre-move purge, we’ve written a step-by-step guide to clearing your house of unnecessary items, including information on how to best dispose of those belongings.

Step 1: Clean out your closet

For me, letting go of old clothes and fashion accessories is the most difficult step of the purging process. While it’s tempting to keep your passé tops and tight-fitting jeans on standby, it’s also important to remember that these articles of clothing will only weigh your moving boxes down and hike your moving bill up.

When sorting through each item in your closet, ask yourself these questions…

Have you worn it at any point in the last year? Think about it. If you haven’t worn this piece of clothing at any point during the last four seasons, then it’s probably not something you need to keep.
Is it on-trend or making a comeback? According to the experts at Vocativ , it takes approximately 20 years – from first appearance to resurgence – for a trend to come back into style in our culture. So holding onto a piece of clothing in hopes that it will return to the runway in 20 years seems pretty silly. If the clothing is out-of-style and you no longer wear it, toss it.
Does it fit properly? Over time our bodies fluctuate in weight, shoe size and more. If you’re holding onto a piece of clothing that no longer fits, it’s time to either toss it or take it to a tailor.
Is it in good condition? Despite the fact that you may love a piece of clothing, if it’s stained or irreparably damaged – it’s time to toss it. Chances are good you’ll never wear it again anyway.

if you answered “no” to any or all four of these questions, it’s time to let go (stay strong!). Create a donation pile, a trash pile and a consignment pile. If your clothing is damaged, toss it in the trash pile. If the clothing is gently used and salvageable – toss it in the “donation” pile. Goodwill, Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity are all organizations that will gladly accept your used clothing. If the clothing is on-trend and/or if it is a valuable designer item, toss it in the consignment pile and head to your closest consignment store.

Tip: remember that all of your closet donations and household items (highlighted below in step 2) are tax-deductible.

Step 2: Donate or sell unwanted furniture, kitchen items and knick-knacks

Before you move, it’s important to print a copy of your new home’s floor plan and try to imagine what will go where. If you’re downsizing, you should get rid of the clunky furniture you won’t be using in the new home.

If you plan to use your belongings again at some point, I suggest renting a self-storage unit. These units are a safe, secure and (oftentimes) a climate controlled way of storing your items for as short or as long of a time as you like. Use Moving.com’s “ Find Storage Now ” tool to compare quotes from storage unit facilities near your new home.

If you decide to donate furniture and household knick-knacks to an organization such as Habitat for Humanity, keep their requirements in mind. For example, here are a few of the items that Habitat for Humanity won’t accept:

Upholstered items with rips, stains, tears, and/or pet odors
Hazardous materials/chemicals
Unframed mirrors or glass
Storm windows/single pane windows
Metal blinds
Corner tubs
Cultured marble tubs
Broken flooring
Lighting that doesn’t work
Encyclopedias or textbooks

Tip: call the donation site to ask about their free pick-up services for heavier items, such as furniture and appliances.

If you’re looking to sell your furniture, there are several ways you can do this. First, I recommend looking into consigning – especially if the item is vintage or unique in any way. Other options include: hosting a weekend yard sale or selling the item in an online marketplace, such as Craigslist, a neighborhood listserv, Amazon or Ebay. Do a little research and see which route is best for you.

Step 3: Remove appliances and electronics

After tackling the heavier furniture and the mountain of pots and pans, it’s time to move on to your appliances and electronics. If the item is outdated or broken, you probably won’t be able to donate it. For instance, donation sites such as Habitat for Humanity won’t accept TVs, microwaves or dishwashers older than 5 years. The organization also won’t accept appliances, like a washer and dryer, that are more than 10 years old. If your appliances or electronics are rusted or need replacement parts, they’ll most likely be turned away from donation sites as well.

Note: Most organizations accepting donations won’t accept appliances or electronics that don’t meet today’s safety standards. To responsibly dispose of and recycle these items, I recommend looking into some of the big box store’s haul-away programs. Sears, Best Buy, Costco, Lowe’s and Home Depot all offer this convenient service. For metal appliances, you can also look into local scrap metal dealers. These dealers will pay you for your appliance (by the weight) and recycle the metal for later use.

If you decide to sell your gently-used electronics and appliances, you can use the previous routes mentioned in step 2 (i.e. online marketplace such as Craigslist, a neighborhood listserv, Amazon or Ebay) or you can trade them in at a particular store. Trade-in programs exist in large chain-stores, such as Walmart, Target, GameStop, Best Buy and on Amazon.

Step 4: Dispose of hazardous items and materials

Disposing of hazardous items and materials is one of the musts of moving. Moving companies won’t allow these items onto their trucks, and unfortunately, most donation sites won’t accept them either. Hazardous items include paint, aerosols, poisons, propane tanks, loaded guns, kerosene, fire extinguishers, gasoline, fireworks and pool chemicals – among others.

To get rid of these items before moving, make a trip to your local hazardous waste facility drop-off. Most counties throughout the country have several places to drop off hazardous chemical-containing items to ensure that these materials are disposed of correctly.

Note: do not drop hazardous materials in your garbage. This could present a danger to the public, the environment and to those picking up your trash.

Step 5: Clean out the pantry

While throwing away perfectly good snacks and canned goods feels wrong, it is, unfortunately, something many people have to do when they move. After all, there’s only so much canned corn your neighbors will happily accept. Thankfully, there’s an easy solution for those looking to donate their leftover, non-perishable food without the hassle of visiting a food bank. By hiring one of Move for Hunger’s relocation company partners, you can rest assured that those canned peas and cereal boxes will no longer go to waste! Move for Hunger is an organization that works with real estate and moving professionals nationwide to pick up the unwanted food items from those who are moving. They then deliver the food items to local food banks. The non-profit works with 650 relocation companies across 50 states and Canada.

Good luck and happy decluttering!