NOT decluttering when you pack?

[ktgrok]

So, we don't know if/when we are moving, for sure. (dear lord, let it happen!) I mean, as long as DH's student loans don't keep us from getting a mortgage, we are moving, lol. Having a realtor come out later this month to take a look, give us advice to get ready to sell, etc. IN the meantime, I know we will paint (have some holes to patch from DH moving cables around, etc) and repair some stuff, and obviously, clean. It will be WAY easier to do that if I can get stuff out of the way. The thing is, we don't have too much stuff for a bigger house, we have too much stuff for THIS house. I decluttered ruthlessly last year - spent hours watching the Minimal Mom, etc. 

So, does it make sense to say, just pack away some stuffed animals in a big box, and then in the new house where kids have their own rooms there will be a few in each room, instead of all stuffed in ONE bin and always overflowing. Same with toys - they have some stuff that they built or made or whatever that they don't USE but would like to display, but at this point, I'd rather pack that stuff up and have the extra space. Then, they will have plenty of room in their own rooms. Etc etc. 

Also packing up some curriclum/books that I won't use the rest of this year, etc. (just put all the seasonal/holiday books in a box), The "nice" craft supplies we don't use much (fancy paint, pastels,etc), all that could be packed up. Same with a lot of linens, extra blankets, etc. I have ONE closet right now that I use for linens, shoes, etc. In a new house I'll have at least one full closet for linens, likely more. Right now in Fl I don't need a bunch of blankets, lol. I'd rather have that room for our beach towels. 

Does this make sense? I'm going to use bankers boxes - I have small, medium, and large - so the lids can come right off if we realize we need something out of a box. 

Edited to add: We are planning to go from 1500sqft to at minimum 2700 sqft. Family of 6. Plus 3 70lb plus dogs and 2 cats. 

Edited May 13, 2021 by ktgrok

[Anne]

Makes perfect sense to me.  You definitely have to get as much out of the house as possible for staging/presentation/sale purposes - but you certainly don’t need to get rid of things if you know you’re going to want them!

 

Anne

[Scarlett]

11 minutes ago, Anne said:

Makes perfect sense to me.  You definitely have to get as much out of the house as possible for staging/presentation/sale purposes - but you certainly don’t need to get rid of things if you know you’re going to want them!

 

Anne

I agree!

[fairfarmhand]

Do it. If I knew I was moving, i'd box up everything that i didn't need for the next few months and be done with that part of it anyway.

[Katy]

You know better than we do whether you have more to declutter.

I hate moving stuff we’ll never use. It seems like much less effort to me to unpack & put away less stuff, and we usually have a moving company pack and move us.

Edited April 13, 2021 by Katy
Nonsense is what I write when I have 3 interruptions when typing.

[mommyoffive]

I would need to do it because we have so much we don't need.   But if it is stuff you really want to move and will use there keep.  I just read an article from a real estate agent saying don't bother fixing or cleaning your house to sell it.  He said he could sell your house in 2 days now.  

Will you rent storage or just put in the garage? 

[Starr]

If you've decluttered then you are good to go. The bonus is boxing up some things early. You can see if you or the kids miss having them.

[ktgrok]

1 minute ago, mommyoffive said:

I would need to do it because we have so much we don't need.   But if it is stuff you really want to move and will use there keep.  I just read an article from a real estate agent saying don't bother fixing or cleaning your house to sell it.  He said he could sell your house in 2 days now.  

Will you rent storage or just put in the garage? 

I think we have room in the garage, but can rent storage if need be. 

As for fixing/cleaning, we have to finish the bathroom as it is mid remodel, lol. And things that are cheap, like painting and cleaning, we want to do to try and get as much money as possible to put towards next house. 

[TheReader]

From the title alone, I was thinking, "what?? why on earth not??" but then when I read your post I realized "Oh! Yes, that makes total sense!!" 

Having moved a zillion times, yes. Your plan is spot-on. Box up the stuff so it's packed/out of the way for staging/selling, but if you know you will use it at the new place, keep it. 

[Lecka]

I don’t think you need to declutter before you pack.  But when you unpack — some items will turn out to be favorites and some items will turn out to be things kids forgot they even had.  
 

So you might declutter as you unpack even if it is things you wouldn’t declutter now.  
 

I think this especially for kids’ items.

 

And then second for kitchen items that people have gotten used to not having.  Some will turn out to be favorites and some will be things that weren’t even missed.

 

I think it is just an avoidable process, because if you pack things up for a while — it can just turn out that way when unpacking.

And then on top of that, as things are unpacked they may not go the same way they did at the previous house.

I have moved before and done a good job decluttering before, and still decluttered while unpacking.  I think it is not realistic to totally plan ahead and declutter before.  
 

Still, everything done before moving will help with unpacking! 

We have never put things in boxes before showing, but a lot of people do box things up prior to showing their house — so it is a pretty normal thing to do — it is fine to have more things than you would keep out for showing or when getting ready to move :).  

[Arctic Bunny]

And honestly, if you’re painting anyway, you may as well take personal things off the wall beforehand, if that’s something you would do to stage, anyway.

[kbutton]

Yes, we did that, and it helped a great deal.

Our kitchen in the new house doesn't have a lot of cupboard space, so some of the seasonally used items or things we use only when we have company, etc. just stayed boxed up in the basement. It's all on shelves, and the boxes with the stuff most likely to be used are paper boxes, so it's very easy to run down there to get something if we need it. 

[Paige]

One thing to consider is that if you hire movers they may charge by weight, so decluttering before you move is a cost saving activity. I think it's easier to declutter as we unpack because you really get a feel for what you miss or didn't, but if I was paying for it instead of the military, then I'd try to declutter first. 

We always pack up stuff before we move into storage so that we can show and maintain the house more easily. 

[Carrie12345]

The way I’m approaching it is more about organizing/streamlining than the “traditional “ decluttering process.  
 

Last week, I went through a lot of the boys’ toys to find out what they actually use, like, and want. Got rid of a few things that were in poor shape, separated their stuff that had been jumbled together, etc. Now it’s easy to tell what’s going in which room.

I’m also packing away stuff I don’t want out at listing, and reevaluating as I go. Instead of “does this bring me joy”, it’s “do I really want to pack this, use up box space, unpack it, and take the time to figure out where it goes?” It’s a whole new level of questioning.

Is it necessary? Probably not. I’m more than doubling my floor space and can’t even calculate the storage space increase. So don’t feel like you have to just because.  
I’m doing it because it makes me happy.

[Jaybee]

Makes sense to me. Sometimes you don't really know what you will continue to want or not until you are actually in the new place.

One suggestion, though: Have a notebook or other way of making a list of all the things in the boxes, unless they are general items that you know where they will be by the box label. That may sound (and be) tedious, but having moved numerous times, it sure can save lots of headaches, especially when you are getting to the last boxes and not everything in the box fits the label (or you have several boxes with the same label). 

[Amethyst]

I don’t recommend it. When you get to the new house, believe me, you are going to want to be rid of all the boxes clogging up your living space. Declutter now. That’s my recommendation. 

[Wildcat]

I agree with the others. If you have already decluttered and just want to store things you don't need right now, then absolutely do it.

I'd probably start by stacking boxes in a garage or getting a storage unit. Either way, make sure to tape every edge & corner because bugs will find their way in. Hand openings, too, if you're using banker's boxes.

I'd also suggest having a system for boxing. This is right up a homeschooler's alley, really, as you can get as fancy or as plain as you'd like.

Each room is assigned a different color (I used colored card stock and cut each piece into six equal sizes. Each box gets a number. You write this number on five pieces of that cardstock. Each side of the box and the top gets a copy taped to it. That means, unless you have a box turned upside down, you'll always know which room and which box you are looking at. You also don't have to get too close to know what box you are looking at. The box stacked way in the back with lots of teeny writing on it might be too hard to read from six feet away, but it's easy to see the number 3 written in black sharpie on a piece of yellow cardstock. Since we moved over a period of time, this came in handy as all I had to do was take a photo with my phone of what was left in one storage unit after we loaded up each trip and I could reconcile it later with my master list.  Those numbers really show up well.

On a master list in a notebook, you write what is in Box 1 with the green label. In another section of your notebook, there will be a Box 1 with the yellow label and so on. This master list stays with you. I went a bit further and made little tabs out of that cardstock and created several sections in a spiral notebook where I listed the contents of each box so all I had to do was flip to the green tab and see what was in each green box.

This might sound cumbersome, but it's actually a huge help and added no extra packing time once I figure out that method. It also makes it harder for criminals to know what's in any given box. All they'll see is a stack of boxes with yellow labels,  numbered 1 to 8, boxes with green labels numbered 1 to 8, etc. They won't see things like "great-grandma's diamond tiara" or "garage tools" listed on them. This is good whether you keep things at home or in a storage unit. It also is a huge help in knowing what needs to be unpacked ASAP and what can wait until near the end.

Oh, and use those vacuum bags for things like blankets/quilts and off-season clothes. They work well for pillows and beach towels, too. They are excellent space savers and it's amazing what those jumbo bags will hold! 

ETA  if you get a storage unit, splurge on a climate controlled one. Seriously. They are a bit more expensive, but they are so much cleaner than the others. Even a short time in a regular unit will leave your boxes with a ton of dirt/dust and maybe spider webs. Then, you'll have to/want to wipe them all off (even the sides) before bringing them in to your new home, and who wants to do that? They also have fewer bugs, much less dust & dirt in general, and almost never have mice/rats.

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by Wildcat

[Tap]

When I was prepping for a big move, I rented a storage unit. I put all the items I knew I wanted to keep in there and got it out of the way. Holiday items, extra furniture etc. It was soooo worth the money to get it out of the way and to be able to just live with what we needed in the short term. 

 

ETA: The other nice thing about this method, was when it was time to move the items from the storage unit, we just backed up the UHaul and loaded it right up. It was super easy to load. We were able to see pretty much everything we had, which made loading the truck easier too. 

Edited April 14, 2021 by Tap

[Arctic Bunny]

Oh, I also numbered my boxes, but I used the coloured circle stickers instead of card stock. And if you start with least-used items, you know when unpacking to prioritize the higher numbers. And I used a QR code for each box’s contents, printed it out and taped it on the side. For that move, our household goods were going to spend overnight piled in the airport, then had to go on at least 2 planes and three airports. I did NOT want any boxes labelled “PlayStation” walking away.

[ktgrok]

Oh, great ideas!

I think I'll pick up colored stickers today - have to run to walmart anyway. 

If we get a storage unit it will definitely be climate controlled. 

Oh, and we will not hire movers, just rent a truck. So any boxes will never be where thieves (unless they break into the storage unit?) will see them. 

[ktgrok]

And....just remembered DH is color blind, lol. Maybe color coding won't be as helpful as I thought. 

Still thinking I'll used some brightly colored stickers with the room written on them, one color per type of room. 

Edited April 14, 2021 by ktgrok

[Katy]

8 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

And....just remembered DH is color blind, lol. Maybe color coding won't be as helpful as I thought. 

You can always combine color code stickers and numbers. 

[Carrie12345]

55 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

And....just remembered DH is color blind, lol. Maybe color coding won't be as helpful as I thought. 

Still thinking I'll used some brightly colored stickers with the room written on them, one color per type of room. 

I paid about $14 for color coded labels with preprinted rooms on them, so those would work even for someone with colorblindness.  
I dug through Amazon options to find ones without permanent adhesive so nothing gets ruined and someone else can easily reuse boxes..

[Wildcat]

16 hours ago, Arctic Bunny said:

Oh, I also numbered my boxes, but I used the coloured circle stickers instead of card stock. And if you start with least-used items, you know when unpacking to prioritize the higher numbers. And I used a QR code for each box’s contents, printed it out and taped it on the side. For that move, our household goods were going to spend overnight piled in the airport, then had to go on at least 2 planes and three airports. I did NOT want any boxes labelled “PlayStation” walking away.

Well now, that is doing it up fancy! LOL. Dh would have had a field day with using a QR code. I might mention it to him when we move again -- hopefully not for many years, though.

4 hours ago, ktgrok said:

And....just remembered DH is color blind, lol. Maybe color coding won't be as helpful as I thought. 

Still thinking I'll used some brightly colored stickers with the room written on them, one color per type of room. 

Alrighty--- then I'd get cracking on assigning each room an item! Say, everyone gets to choose an animal, sport, etc, and just print out copies of those to tape to each box. You can still do colors somehow but your dh will be able to discern each item, too.

One method I saw online was to give each room a number, then each box had a number. Like, kitchen would be 1 and the boxes would be 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 etc. I liked looking at the colored papers because I ended up with something like seven colors and I had no trouble remembering which room was which (plus a color for 'misc' where it doesn't matter where it goes), but with the pure numbering system, you can just write on the box.

The important thing is organization, so whatever method you decide on is the best one for you. Dh was amazed when he asked where some random thing was and I looked on my list and said "green box, number 5" and there it was. All of our previous moves had just been labeled by room.

[ktgrok]

So, I'm printing out labels - the 2"x4" ones, with the name of the room or whatever, plus a number. And different color for each room. 

So Homeschool #1, Homeschool #2, etc, and the print is in yellow. Then DH Office #1, DH Office #2, etc in grey. And room on the label to write a brief description, but will put full contents either in a notebook or use an app. 

Then I'll also put smaller labels that just have the room and number, not the contents, on the other sides of the box. Does that make sense?

[prairiewindmomma]

We always prepack, and I keep a numbered inventory. I recommend using a sharpie to write a box number on all four sides of a box. If you do have to go dig for something, it’s much easier to find. We have only had to dig twice, but it was so helpful. 
 

As you pack, I think you will figure out if there are things you can part with along the way. I do think that pulling stuff out of storage post-move also helps you understand your feelings about your stuff.

[Lecka]

Sometimes people photograph their boxes, too.  

[Laura Corin]

Spam reported. I don't want to click the link, but Chicago Movers sounds like a stretch for @ktgrok

[Islavista]

I get my free boxes on https://boxgiver.com/

[sheryl]

Well, family of 6.5!  Congrats!  Are you pregnant?  If so, I didn't know.

OK, what am I not getting about the stuffed animal scenario?  The choice is either all stuffed in 1 bin that is packed/overflowing or pack/storage?  Do you have a storage unit?  It sounds like you're staying in FL or you don't need winter wardrobe.

Well, we are working on our house to sell and buy local (Charlotte, NC). The painting here is here now prepping the house with pressure washing!  All of this has taken longer than expected.  Do you have another house?  Renting after selling and during your house hunting or carry 2 mortgages?  Are you building?  All of these questions to ask the length of time it will take for you to enter your next house.  

I would probably pack/store but that may be difficult for little ones to go without.  Again, how long will this process be?  I would allow each child 1-2 stuffed animals to keep on bed/snuggle and store the rest.  If your storage u it is close (if you have one) you could on occasion swap out (but I don't know if I'd cross that bridge unless a chlld was having a complete meltdown over a missed toy).

[ktgrok]

53 minutes ago, sheryl said:

Well, family of 6.5!  Congrats!  Are you pregnant?  If so, I didn't know.

OK, what am I not getting about the stuffed animal scenario?  The choice is either all stuffed in 1 bin that is packed/overflowing or pack/storage?  Do you have a storage unit?  It sounds like you're staying in FL or you don't need winter wardrobe.

Well, we are working on our house to sell and buy local (Charlotte, NC). The painting here is here now prepping the house with pressure washing!  All of this has taken longer than expected.  Do you have another house?  Renting after selling and during your house hunting or carry 2 mortgages?  Are you building?  All of these questions to ask the length of time it will take for you to enter your next house.  

I would probably pack/store but that may be difficult for little ones to go without.  Again, how long will this process be?  I would allow each child 1-2 stuffed animals to keep on bed/snuggle and store the rest.  If your storage u it is close (if you have one) you could on occasion swap out (but I don't know if I'd cross that bridge unless a chlld was having a complete meltdown over a missed toy).

lol, No pregnancy!!! DH is getting snipped on Monday in fact, lol. Typo for sure!