The Best Ways to Declutter Before Moving: Tips for a Smooth Transition

Last Updated: May 19, 2025

Introduction to Decluttering

Anyone who has moved before will tell you that it is the perfect time to declutter your place and get rid of unused items, furniture, and decor that don't fit the look and style of your new home. Getting started is sometimes overwhelming because clutter can build up over a decade or so, but decluttering before a move will not only help a listed home sell faster, but also improve the organization of the move, and perhaps save you money by not moving stuff that has just been taking up space. Let's jump right in and talk about how and where to start.

Pre-Move Planning

Like every job, game planning how to declutter before moving is the essential first step. Some of the planning will depend on how much time you have leading up to the move date. Suppose you have an extended period of time. In that case, you have more options about how to dispose of items you don't plan on keeping, like a garage sale, listing unwanted items on neighborhood forums, or using Facebook Marketplace.

If your timeline is compressed, you may have to donate, recycle, or toss the unwanted stuff. Professional movers can work faster in a house with less clutter, so using two key thought processes will save them time and you money.

Plan Ahead

Use your move date and work backwards, be realistic about timelines, and scope out how to dispose of unwanted items. Create a list of how and where to get rid of stuff, like the following:

Moving or garage sale—If you have time, your trash is another man's treasure. Selling some stuff may even offset some moving costs.
Local recycling centers—Use them to get rid of old appliances, yard debris, and any other items that will not be moving with you.
Local charities—Goodwill, local homeless shelters, the Salvation Army, and ReStore are great places to donate unwanted items that may help others. Check with your local charities, as many offer free pickup, and you can get a nice tax write-off.
Landfills/garbage pickup—We recommend this as the last stop on a decluttering tour. Remember to dispose of paint, chemicals, and other non-biodegradable items responsibly.

Start Early

By starting early in your move process, you can identify items that won't be coming to your new space, begin packing seldom-used items, and stage them for the move. It's also easier to do a little at a time, instead of waiting and doing it all at once. Decluttering before your move helps with:

Staging your home when you list it for sale.
Packing and organizing the remaining items.
Saving money by not moving items that will take up space in your new home.
Eliminating stressful time crunches in the future.

Initiating the Decluttering Process

Start by going through each room of the house and determining which items to keep, sell, donate, and toss. It's helpful to have boxes, bins, and bags to sort items into. Do one room at a time, and move to the next room only when you finish placing items into the keep and getting rid of collections.

Strategies for Effective Decluttering

Ask five different people, and you'll get five different answers about the approach. Proper mindset and a somewhat brutal objectivity are typically the tactics that people use, including:

The one-year rule. Simply ask yourself how often you have used items in the last year (exceptions may be holiday decor). If the answer is never or very seldom, then those items are good candidates for disposal.
Ask yourself if the item will be helpful in your new place. If it doesn't (like a lawn mower when you're moving into an apartment), sell or donate it.
Start with the rooms and items you use the least. Storage rooms, garages, and formal areas like dining rooms all have items that get used infrequently. You can pack what you want, sell or donate what you don't, and then stage the boxes for quick loading in each room or garage.
In each room, create piles (preferably boxes or plastic bins) for keeping, tossing, and donating/selling items.
Focus on one room at a time to start decluttering.
Proper motivation never hurts. For neat freaks, that motivation comes in the form of a tidy, organized home and packing job. For others, it saves money from selling unwanted items that can be put towards something new.

Decluttering by Floor Plan

Your real estate agent will tell you that minimizing clutter will help sell your home, so pay attention to what they say. Start decluttering by saying to yourself, "least to most," which holds for both rooms and items. Using this mantra will keep you focused on the order of the rooms to pack and what to start packing versus what to get rid of. The order will depend on your personal needs, so you do you.

How to Declutter Your Kitchen

Your kitchen is probably one of the most-used rooms in the house. However, there's still opportunities to start early with decluttering.

Start with your pantry, looking for outdated items first, like spices and canned foods. Toss them and move on.
Eat down what is left. Simply put, save money on eating out, and you'll also have less pantry stuff to pack or donate.
Move on to your fridge and freezer and do the same exercise. Perishable items don't do well in moves, so use them up, and you'll have less to worry about throwing away when you pack.
Pack up items you use less often, like small appliances, certain dishware, pots/pans, and cookbooks. This is great for creating counter space and is a nice look if your house is for sale. Donate or sell anything you won't need at the new place.
Hold back what is needed until the move date, and store the rest. If you can live with paper plates and Solo cups, do it.

How to Declutter Your Bathroom

Master bathrooms are typically the richest opportunities for getting rid of bathroom clutter. Like the kitchen, master bathrooms are high-use rooms with many essential items. So start small, take a deep breath, and hunt for the stuff that can go away or be packed now.

Start with your countertops, especially if your home is still for sale. You want potential buyers to see counter space, not your meds or beauty routine.
Check for any outdated health and beauty items and toss them. Medications lose effectiveness and cosmetics break down over time, so keep what is good and trash what isn't.
Move next to your under-sink cabinets and do the same exercise. Toss or donate anything that doesn't need to go with you to the new space.
After your sink cabinets, move on to your linen closet. Old towels, bedding, and other items stored in the space are good candidates for garage sales or donations.
Finally, if there are opportunities to clean up storage areas in the shower and around the tub, do so. Keep just what's needed daily until move-in day.

How to Declutter Your Bedroom

Many people will vouch for starting out with decluttering your closet. But, we suggest following the following order to start.

We suggest focusing on decluttering the drawers in your bedroom furniture first. Drawers are often full of junk and items we don't actually need. Clearing nightstand drawers first helps you quickly determine what you don't need. Then you can organize and store what's really needed until the move date. Pack the rest.
Then move on to anything under the bed, asking once again whether or not items have been used in the last year. If they haven't, then sell, donate, or toss. If they are used, but infrequently, pack them up now.
Then look for decor and/or other items that are on the floor, decide if you'll keep. Pack what you will, and build your donation box or throw away box. Clear what you can as fast as you can.
Finally, tackle your closet. The master closet is usually a target-rich environment. If you're going to use a professional organizer, this is the room to use them for. Go through your clothes and ask yourself if they still fit, if you've worn them in the last 2 years, or if they have stains or defects that keep you from wearing them. If you're not using them, sell or donate what you know won't be used. If anything is used but not now (think seasonality), pack it up now and stage the boxes where it makes sense.

How to Declutter Your Dining Room

If you're not doing dinner parties every night, there's a strong chance your dining room table is a magnet for clutter. So when getting ready for a move, we recommend you start by:

The basics, like clearing off your dining room table of any unwanted papers, mail, or anything else taking up space.
Then, move on to any dish cupboards/China cabinets and look for items that fall into the one-year category, as well as inventory what gets used and what doesn't. Sell or donate what you don't need, and pack the rest in dish boxes with dividers. Do the same with any wall decor and pictures. Decluttering will help stage your home, as well as reduce packing time during your move.

How to Declutter Your Living Room or Foyer

While there aren't many places where tons of clutter can build up in a living room, your end tables and coffee tables are where this usually occurs. Start by:

Clearing unwanted decor, books, and papers. Pack anything you know you want to keep and sell, donate, or trash what's left.
If you already know the home you're moving to has a different size or layout, take an inventory of furniture and whether pieces will fit or not. If you know certain items of furniture won't fit or don't go with the style of the house, sell or donate them. Doing so will prevent you from taking up space on the moving truck and save you money as well.
Pack everything else that will be moving with you that you can as early as possible. Your realtor will tell you the same thing: people want to be able to envision what the space will look like.

How to Declutter Your Home Office

The home office seems to be one place where clutter is more acceptable, but use the time before your move date to not only clean up but also clear out old documents and anything else you don't want to move. If you're still trying to sell your house, the order might be different than what we recommend, but for moving purposes only, suggest you start with:

Filing cabinets are already heavy, so making a purge of really old documents that are no longer necessary will help with both weight and create added space for other items. If you don't have a document shredder or don't want to spend a lot of time shredding them, there are services that can do it for you.
Then move on to your desktop, you'll improve your productivity as well as the room's appearance by clearing off and getting rid of unnecessary items, papers, and other things.
Bookcases/Shelves typically have a lot of items that are used seldom, but take up space. Inventory what you have, what gets used, and what has enough sentimental value to keep. Everything else is fair game to dispose of or pack early in your move process.

Resources and Professional Help

It's okay if you're feeling overwhelmed at the start, but if you're really struggling, consider getting outside help from a professional organizer, family, and friends. It may be awkward to have a stranger helping go through your stuff, but outside opinions and feedback might just be the push you need to get a major declutter done.

It's also good to line up resources, such as:

Shredding service companies are available to remove old personal documents safely.
Donation centers and/or recycling facilities, to help you get rid of unwanted items and reduce waste.
HOA guidelines about garage/moving sales to determine when they are allowed and whether signs can be put up.
Local charities that offer pickup services for larger items and boxes.
Consider hiring a moving company to help with the physical aspects of the move and to make the process less stressful and more manageable.

Conclusion and the Big Move

Use these tips to efficiently declutter every room in your home to dispose of things that no longer serve a purpose, and you'll be that much closer to an easier pack and more efficient move from your current home into your new space.

If you're running short on time while preparing to move and need help packing, just give us a call. You can always book our professional packers to help streamline your move.

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