After you’ve decided on a reliable long-distance moving company to help you with moving out of the province, the first thing you should do is downsize. Make your next move an easier one, for you and the Regina moving company that you hire, by decluttering and extricating yourself from all unnecessary possessions.
How To Downsize Your Stuff For A Move
Moving across Canada is an exciting venture, but long-distance moving can be tedious. It’s simple—the less you own, the less you have to move.
Abide by the One-Year Rule
It is one of the best downsizing tricks that you can follow. If you haven’t used or worn an item in over a year, the chances are it’s not that important to you. While there may be some exceptions, it’s a fantastic way to call yourself out on owning more than you need.
If you do have any inclination towards keeping a certain item, you should have a justifiable reason. For instance, maybe you didn’t have a chance to go surfing in the last year, but you still plan to use your surfboard in the future.
TIP: The first rule of downsizing is to ensure that everything you own has a purpose. If it seems useless, throw it out.
Try to Sell or Donate Everything You Get Rid Of
Ridding yourself of excess belongings becomes easier when you put some kind of purpose behind it. Maybe you want to donate some clothes to people in need or make a bit of cash to pay for moving expenses by selling your gently used things. Whatever your motivation, give yourself an excuse to commit to the process of minimizing your material possessions.
Go Digital in Any Possible Way
If you happen to have CDs, cassettes, DVDs, or any other form of non-digital media, you may want to consider digitizing what you own. Most music, TV series, and movies are available in digital format, for example, and you can save yourself plenty of storage space by opting to do away with the physical DVDs.
TIP: Look at your options and only keep those media items that you can’t find in digital format.
Keep in Mind that Everything You Own Has to Be Packaged and Moved
When you consider the work that goes into packing, moving, and unpacking what you own, the idea of letting go becomes instantly more appealing. Imagine your decluttering process as a tool to reduce the amount of work that goes into your move. You can enjoy the reward of having a more efficient and less stressful move by freeing yourself from any non-essential belongings.
Start Early
Downsizing can be a surprisingly emotional process if you’re easily attached to possessions, so give yourself time to assess what you do and do not need. Trying to downsize while you’re in a rush to finish packing is a terrible idea. It is more likely that you’ll retain an item you don’t need or hastily throw away something that you would have preferred to keep.
TIP: Give yourself the chance to declutter slowly, well before the move, so that you have a cool head while weighing the pros and cons of each item.
Make Sure You Will Have Space for What You Keep
Ultimately, it is the storage capacity of your new destination that determines what you ought to keep. Take some time to assess whether you’ll have more or less storage space in your new home or a similar amount to that of your current home. Everything should have its place, and you don’t want to start your new living situation feeling cramped or crowded by your burgeoning possessions.
Downsize in Moderation
It is highly advisable and beneficial to declutter when you’re about to move. Don’t feel like you have to be one of those people who rids themselves of all worldly possessions, however, just to embrace a minimalistic lifestyle. You’re free to decide for yourself whether a given item has value within your life, and some of us are more sentimental than others.