The moving process is one of life’s best opportunities to get rid of a few unneeded items. Everyone loves stuff, but space is a commodity too, and in New York and other cities like it that space is hard to come by. Once confronted by every single item in their home, people can assess these items individually and determine if they should hold onto this item or get rid of it to get more value back. Value can come back in space, but it can also come back in cash since lots of items people get rid of can be sold second hand. It can be difficult to make confident decisions when assessing items that could potentially be “decluttered”. A few tips can help someone packing and moving their home start thinking about how they want to approach their own decluttering process.
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Start with some questions
Keep a list of rules or key criteria to consider when evaluating your items to ascertain in your mind if they provide more value inside your home or outside your item. This should take into account how these items will be used in the new home specifically, and how they could be used in the outside world instead. Questions to consider might include;
“Do I use this item on a regular basis?”
“How easy would this item be to replace?”
“Does this item retain any sentimental value?”
“Will this item continue to be useful in my new living space?”
“If I donated this item to charity, could it help someone in need?”
“If I sold this item, would I be able to recoup a fair amount of money?”
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Dispose, Donate or Sell
There are various places these items may go once they leave their owner’s hands. For example, an apartment renter can sell their couch to a neighbor when they move out and donate their winter coat to a local charity. Some items can’t find a new home but aren’t worth keeping for the original owner, and should be disposed of. Once the person moving decides they are not going to keep one of their belongings, they should determine which of these three options to proceed with for each item.
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Sell in the best place
Once someone decides to sell something, they have to find the ideal platform to make a sale. A post on Craigslist is always a good option, but there are other places to post items for sale as well. Sites dedicated for the type of thing you’re selling can work well, like AptDeco for furniture or Poshmark for clothing. There are various Facebook groups where certain niche items like music merchandise, sports memorabilia, hats, and potentially, whatever else you own that might enthrall an outside audience.
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Find the right charity
Some items, like cold weather necessities (blankets, socks, coats) or food can be best utilized as charitable donations. Often, charities such as the Salvation Army will allow people who are moving to schedule pickups for having larger items like furniture removed from their home. Those who don’t have the means or the time should capitalize on the opportunity to have much of the hassle of donating removed from the process. People moving out of their homes that have the time to take a few items to a local non-profit can really help vulnerable and downtrodden members of their community when they volunteer their time and excess items.
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Dispose items properly.
Anyone getting rid of something may think they’re basically free to leave it wherever they please. This isn’t the case, especially in large cities. Every city has its own disposal policy, but New York is particularly strict about when they allow large items to be dumped. Disposing electronics can be just as tricky. Anything that is recycled should be. Items that are just trash are harder to get rid of. Usually, apartment dwellers have building managers that specify these larger items that have to go in a certain place. Plus, these building managers may only permit these items to be disposed on certain days, to prevent them from building a pile that blocks off areas of the apartment complex. If time is a commodity, there are service providers like 1-800-Got-Junk that specialize in removing items and taking them to a dumpster.
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Author Bio:
TJ Peterson is the content writer and digital marketing manager for Oz Moving & Storage. Oz is celebrating over 25 years in the moving business. Over the years in the industry, Oz has learned from experience the best ways to dispose of extra items prior to moving.
