5 Tips for Moving Out of Your Home

So you found a new place to live in, and you’re excited to start a life in a new house with a new neighborhood and environment. But don’t get too eager just yet. You still have one last piece of business in your old place — moving out.

Moving out may sound tedious. You’re probably dreading it before you even get started. You could just imagine how much work and time you have to put into emptying your old home. But with these tips, you can pack all your belongings and make moving out a breeze.

Categorize your things

Moving into a new home is the perfect opportunity to go through your belongings and declutter. Chances are, there are tons of items you no longer want or need. It might sound tempting just to throw everything in a box to make packing easier. But do you want to bring all that trash in your new home? Taking the easy way out will just delay the work, considering that you’ll have to unpack everything once you settle in your new place.

Make things more systematic and organized by arranging your items by category. Have three big boxes and label each one “keep,” “throw,” and “donate,” respectively. Doing this will make packing significantly easier, and you’ll be sure only to take things you still need and want to keep in your new home.

Sort out administrative things

Of course, the location of your old home is the address you used for basically all your subscriptions and bills. To ensure a smooth transition to your new home, you need to settle the administrative things you’re going to leave behind.

File a request for a change of address in your postal, bank, and other subscriptions. Settle your utility bills and disconnect them from your old home. Discontinue your insurance policy or have it transferred to cover your new place of residence. Doing these at this point will prevent future problems in the long run.

Pack the least used room first

Ideally, packing your things should be done several days before the move-out date. Especially if you have a big home, you’re not going to get it done in a day. But a tip for packing faster is to do it by room. Start with the least used room first, such as your storage shed or attic. And then move on until you reach more important rooms like the bedroom and kitchen. This will help ensure that you access priority boxes first once you start settling into your new home.

Prepare a dumpster for things marked “throw”

Since you’ve categorized your things, it’s now easier to load the things you’re going to bring in a truck and put away those that you’ve decided to throw away. Get a dumpster rental service, so you can easily dispose of those boxes labeled “throw.” This will also make it easier for you to do your last clean-up before leaving.

Clean up your old home

A whole day spent packing can yield a very messy home. But you don’t want to leave it like that. Especially if you have new tenants coming in, do them the favor of cleaning up after yourself. Simply sweep the floor when all the boxes have been put in the truck just to make sure that everything is all set for the new residents.

Moving out can seem like a tedious and time-consuming process. But with these tips, you’ll be well on your way to a quicker and easier move.