If you’ve lived under one roof for a long time, then it’s almost inevitable that you will have accumulated an excess of possessions. The chances are that each storage space in your home will be filled to the brim with all sorts of stuff – various odds and ends that have piled up through the years.
And you may not even realize how much clutter you have amassed until the time comes for you to move to another home. Sure, a house move is the perfect opportunity to declutter your home but things often prove to be a bit more complicated than that.
Even though decluttering your home before moving looks like the obvious choice, there’s another option that might work even better for you – putting some of your items in short-term or long-term storage until you’re well-settled into your new home.
Declutter your home or storage your items? Now here comes another move-related dilemma that may turn out to be tougher to solver than the classic hire-movers-or-move-by-yourself puzzle.
Read on to learn the advantages of each option so that you can make the best decision under your unique set of circumstances.
Decluttering vs. storage: which one will it be for you?
Declutter: Why declutter your home when you move
When wondering whether to declutter your house before moving or put some items in storage, your first consideration should be get rid of the items you no longer want and will not ever need again. Why?
Here are the benefits of decluttering your home when you move:
- Less transportation money. Long-distance movers calculate the price based on move distance and shipment weight, so fewer items to move will mean a lower final bill.
- Fewer packing expenses. The more belongings you have for packing, the more packing supplies you’ll need – packing paper, bubble wrap, and most importantly – moving boxes.
- Less packing time. Extra items to pack will increase the total packing time, so decluttering your home may actually be time-efficient in the end.
- More new-home storage space. Not moving items that you won’t be using anymore will give you more storage space in your new home – space you can use for accumulating new stuff.
- Extra sale money. When getting rid of unwanted items, you may decide to sell some of the lightly-used items for profit. The extra cash you earn can go directly into your moving budget.
- The satisfaction to donate. It can be very satisfying to donate gently-used items to charitable organizations that help out the people in need. Doing something nice for the others often feels great, right? Besides, you should be able to deduct the monetary value of the donations you’ve made from your income taxes.
- The fun to give away. Decluttering your home when you move can be beneficial on multiple levels. Giving away some of your possessions to friends can fill you up with a unique type of joy and delight. You do know how much your neighbor likes that comfy red couch in your living room, right?
- Less overall stress. Stress when moving can come from anywhere, and sometimes the pressure keeps building up even without a specific obvious source. Often, the mere thought of having to pack MORE items, having to spend MORE time packing, and having to pay MORE money to transport all that stuff will definitely contribute to the somewhat elevated stress level.
See also: How to declutter your home before moving
Storage: Why storage your items when you move
Considering all the benefits of decluttering your home when moving, it’s easy to see why it is a task that you should do at all costs. And while that’s true in most relocation cases, placing your things in temporary storage can still happen to be the better choice for you.
Here are the benefits of storing your items when you move:
- Sorting time saved. Possibly the greatest advantage of putting some or most of your things in storage is all the time you’ll save from not having to sort through your things, one by one. Bear in mind that sorting your stuff into Sell, Donate, Give Away and Throw Away piles often takes days, not hours, so the time difference is too big to ignore. So, if you don’t have much time to prepare for the move – that is, if you’re organizing an emergency move, then placing your stuff into temporary storage may be the only good option you have. /How to pack a storage unit/
- No post-move regrets. Moving house is a rather stressful transitional period and nobody’s safe when it comes to bad decisions. And in your attempt to minimize the transportation costs, you may get carried away with the home declutter project and give away or throw away some things that you’d never do under normal circumstances. And once you do, there’s no going back! So, to avoid parting with something that still serves you well, or worse – parting with something that has sentimental value for you, you can choose to store your things in a safe place until after the move is well over. Then, free from the overwhelming emotions of moving, you can revisit your items and decide their fate with restored calmness, reasoning, and logic.
- Save-the-day option. When you’re organizing a standard residential move and you need your household items to be moved from one home to another, then decluttering your home first is always a better idea. However, under specific circumstances such as marriage, divorce, downsizing, college, home renovation, studying or working abroad, temporary housing, etc., storing your things temporarily should work out better for you until you are ready to take back your possessions. /What to look for when choosing a storage facility/
- Short-term solution. Keeping your possessions in storage can be a good option as long as you understand that it’s only a short-term solution to a highly transitional phase in your life or to a temporary case of storage space insufficiency. Don’t think of storage as a long-term answer because that’s exactly when you’ll start losing money to cover the monthly storage fees.
Read also: How much does it cost to rent a storage unit?
Declutter vs. Storage: The final decision
As you can see, decluttering your home and placing your things in storage both have their distinct advantages. Of course, they also have their disadvantages as well:
- TIME. Decluttering can waste a lot of valuable time – time that you may not have if you’re forced to move out of your home QUICKLY. In such cases, temporary storage looks like the better option for you.
- MONEY. Storage can become too expensive too quickly. Renting a 5’x5’ storage unit with the storage capacity of a standard home closet averages $80 a month – that’s $960 a year for extra space where you can hardly fit a mattress set.
To make an informed decision, just sit down and think hard about exactly what you need. Here’s a quick formula to simplify things a bit for you:
Go for DECLUTTER when you have enough time to prepare for your upcoming move and you’re looking for a more long-term solution to your storage needs.
Go for STORAGE when you’re really pressed for time and you must find a quick short-term solution to your storage needs. And remember to opt for TEMPORARY storage to avoid losing money in the long run.
Good to know: What is full-service moving?
