To declutter before a move, start about eight weeks out, sort each room into four piles, and load the throwaway pile into a dumpster in your driveway. You find things in closets you forgot about, moving boxes you never unpacked from the last move, and a lot of stuff that doesn't need to come with you. The less you take to the new place, the less you pack, carry and unpack. Family Trash is a James Island rent-a-dumpster service, and this is how Tony would clear out a house here in Charleston, including where the throwaway pile goes.
When should you start decluttering before a move?
Start about eight weeks before moving day. Two months gives you time to sell and donate the good pieces before the trash pile gets loaded. Begin with the rooms you use least: the garage, the attic and the spare closet. They hold the most clutter, and you can clear them without living out of boxes.
A plan for the eight weeks looks like this. Weeks eight and seven go to the garage, the attic and the shed. Weeks six and five go to the spare bedrooms, the hall closets and the laundry room. Weeks four and three go to your bedroom closets and the living room. The last two weeks are for the kitchen, the bathrooms and packing. Each stage gets its own keep, sell, donate and trash piles.
Tip 1: Use four piles in every room
Use four piles: keep, sell, donate and trash. Mark each pile with a sheet of paper or a strip of tape on the floor so nobody mixes them up. Keep the sell pile small and realistic. If an item won't sell in two weekends, move it to donate.
You can sell a lot of small stuff at a Saturday yard sale, and furniture in good shape sells online or goes to a charity resale shop. Once the sell and donate piles are gone, the trash pile is what's left: broken furniture, water-damaged moving boxes, worn-out carpet, an old mattress and the busted patio set. That pile goes in the dumpster.
Tip 2: Finish one room before you start the next
Pick one room, empty it, and move on. Finishing one room at a time keeps the rest of the house livable. A cleared room also gives you a place to stack the boxes you're keeping, which makes packing easier later.
Tip 3: Decide on the maybe pile
Everybody has a maybe pile. If you haven't used it in a year and can't say why it's coming with you, let it go. Each item you keep gets packed, carried, loaded, unloaded and unpacked, and it takes up room at the new place.
For sentimental things, give them one shelf and a date to decide by. Keep clearing the rest of the room and come back to that shelf once the easy calls are done.
Tip 4: Measure the new place before you sort furniture
Get the room sizes of the new house or apartment before you sort the big pieces. A sectional that fills your current living room may not fit the new one. Measure the doorways and the stairwell too. If a piece won't fit or won't get through the door, put it in the sell or donate pile early, while there's still time to sell it.
Tip 5: Clear the rooms in the right order
Start with the garage and the attic. Those two spaces collect broken tools, old lawn chairs, holiday decorations you stopped putting up and boxes from the last move. Next go to the spare rooms and closets, where the old clothes, bedding and spare mattresses are. Leave the kitchen and the bedrooms you sleep in for last, since you use them every day. The shed and the yard can go alongside the garage: old grills, bikes, planters and patio furniture.
That order puts the bulky, easy decisions in the dumpster first. The harder sorting in the rooms you live in happens closer to moving day, when you know what fits at the new place.
Tip 6: Match the dumpster to the throwaway pile
The dumpster size depends on how much of the house you're clearing. For one or two rooms, a garage, or a move-out with a few pieces of furniture and bags of household junk, the 13-yard is the usual size. It includes 1 ton and 5 days.
For several rooms of furniture, the 17-yard has more room, with 1.5 tons and 5 days. A full-house cleanout goes in the 17 or the 22-yard, depending on the house. The 22 includes 2 tons and 7 days. Tell us the house and what's going, and Tony can size it from there. The size comparison page lays the four sizes side by side, and the residential dumpster rental page covers how homeowners use each one.
Furniture is bulky for its weight. A couch, a dresser and a box spring fill space before they add much weight, so on a move-out you size by space.
Tip 7: Load it flat and break things down
Take apart what you can before it goes in. Pull the legs off tables, unscrew bed frames and flatten moving boxes. Flat pieces stack, and a stacked load leaves room for the next trip out of the house.
Put the heavy, flat items on the floor of the dumpster first: dresser drawers, table tops, old shelving. Set mattresses and box springs up against the walls. Fill the gaps with bags and smaller items. Keep the top of the load level so it travels safely when Tony picks it up.
Wear gloves and closed shoes while you load. Old furniture has staples and loose screws, and garage shelves often have nails sticking out. Get a second person for mattresses, dressers and anything you can't lift with your legs.
When should the dumpster arrive?
Have it delivered about halfway through the eight weeks, once the first piles are sorted and the sell and donate items are moving out. With the dumpster in the driveway, you carry trash straight out the door instead of stacking bags in the garage. If it arrives in packing week, the trash pile is still sitting in the garage while you pack.
On a move, the driveway also has to fit the moving truck or trailer. When you book, tell us where the truck will park and where you'd like the dumpster, and Tony will set it so both fit.
You don't need to be home for delivery or pickup. That helps on a move, when you're going back and forth between the old house and the new one.
Time the pickup around closing day
Plan the pickup for after the last load and before you hand over the keys. Leave some space in the dumpster for the final walk-through, since you'll find a few more things in the closets and under the sinks. If the dumpster is full before you're done, Tony swaps it for an empty one. When the last load is in, call or text and he'll come get it.
Rentals can run longer than the included days if the move stretches out. Call and Tony works it out.
Common questions about decluttering before a move
How early should the dumpster show up?
Around the middle of the eight-week plan, once the keep and toss piles have started to separate. That way the trash goes straight out the door as you sort.
Should I donate first or throw out first?
Donate first. Furniture and household goods in good shape can go to a charity or resale shop. The rest goes in the dumpster.
What do I do with the sentimental things I can't decide on?
Give them a shelf and a date to decide by. Keep clearing the rest of the room and come back to them once the easy calls are done.
How many days should I plan for a move-out cleanout?
Five days come with the 13 and the 17, and seven with the 22. A move rarely happens in one push, so plan a few extra days and call if you need more.
Can I keep loading after I've moved into the new house?
Yes. Nobody needs to be home for pickup, so you can finish the last loads on your own schedule and text when the dumpster is ready to go.
If you're not sure what size your move calls for, tell Tony what you're getting rid of and he'll help you pick. Call or text (843) 800-0689, or book online.
Need a dumpster in Charleston? Call or text Tony at (843) 800-0689, or order online.
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