Decluttering Before A Move: What To Get Rid Of When Moving?

Wondering what to get rid of when moving? Here are 60 things to declutter before moving!

Moving is incredibly stressful and overwhelming for most of us.

And the more belongings we have, the more difficult it all gets.

Not to mention all the costs that come with bringing all our stuff with us!

One way to make moving easier is to declutter and reduce how many items we decide to keep.

Practicing minimalism when moving makes everything so much simpler, more affordable, and less stressful!

In this article, I share with you 60 things to get rid of before a move, which you won’t miss in your new home.

Read on if you’re wondering what items are not worth moving and what to get rid of when moving houses.

How to get rid of stuff before moving?

As an (imperfect) environmentalist, I’m a huge proponent of giving things a new life and avoiding throwing stuff away.

That’s why I recommend selling and donating your items to people who will use them.

For the things that cannot be used anymore, try recycling them as best as you can and only throw them away as a last resort.

If you don’t know how to decide what to get rid of when moving, ask yourself these helpful decluttering questions.

They’ll guide you through the process of making decisions.

For more guidance, also make sure to read:

Decluttering before a move: What to get rid of when moving?

What to get rid of when moving: In the kitchen

Kitchen gadgets you don’t use regularly or that can be easily replaced with a simple knife or fork. It could be anything from an apple peeler to an egg poacher.
Food. Whether it’s expired or not, it’s not worth moving with food. It takes up unnecessary space and doesn’t cost much, so you’d be better off using things up or giving away the rest to friends and family.
Chipped or mismatched dishes. In your new home, you’ll want to eat from matching dishes and plates that are in good condition. Let those that are damaged or mismatched go.

Wondering what to get rid of when moving? Chipped dishes are great candidates for decluttering!

Appliances you don’t use regularly. These are just too bulky to move with. Unless they’re pricey and you use them all the time, consider selling them before the move.
Cookbooks. If you don’t use your cookbooks regularly or if you only like a couple of recipes from them, declutter them. Take a photo of the recipes you love and free yourself from that burden.
Mismatched Tupperware. Only keep food storage containers that come with matching lids and that you use all the time.
Scratched up pots and pans. Pots and pans that are scratched up and damaged can leach toxic chemicals into your food. So, for your health’s sake and that of your family, get rid of them before you move!

Read more:

In the bathroom

Toiletries. Just like food, toiletries aren’t that expensive to replace, so give them away before moving and repurchase them at the destination. Plus, you wouldn’t want them to spill during the move!
Old makeup and skincare products. Makeup and skincare products have a shelf life, and you don’t want to apply old, expired products on your face and skin. Throw anything that’s too old away. Don’t forget to also donate barely used products that don’t work for your skin type or that you simply didn’t like.
Cleaning products. Cleaning products are a pain to move with. The bottles can burst open during the move and spill the content everywhere. As they’re not that expensive to replace, it’s better to just leave them behind.
Old medications. If you have medicine that’s expired or that you know you won’t ever use again, take it to a pharmacy so that it gets properly disposed of. Don’t bring it with you.
Toilet brush. Toilet brushes are some of the most unhygienic things to move with, so please, leave them behind.

Kids’ stuff

Toys your kids don’t play with. If they don’t play with certain toys, ask your kids to declutter them (or do it yourself if they’re too young). Also, get rid of toys that are broken or that are missing pieces.

If you're wondering what to get rid of when moving, start with your kids' unused toys.

Outgrown kids’ clothes. If your kids have outgrown their clothing, give them away to friends and family members who have younger children. They’ll be happy to receive them, and you’ll move lighter.
Baby stuff. If you’re done having babies and your kids are no longer in that stage of life, don’t hold on to baby gear. I know some of that stuff might be sentimental but consider decluttering most of it. Baby gear usually takes up a lot of room and you can make another mama happy by giving it away.
Your kids’ artwork that isn’t sentimental. This category might be sentimental to you. But if you’ve kept all the drawings and art projects your kids have ever made, consider downsizing and keeping only the best.
Board games you and your family never play with. Board games take up a lot of space, particularly if we have lots of them. Declutter the ones that you and your family never play with and that you don’t like. Those with missing pieces should go too.

In the closets

Damaged clothing. If you have clothes that are beyond repair and that you cannot mend, try to find a place where you can recycle them. Don’t move them to your new house as you won’t want to wear them there either.
Clothes that don’t fit currently. If you own clothes that don’t fit you currently, do yourself a favor and donate them before your move. There is no guarantee that they’ll fit you later, and even if they would, you’d probably want new pieces anyway.
Shoes you don’t wear or that are just too worn out to be worth moving. See if there’s a recycling program near where you live for the damaged ones. Don’t forget to declutter shoes that hurt your feet as well!
Clothes you don’t feel amazing in. Not only should our clothes fit our current bodies, but they should also make us feel good while wearing them. So, if you have any pieces that you don’t feel amazing in, let them go guilt-free, regardless of how much money you spent to buy them.

Clothes you don't love are great candidates for decluttering if you're wondering what to get rid of when moving.

Excess hangers. If you’ve decluttered your closet, you may now have extra hangers. Declutter excess ones because having too many extra will encourage you to shop for more clothes.
Winter accessories and bulky coats. If you’re moving to a warmer climate, chances are you won’t need your cold-weather clothing. Or at least, you won’t need as many pieces as you do now. Only keep the most versatile and useful items.
Tarnished or broken jewelry. Jewelry might not take up that much space, but there is no sense in bringing broken and tarnished jewelry. It doesn’t look good, so it doesn’t serve a purpose anymore.
Worn-out or excess bedding and towels. Linens can be bulky if we have too many of them. So go through them before the move and let go of those you rarely use. I recommend only keeping two per category and person in your household.
Excess blankets. We all love curling up in a cozy blanket, especially in the colder months. But we can only use one at once, so if you have ten of them and only four people are living in your home, consider decluttering a few.

Read more:

In the home office

Outdated paperwork. Paperwork can be very heavy when we have a lot of it. So, recycle or shred any paper that is no longer relevant and that you don’t need anymore. It’ll be so much easier to move!
Cords and cables you don’t know where they came from. If you don’t know what electronics they go to, you won’t know better in the future either. Take them to Best Buy or Home Depot for recycling. You may also have unnecessary cords and cables that go to electronics you no longer even have.
Office supplies. If you have excess office supplies, give them away to friends and family members who would use them more than you. See if your local school can get value from them and share them with your community.
Old electronics. Have you kept your old phone, computer, or TV? Let’s be honest! You probably won’t use them ever again. Resell them if they’re still valuable or donate them. Do the same with your old VHS or DVD player unless you still use them.

If you don't know what to get rid of when moving, tackle your old electronics.

Accessories that come with electronics and appliances that you never use. I’m talking about those attachments that come with the vacuum cleaner, which we never reach for. Those accessories that are sold with kitchen appliances that we just don’t use.
Old journals and planners. The thing with journals and planners is that they’re useful when we’re writing in them. If they’re full or simply unused, we don’t need to keep them anymore. If some of your journals are sentimental, consider taking photos of the most meaningful pages.
Old notes from college or school. If you’ve kept your notes from your time in college or school, make sure to get rid of them when moving! Stacks of paper are very heavy to lift and move, so it’s not worth it.
Instruction manuals. If you’ve kept instruction manuals for appliances and electronics, remember that you can easily find them online if you need to. So, you can recycle them!
CDs and DVDs. Are you realistically going to listen to those old CDs and watch all those DVDs? If yes, fine. Keep the ones you truly see yourself using. If not, you know what to do.
Magazines. Magazines get outdated quickly, so there’s no need to move them to the new house. Recycle them or give them away while they’re still relevant.
Books you won’t read again. If you don’t plan to read certain books again, let someone else enjoy them before you move. Same thing if you have books that you don’t plan on reading even though you’ve never touched them before.

Decor

Decor you don’t love. Decor’s only purpose is to beautify your space and to make it feel like home. So, if you don’t like certain pieces, they don’t serve their purpose anymore. Let them go.
Throw pillows. Keep your absolute favorite throw pillows and let go of the rest. While they’re quite light, they take up a lot of space in a moving truck so there’s no need to bring the ones you like the least.
Holiday decor you never put out. If you have Christmas decorations or seasonal decor that you didn’t put out last year, you very likely won’t want to decorate with them in the future either.

Excess picture frames. Picture frames are something we can easily accumulate. Realistically think about how many you’ll be able or want to display in your new home, and let the rest go.
Wall art. Just like any type of decor, the wall art we have in our homes should be something we truly love and find beautiful. So, if some of the paintings or wall hangings you have don’t spark joy anymore, make sure not to move with them.
Half-dead plants. This one is a no-brainer, but don’t bring dying plants to your new house. They won’t even survive the move.
Lamps that you don’t plan on using in your new space. If you know what types of lights there are in your new home, you can decide whether it’s worth bringing all your lamps with you. Some may be unnecessary.
Empty candle jars or candles you don’t like the smell of. If you don’t like some of the candles in your candle collection, declutter them before the move. You can also recycle empty or almost empty candle jars.
Rugs that have seen better days. Rugs wear out over time: we walk over them all the time and they may have stains that, no matter what we do, we can’t get out. Declutter those!
Knick-knacks you don’t like or use. Knick-knacks are so easy to collect and accumulate in our homes. However, make sure not to bring those that tend to collect dust and that are annoying to clean. They’re not worth it!

Read more:

In the garage & basement

Packaging. If you still have old boxes that came with appliances and electronics, recycle them. They’re usually quite bulky and you probably won’t ever need them again. If there’s a box that you need to keep for one reason or another, try at least using it for packing and storing things inside.
Leftover DIY parts. Declutter anything that you bought for a home improvement project and that you didn’t use up completely. Get rid of those leftover parts and supplies because that project was specific to your past home. There’s little chance that you’ll need it in your new one.

Leftover parts from DIY projects around your home should go as well.

Boxes from your last move. Do you still have items boxed up in the basement or the garage that you packed up before your last move? If you haven’t touched those boxes and unpacked those items since, let them go. You won’t miss them!
Excess or rusty tools. If you have an overabundance of tools in your home, go through them one by one, and let go of any that is rusted or broken. Duplicates and triplicates can also go. Nobody needs five different hammers, right? Tools are heavy, so lighten the load before the move.

Miscellaneous items

Anything broken. There is no sense in moving anything that’s broken and that cannot be fixed. It’s no longer usable, so declutter it right now!
Gifts you didn’t like. This one might be hard for most of us because we feel guilty decluttering gifts. But if we don’t like them and don’t use them, why keep them? Let go of the guilt and let someone else enjoy them.
Fragile items. Moving with fragile things is always tricky. Things can break in transit, which is upsetting. So really think through whether it’s worth moving fragile items. If you use them a lot, it may be. If not, consider leaving them behind.
Bulky furniture. This is probably one of the most important things to get rid of when moving! Furniture pieces are incredibly bulky and heavy. As a result, they’re super hard and expensive to move. So, if there’s any that you rarely use, that doesn’t fit in your new home, or that you don’t like anymore, do yourself a favor and don’t bring it with you. Consider even selling all your furniture and repurchasing it in your new place; it might be cheaper to do so!
Non-essential things in the junk drawer. Junk drawers accumulate… well, a lot of junk. So go through your junk drawer(s) and commit to getting rid of everything except for the few essential items you have in there.

Let go of anything in your junk drawer that is not essential.

Hobby supplies from past hobbies. If you have supplies from hobbies you used to love in the past but that you no longer enjoy or have time for, donate them to other people who can use them now.
Sports gear that you haven’t used in more than a year. If you haven’t used that gear in over 12 months, chances are you won’t use it again in the future. And the good news is that sports gear is super easy to sell, so take advantage of that!
Anything that is annoying to use. Life is too short to have things that are annoying to use or that don’t work properly. Your home should be a source of calm, not a source of stress and anxiety. So let go of those annoying, inconvenient things.
Items from past seasons of your life that you don’t want to bring into this new one. Don’t hold on to items that you used to like or use but that no longer serve you today. Open space for new experiences, a clutter-free home, and a new life.

Final thoughts on what to get rid of when moving

I hope you’ve found this article about what to get rid of when moving helpful and that it helped you decide what items are not worth moving.

Getting rid of stuff before moving makes the entire process so much easier, less stressful, and less overwhelming.

It also helps you save a lot of money, and you get to enjoy your new home without all that useless clutter.

Win-win!

If you’re trying to move like a minimalist, make sure to also read:

What are the main things that you’ve decided to get rid of when moving?

Please share your experience in a comment!

Don’t forget to share this blog post with your friends to inspire them to declutter their homes before moving too.

DECLUTTERING BEFORE A MOVE: WHAT TO GET RID OF WHEN MOVING?

How to get rid of stuff before moving?

Decluttering before a move: What to get rid of when moving?