You never really know how much stuff you have until you have to move. And if you’ve been in your apartment or house for a long time, the amount of stuff that you actually have can be overwhelming. One way to start fresh in your new place is to get rid of what you don’t need and donate your belongings before you move. Passing your old items onto someone else is also a great way to give back, as you only bring what you need into your new home. But, like everything with the moving process, this will require some planning and organization to get everything in order before the moving company arrives. Below we will give a few tips on how to get your donations together and get them donated.
How to Organize Your Stuff for Donation
- Go from room to room: Whether you live in a small apartment or a huge house, it’s so important to stay organized during the moving process. Starting in one place and moving to the next room also makes it so much easier for you to assess and categorize your items to determine which is best for a donation and/or which will be moving along with you to your new home.
- Give yourself time: With moving, you might have a lot of time to prepare or find yourself in a rush. Try to start the donation process right away so that you don’t end up moving with stuff that you no longer want or need.
- Assess your items: In each room you have to determine what you want to keep and what items need to go. For some items this can be simple as you look at the things you barely even thought about over the years, where other items might be more challenging to part with. Think about them in terms of their use and functionality. Some questions you can ask yourself: Will I ever read that book again? Do I really need three of the same shirts? Will I ever wear that dress again? Will I ever play that game again? If you are answering these questions with a maybe or no, then you definitely need to pass them on and donate them. However, we get that this can be very personal for some people, especially if some items have sentimental value. Use your best judgment in these instances, focusing on items that are both useful and allowing yourself to keep some items that have value to you.
- It’s ok to throw things out: Items like old notebooks, papers, torn t-shirts, etc should best be thrown away and not passed along for donation or to your new home. Plus, you’ll feel so much better after you get rid of waste and rid yourself of junk before you move into your new home.
- Put your items in piles: Once you have all of the items that you will donate, it’s time to organize them. Divide your items into piles where the books, clothes, household items, electronics, etc go into their own piles. Keeping them neat and all together will make it easier for you when you have to drop them off at a donation center. In some instances, you might have to go to different donation centers based on your items.
- Pack and bag your items: The packing process when you move really starts by getting your donation items out of the house. In general, pack your books in sturdy boxes, clothing in bags and wrap your household items in newspaper or bubble wrap to ensure that nothing will break. Once everything is out that will not be moving on with you, you’ll find the packing process so much more easy and efficient.
- See if your donation center picks up: In some instances, places like the Goodwill or Salvation Army might be able to pick up your items from your home. This is usually the case with larger and high-value items like furniture or electronics or if you have numerous boxes and/bags. Saving you time and a trip to your donation center is always worth double-checking before a big move!
- Drop off your items: And if a drop-off is not an option, you’ll have to drive your items to your local donation center. Since the moving process is so hectic, you might want to ask a family member or a friend to help you out with this so that you can focus on the rest of the packing and organizing! There are also companies that offer those services for a small fee.