The move and all the belongings

When packing for the move begins

“Where do all these things really come from?” This is a thought that can easily arise more than once during a move. It’s simple to accumulate a lot of items, often without a clear purpose or function for them. When there are two or more people in the household, the likelihood of having many things that now need to be packed and organized increases even more.

There are two ways to handle the sheer volume of belongings. One option is to neatly and orderly pack everything into boxes, regardless of how many boxes will need to be moved to the new home. The other option is to take this opportunity to check what is still relevant and worth keeping.

Why do we keep all these things?

Going through your belongings before and during a move is a good idea, especially if the new place has significantly less storage space. This is an opportunity to get rid of items that have outlived their usefulness or that perhaps never served a purpose at all.

An important question to ask is why we hold onto certain things. Is it out of a sense of obligation? Do we keep items because they were given to us by someone special, making it feel wrong to part with them, even if they simply take up space? Or is there something that you or your household believe should be important? Reflect on whether the item has been used in the past year or if it is likely to be used in the near future. If the answer is no, then why keep it? Often, we don’t consider how we actually live but rather how we think it should be or how we wish it were.

Keep, sell, give away, or throw away your things

If the answer about certain items is that they haven’t been used or it seems unlikely that they will be used soon, then the question becomes what to do with them. Even if it’s an old gift, it seems unreasonable to think that the person who gave it would want it to be a burden. Most would probably prefer that it not be kept if it’s not used or beneficial.

Consider what should remain. Once everything that isn’t going to stay has been sorted out, it’s time to deal with these items. Things that are expensive, in good condition, and have monetary value—even if they don’t hold any personal value—might be worth trying to sell first. Online marketplaces and local selling groups can be good places to start for selling items you want to get rid of.

Alternatively, perhaps a friend or family member might be interested in the items you want to part with? Ask directly if you know someone or post a general inquiry on social media to see if anyone bites.

As a final step, it can be quite liberating to take a trip to the recycling center and dispose of items that have just been collecting dust in some storage area, or even worse, have been left out for a long time without being used.