Do you  know "How Long Is Too Long?" when it comes to keeping something?

This past week, I was working with a client who had bought a new home and was transporting all of his worldly possessions from one home to another.

First, the job was a lot larger of a task because no sorting was done ahead of time.  Everything went with him to the new home.  He put off the task and decided to just do it when he got to his new home.  (There is lots of extra time and effort and expense involved in taking this route.)

Second, a lot of the boxes that were being transported had been stored in the garage for the past 15 years! 

When it came time to sort through all the boxes, it was not surprising to me to find that he didn't actually want 90 percent of it.  He had moved it to the new home for nothing.  A lot of the items were in very poor condition, dated and not useable.

The lesson learned here is two-fold:

One, don't move to the new home without first going through everything that you intend to move to make sure you still want to take it with you and...

Two, procrastination can cost you time, effort and expense.  It takes a lot more time to haul the items, it takes longer to unpack the items and sort through them then just not packing them to begin with, and it costs more to move them when you have to pay a moving company to move excess items that you will end up getting rid of anyway.

Do yourself a favor.  When it comes to moving, do the work ahead of time by sorting through your items, putting like-items together and labeling the boxes clearly so you know what room they should be placed in your new home.

Finally, holding items in boxes that you don't open for 15 years clearly states that you just don't need them.  You didn't miss them all that time, you won't miss them now!

If you are moving to a new location, do it in an organized manner to save yourself that time, energy and money.  If you are overwhelmed with that prospect, feel free to contact A Better Space to get some help.

In the meantime, have a great Memorial Day weekend.

I have recently had several of my existing clients advise that they are moving.  One of my clients is downsizing from a home to an apartment, one is moving from an apartment into another apartment in another town and the latest is moving from one house to another.

My advise to anyone who is planning on moving is to go through everything in the home to make sure that what they have is what they want to take with them.  I guarantee in every instance, you will find that there are many items that have just sat around the entire time you have lived at that current location and chances are those items will remain in boxes when you move.  Why spend the time and money to move those items?  Just get rid of them. 

If they are in good condition, someone else can make use of them.  Either give them away to family or friends, donate them to a local charity, freecycle them by going onto freecycle.org or place an ad for sale of the item on Craigs List or some other local listing.  Another option is to have a garage sale before you place your home on the market for sale.  (See my previous blogs about how to conduct a Garage Sale). 

The bottom line is that you want to make the move as smooth a transition as possible and you can do that by only packing up and taking what you truly need.

Using the services of a professional organizer to help you make those decisions and help to organize the packing will save you lot's of time and aggravation when you move to your new home.  Moving companies love when I organize the packing with my clients because they always know where something should go.  It saves time and therefore saves money because they can move your items into the home fast and, therefore, you don't have to spend as much for their time.  

I recommend using my services to help you before and after the move.  When you get to the new location, using my services to organize the placement of items in the home can save your lots of time and aggravation as well.  You want to get your home settled quickly so you can function easily and enjoy it.

If you have any questions or concerns about an upcoming move, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to help you make your place A BETTER SPACE.

Have a great week!