4 Smart Tips For Minimizing Your Belongings Before An Interstate Move

As you rapidly approach your interstate move, you may look over your large collection of belongings with a sense of panic. Each item will demand time and money to take along on your travels. So you will have to ask yourself if each particular thing is worth your effort. But you may initially resist the idea of purging the bulk of your belongings to simplify your move. When approached in a strategic manner, however, the reduction of your belongings can actually make the interstate moving process much faster and far less stressful. For subsequent moves, you will only have to pack up and go, barring the addition of many extra belongings during your stay. Here are four ways to approach this important task.

Start On Easy Areas

The real struggle begins when faced with the decision to toss or keep sentimental items. Starting with such artifacts of your life can derail the process before it even begins. Instead, ease into the process of minimizing your belongings by tossing out the non-essentials in the common areas. Bathroom supplies, kitchen tools and garage clutter are relatively easy to toss out into the abyss. If you are uncertain about a particular item, consider its usage rate and ease of replacement before throwing it out.  

Disregard Sunk Costs

Sometimes, perceived costs can trick your mind into keeping items that actually have no use to you now or in the future. Your perception of sunk costs can encourage you to feel the loss of the item much more acutely than you would if you had obtained it for free.

If you spent a lot of time or money acquiring the items, you may try to justify keeping them despite their lack of real benefit to you. Instead of considering how much money or time you sunk into the belongings, reflect on how each item makes you feel. Only keep things that make you feel happy or content, not burdened, guilty or frustrated.

Take Creative Photographs

Sentimental items are often brought out just to gaze upon when you are feeling nostalgic. When kept in the attic or basement, the items often suffer damage that mars their finish or destroys their utility. Keeping them around longer may just worsen their state until the item is a shadow of its former self.

You can preserve sentimental belongings in your mind and carry them in your heart by taking creative photographs of the lot. Make sure to photograph the items from every angle, so when the mood strikes, you can virtually turn the objects over and over in your hands as nostalgia washes over you. Once you are done creating your photographic displays, you can give away the items to others or simply toss them away without worry.

Use A Calming Mantra

With your interstate move date quickly approaching, you do not have the luxury of time to simply set this demanding task aside for another day. Keep yourself on track, and avoid the urge to toss all of your belongings in boxes, by utilizing a calming mantra. You can create the mantra from a meaningful saying or just choose words that feel good when you say them. The mantra should affirm your efforts and show compassion for the difficulty of the task at hand. The self-affirmations will help propel your productivity as you live up to the high expectations exuded by your words.

Calling In The Movers

Once you have reduced your belongings to the essentials, you are ready to call in movers, like those from Wheaton World Wide Moving. Your moving company can either bring in a truck for you to load up or you can have them handle everything from packing to transport. You may want to leave the moving tasks to the professionals to free up time and energy for securing housing or employment in your new neighborhood. You can also use the time to visit with friends and family before you move onward to your next destination. Strive to be as wise with your time as you were in minimizing your belongings to make the most of your move. 

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