Deciding What to Toss, Donate or Keep When Moving Cross-Country

As you start packing up your life before moving cross country, it can be a bit eye opening to realize how much stuff you’ve accumulated. Sorting through it can be daunting, if not totally overwhelming. What should you donate, sell or toss? And what’s worth hauling across the country?  

Relax and take a deep breath. Sorting through and organizing your possession is a process. Take things one step at a time, avoid getting too sentimental and put yourself in a “get-it-done” frame of mind. To help you, here are a few tips and tricks you may find useful.  

How Valuable or Useful is It…Really? 

With careful planning and the right frame of mind, you can strategically choose what to toss, donate or keep when moving cross-country. Making space for what really matters takes some tough decision making, but in the end, you’ll find it’s time well spent. 

Start by considering whether various items will be easy — or difficult — to replace and how useful they actually are to you. Items that would be hard to find again or that have sentimental value are your keepers. Also, ask yourself whether you’ve used an item —including old linens, toys, decor and clothing — in the past year. If not, donate or toss it. Go room by room and be ruthless. Getting rid of excess clutter will make the remaining sorting that much easier. Check out this list of charities that offer free donation pickups. 

Sort and Purge in Sections 

Tackle one area, room or category at a time. Start with items such as linens and books and work your way up the emotional “ladder” to things with sentimental “pull.” Take breaks so you can step out of the moment and make objective decisions. You may find the task is less overwhelming and goes more quickly if you can get a rhythm going. If you need some motivation, just imagine how uncluttered and organized your new home will be without all this “excess baggage.” 

Move or Replace?  

Always keep in mind that the weight of your possessions will be a major factor in the overall cost of your cross-country move. Keeping this in mind, compare what it will cost to replace this item at your new home. If the replacement cost is identical or cheaper, it may make more sense to discard, donate or sell. 

Generally, only hold onto items that bring you joy, are unique or have real monetary value. Think photos, heirlooms, favorite books, collections and hobby items. Make sure the cost of having to potentially repair or replace them is covered. Pare down easily replaceable things such as mismatched dishware, old linens and mattresses that have seen better days. The less you move, the less you have to pack, unload and find space for. 

Where Will It Fit in Your New Space? 

Speaking of space, try and get measurements of the rooms in your new home, even if it means asking the realtor or another interested party to take care of it for you. There’s nothing worse than moving — and paying for moving — something like a large sectional sofa, wall unit or armoire and discovering there’s no place for it. Plan ahead to make sure your belongings will fit comfortably in your new home and still give you breathing space. Get rid of the things that just won’t fit. 

Do Some Research 

You probably own items that don’t necessarily mean a lot to you but may have value to others. If you have discontinued or rare items, they fall into this category as well. To find out whether you have trash or treasure, start by looking on sites like eBay to see what similar items are selling for on the open market. For more substantial items such large antique furniture and artwork, it’s probably worth your while to get them appraised by a professional. This doesn’t have to be a costly process. Many online appraisers will provide accurate estimates for a small fee.  

Ask for Input 

In many instances, you’re trying to strike a balance between the monetary worth of items versus their sentimental value. That’s why it’s important to get input from others to gain a new perspective on your belongings. Even if you don’t use these items every day, any sentimental item you feel is worth keeping should be thoughtfully considered.  

Your friends and family members can be a real help in determining what’s worth keeping. Be open minded about their feedback. They may point out things you can part with that you hadn’t considered. You can also gauge their interest in an item and even sell or gift it to them.  

Consider Hiring a Professional Cross-Country Mover Like United Van Lines 

United’s full-service moving packages for long-distance moves provide flexibility to mix and match the services you want and need, from packing and unpacking to standard furniture placement.  And the peace of mind you’ll have is priceless.  

Get a quote from United Van Lines today.    

Do you need help settling in? Check out our other blogs for moving tips and packing advice, as well as city guides and a wealth of other helpful, time-saving information.