If you’re thinking of adding onto your home because it’s becoming too cramped, but can’t afford to have it done, then think about clearing your home of junk. You’d be surprised at how much living space you can open up by just getting rid of items you no longer use.
Done properly this can take a lot of time to go through each room. Yet, think how much time it would have taken for a remodeling project.
Start with The Storage Areas
When starting to clean out your home don’t begin in the main living quarters. Begin with your attic, basement, and garage. Why? Because by clearing out these spaces you get more room for storage. Look for old toys, discarded appliances, clothing. People are often surprised when they start going through their attics and basements and discover how many old items they boxed up and set aside and don’t have any real use for them. It was just more convenient to set them aside at the time, than to have hauled them away.
In the garage look for broken tools, old bikes, unused sporting equipment, and maybe left over material from remodeling projects.
Then begin going through hall closets, looking for old clothes, jackets and shoes that no longer fit or are out of style. Ideally these are items that can be donated, but if you don’t have time to do this, don’t worry. Many junk removal companies, like ours, will go through your junk when hauling it away to look for any items we can donate to local charities. The only items we take to the landfill is junk that can’t be recycled or put to use by someone in need.
Divide Your Items into Three Groups
Now that you’ve gone through storage areas, begin with the other rooms. As you sort items, think of how they can go into one of three groups. The first are items that you use and want to remain in the room. The second are things you want to throw away. The last group are items you want to keep, but either don’t use very often or have sentimental value.
Once you have a pile of seldom used items you want to keep, then box them up in sturdy boxes and label them. Stack them in your attic or basement. The more you can stack up, the more room you have for additional items.
In the kitchen you might find that every time you open a cupboard, half the contents fall out. How many pots and pans do you really need? And do all those lids go to anything anymore? Go through cooking utensils. In the food pantry look for out of date items.
Going through the kid’s rooms go through drawers, closets and look under the bed. You’re not just looking for old clothes that no longer fit them, but school books from previous years or toys they no longer use.
Big items that can be discarded are old vacuum cleaners, old TV’s, DVD’s, games, video game consoles, etc. Maybe some of these things can be sold in a yard sale, but is that something you really want to deal with. By the time you advertise the sale and spend a day sitting outside dealing with people who want prices even lower than what you listed items at, it can be more of a headache than a way to really make money.
Making The Tough Decisions About What To Keep
As you go through everything ask yourselves these questions:
- Have you used it in the past year?
- Is it outdated or no longer is style?
- Have you or someone in the family outgrown it.
- Are they still interested in this game or activity?
- Is it broken, torn or are pieces missing?
- Does it have sentimental value?
- Do you keep it because of how much you paid too much for it?
By the time you’re done you might not need to add onto the home. You might have had enough space all along. Then call a junk removal company to make sure the items you’ve discarded no longer invade your living space. All you have to do is point out the junk and they’ll haul it all away.
