Hubby is moving to a new office after 11 years.
11 years in one place means there’s clutter to deal with. As the wife, I’ve been helping. Strangely, though, he doesn’t seem to value my decluttering expertise the way someone else might.
I’ve mostly been trying to be supportive. Just being there as he goes through things and offering opinions when he asks for them.
The main thing I’ve encouraged him to do? Don’t make assumptions about piles (or entire drawers) full of things you assume are ALL sentimental things.
The most obvious decluttering advantage that moving provides is the opportunity to purge on two sides. Purge as we pack and purge as we unpack.
But it’s just so tempting to assume we know what’s in a pile or a drawer and blindly pack it up. He opened a file drawer and said, “Oh, this is all sentimental stuff from years past. Gifts and cards and things.”
Have I mentioned that he tends to be more sentimental than me?
I told/encouraged him to go ahead and look at things as he put them in the moving box because he might find things that aren’t sentimental. The more he can go ahead and trash those things, the less he’ll have to pack, move, and deal with on the other end as he unpacks.
He was surprised to find that there was quite a bit that he didn’t even remember, or that didn’t bring up any emotion and he could purge easily.
Yay for having less to move.
But y’all, this office-packing experience has me in full-on dread of his eventual retirement. Because there’s a wholotta stuff that looks cool and interesting and quirky in his office but I have no place for in my home. It may not be as breezy of a conversation when we pack up that office.
I’m grateful there’s no need for a stopping place between offices. The stuff can go straight to its new home, even if it can’t be unpacked immediately.
But that brings me to a good place to mention my new partnership with SpareFoot.com. I’m a spokesperson for them, and they’re all about moving right now. This time (end of May, beginning of June) is officially moving season, and it’s the time of year when more Americans move than at any other time.
If you’re moving and have some up-in-the-air-no-place-to-dump-your-stuff time between homes (or offices), check out their tool for finding the best price and coolest features on storage options near you.
SpareFoot conducted a survey specifically about moving and clutter, and (as a chronic clutter discusser) I thought the results were interesting.
And oh my, haven’t we had all of these discussions here on the blog:
Does the thought of moving inspire you to declutter, or does it completely overwhelm you?
--Nony
Ah, yes. The retirement move. Twenty-five, 25!, boxes were brought home to our garage. Which was already full from the Good-bye!-I’m getting married, and the Good-bye-I’m-going-to-Thailand-for-2-years, and the three deaths of grandparents inside of 10 months.
It’s a good day if I have put anything in the donate box.
That reminds me of the time my brother was moving for work, and the new company sent packers (they were paying for the move, can you even imagine?) and the packers packed a bathroom trashcan with the trash in it! What fun it was to open a box with a $3 trashcan and a bunch of used tissues in it!
Yes! Professional packers are trained to pack *everything*. They’re not allowed to make judgements about what is trash or not!
I knew someone when I lived in Thailand who had unpacked a bag full of garbage that had been shipped all the way from the U.S.!! It does totally make sense that they can’t make the judgement calls, but it’s so crazy to think of trash traveling so far!
I see what you mean by purging frequently! ?
I’ve known three people in my life who could have starred in their own hoarders show. All sweet, older people, they definitely had a thing about stuff. Because of them, I’ve kept a lot of what could be clutter out of my house … but I still have enough that a move would make me cringe. However, I keep my dream house in mind and continue to weed stuff out. When I finally get that house, there WILL be far fewer boxes than the last time.
The thought of all the work (decluttering/purging) and all the decision-making that comes with moving overwhelms me. In fact, we are preparing for a cross-country move after living in this house for 18 years.
I’m surprised at how much I’m ready to let go of, now that I see it means moving it after never looking at it after it was shoved in a box or shelf.
Loved seeing those statistics! I knew people stored things, but had no idea the high percentage of things stored out of guilt. (and yes, I”m guilty!) Reading through this is really helping me tackle the hard tasks ahead of me.
My husband changed jobs almost 3 years ago. When he left his old company he brought EVERYTHING home. He said he would go through it since he had 2 weeks between jobs. Almost 3 years later and he still hasn’t. And his new office has new things in it. UGH!
Here too, and it’s still on the verandah – ugghhh. I soooo want to declutter for him. But bit by bit he is seeing the benefits of what’s happening inside the house and so he has been a little more open to the odd suggestion perhaps he could decluttering some of his stuff. Every little thing is a win.
Yay for hubs seeing the benefits!!
I love moving! I love the deadlines that help me be more aggressive with my clutter. I’ve moved about a dozen times in 20 years of marriage, 3 different states in the U.S. and 3 different countries. In the last year I’ve helped two friends move and have another one to help in July. I really enjoy it, you can bring unsentimental energy that helps the process and makes the work lighter, while the person who’s actually moving is making hard decisions you can clean out whole areas and make massive, motivating progress for them. It’s awesome.
Oh Lothelena, how I wish we were friends! That’s an amazing thing to help with. I’m moving in 6 weeks and while I know I need to declutter, I can’t even bring myself to actually donate that bag of clothes I filled a month ago… What if I change my mind and regret it?!? I wonder if I have a friend here who I can convince to come be my voice of reason while I pack…