The hardest part of moving for most families is the sorting process. After you live somewhere for 3-5 years, you can accumulate many items that have importance.

It’s not uncommon for people to purchase things with the intent to use them – and then forget about the fact that they bought something. Does that ever happen to you?

When you live with clutter, the disorganization can be mentally exhausting. If you try to move all of those items, the costs could be much higher than anticipated!

That’s why known how to get rid of those hard to throw away items is an essential part of the moving experience.

Move Room by Room to Throw Away What You Don’t Need

The best way to get rid of the items you don’t need is to evaluate your rooms individually. If you try to tackle this chore all at once, it might leave you feeling tired, depressed, or anxious.

When you remove the stuff one room at a time, it won’t feel as bad. Here are some examples of what you don’t need to keep as you’re getting ready to move.

What to Get Rid of in the Kitchen

• Condiment packets. You can find more ketchup, mustard, honey, and mayo when you get to your new home.
• Unitaskers. These gadgets only serve one purpose. Although they might make one specific job more comfortable, it’s easier to donate them or put them in the trash. Egg slicers, herb scissors, quesadilla makers, and bagel cutters are all excellent examples.
• Old food. Don’t move your expired canned goods. The weight of those products alone is problematic! You’ll need to get rid of it, but try to have the items put into a compost pile instead of the landfill.
• Plastic silverware. Even if you don’t have proper silverware, you can buy it in your new home.

What to Get Rid of From the Home Office

• Expired calendars. Unless you have pictures of the family in an old calendar to keep, you should recycle these things. If you have important dates to transfer, do it before pitching the items. Better yet, put everything into an electronic one.
• Old cell phones. If you’ve upgraded your cell over the years and kept the old models, now is the time to get rid of them all. You can donate them to several organizations that can turn this “junk” into cash to help others.
• Greeting cards. Unless the card has sentimental value, it should get recycled.
• Receipts. If you operate a home business, it’s best to keep up to seven years of receipts if an audit occurs. When you don’t need that much paperwork, the current year is enough. Pitch the rest.
• Newspapers. Unless you plan to use them for packing materials, old newspapers should always get recycled.

What to Get Rid of From the Closet

• Mismatched socks. If the sock monster has taken most of your matching pairs, it’s time to get rid of them. You can always purchase more after you get to your new place.
• Old clothing. When you haven’t worn something for at least six months, it’s time to donate the apparel to charity. If you have designer brands, consider putting them up for sale or consignment. You might be able to pay for your move!
• Extra buttons, pins, and similar supplies. These items are perfect for crafters. If you know an art instructor, they might be happy to take those things off of your hands.
• Older linens. If you have old bedding and linens, check with the local animal shelter to see if they could use the items.

What to Get Rid of From the Junk Drawer

• Old remotes. If you don’t know what the remote control is supposed to do, you should get rid of it. The rule here is if you don’t use it, remove it.
• Expired sunblock. The quality of sunscreen and sunblock degrades as time passes. Get rid of your current supply when moving and buy new stuff upon arrival.
• VHS tapes and cassettes. Do you have a VHS player or a tape deck? If so, keeping these items makes sense. If not, get them converted to digital before tossing the older stuff.
• Product manuals. Although these manuals are useful, most of them aren’t needed for your new home unless you’re moving all of the appliances. You can recycle the papers and find the FAQ guide online.

These moving tips will reduce the clutter so that moving can be a straightforward experience. If you have furniture, clothing, and other gently used items, donating them to charity could result in a potential tax break.