Welcome to your basement- The Kingdom of all the Clutter! An average person goes there from time to time just to get surprised with the content. The amount of unnecessary stuff differs from household to household, but one thing is for sure, it is always there. When relocating, the basement is everyone’s last priority. Just the thought of it makes you lose the motivation for packing. But even though it may seem like a mission impossible, it is actually the best place to start. And if it really seems like too difficult a task, you can always hire moving and storage Brooklyn that will be happy to help. Otherwise, you could follow our step-by-step guide to packing your basement.
The first step in packing your basement- decluttering
Remember all that junk you always wanted to throw, but you could never set your mind on it? Well, now you don’t have a choice anymore. You are relocating all of your belongings and you need to prioritize.
Here are some strategies for successful decluttering:
- Start by disposing of inoperative electronics first- this is the heaviest load, usually, and it takes most of the space.
- Take out anything else that is too heavy and has no use.
- Throw away the old magazines and papers before start packing your basement.
- Go through the old clothes and shoes once again to make sure there isn’t anything valuable there. The rest throw away.
- The same goes for the old kitchen equipment, jars, plastics, and similar.
Second step- organizing items into categories
Now that you cleared some space, you can make a workstation. What you could do next is to set the load limit for the items that are to be relocated. The higher the load, the more expensive the relocation. Check the moving costs NYC to help you decide on this. Once you have the load limit set, it will be easier for you to divide stuff into these categories:
Goods to donate
These are the things that you find too good to throw away. However, since you have limited space for relocating goods, you can’t take them. Place them in separate boxes and label- for donation. Depending on their value and use, find a suitable organization or people to donate them to.
The items that you are bringing with you
The items of the highest value and that are often used should be carefully selected. Anything that you haven’t used in over a year doesn’t belong here. Also, the easily replaceable items. Some of the examples of the things you should take with you are photo albums, your children’s scrapbooks, expensive clothes, and similar.
The items to store for sometime after packing your basement
Then again, there are some valuable things that you are ought to relocate, but not immediately. Heavy books, your bike, pieces of art or furniture, all these can wait. New York storage facilities are ideal for keeping those safe for some time. Alternatively, you can use your own storage if you have one.
Garage-sale potential
In the whole process, you might come across some expensive goods that you don’t need anymore. Why not sell those? By the end of the day, you might even earn some money. And even if you don’t, at least you got rid of them. Besides, garage sales are often fun. And it is a good way to say goodbye to your old neighborhood.
Third step- packing the valuables
Once you have everything separated and categorized, it is packing time. Start with the valuables. The things you are packing first are unlikely to be forgotten. Use quality supplies in the process. Different kinds of wrappers, protective boxes are a must. A lot of stuff often gets damaged in transportation. You want to avoid this. Additionally, take moving insurance to avoid the potential losses.
Fourth step- packing everything else
Having your valuables safely kept away will give you the freedom to pack everything else in any manner you want. You should do this with great care too. However, now that you finished most of the job, you can take a more relaxed approach to it. Prepare everything for donation, storage, or selling.
Last step- final cleaning after packing your basement
Final cleaning is a good practice, regardless if you are selling your house immediately or no. So turn your sleeves up, or get someone to do it for you instead. If you are selling the house, the clean basement can increase its price. And if not, you can use it for storage for some time. Keep your basement floor speak and span, you might need to keep your boxes on it. At least, until you figure out how to relocate even the last piece.
Bonus tips:
- Take photos of everything. During the transportation, it is likely that some of the boxes will get lost. It is easier to keep the track of your belongings if you have photos of everything. Or at least, you can write a list. Take a photo of your clean basement too. Why not keep a memory of a job well done!
- Packing your basement doesn’t have to be a tedious job. Invite your friends over. Play some music. Open that bottle of wine that you kept in the basement for so long. You can go through the memories together. Besides, you can use a different opinion on what to keep and what to throw away. Sometimes our friends and family know us better than we know ourselves. Tell them they can keep whatever they like. As long as that pile of stuff is disappearing.
- Prepare your new basement. While decluttering, you will probably learn a lot about a good basement organization. Use that knowledge to prevent your new basement from getting cluttered too.
Finally, decluttering and packing your basement takes time. So dedicate a big enough timeframe to do this. A week is an optimal time to do it within. But don’t get surprised if it takes more. The good news is- once you are done with the basement, packing everything else in the house will seem much easier.
