Are you thinking of, or in the process of moving home? Do you need to start sorting through the clutter and the gems but don’t know where to begin?
Is the thought of even getting started with the packing and organising already too overwhelming?
If you answered yes to any of the above then have a quick read through some of our useful tips and tricks to decluttering your home in preparation for your end-of-lease clean.
Why You Need To De-Clutter
First of all, why do you even need to de-clutter in the first place? Wouldn’t it be easier to simply pack everything up in to boxes or get the removalists/cleaners to give you a hand? In short, the answer is no. As many of you are aware, moving to a new house is an expensive process so anything that you can do to reduce the amount of time and work your removalists and cleaners need to be at your premises, the better.
Its also worth considering the extra time and effort required lugging heavy boxes from one home to the next if it turns out you didn’t even need what was in the box in the first place. Every box you bring will take up space in your new home as well as cost you money in removal costs.
End of lease cleans involve a top to bottom clean of your home and whether you live in a unit, apartment, townhouse or free-standing house, the less clutter and items left in the house, the better cleaning service you will receive. It’s important to note too that most bond-back services rely on your home being empty, so it’s important to make sure of this to maintain your claim to your guaranteed service.
Not only will you end up with a cheaper and better clean if your house is de-cluttered and left as empty as possible, it is important to de-clutter to simply help remove the junk in your life that you do not need! Everyone has that part of their house or their bedroom that is full of clothes or objects that they haven’t used for years but they keep hold of them with the justification of “I may need that one day…”. As a rule of thumb, if you have something that you haven’t used or worn for more than a year – it’s probably time to throw it out!
Finally, moving home is the perfect opportunity for a fresh start. Rather than filling your new home with all the old Knick knacks and belongings from your previous home, consider a more minimalist approach. The phrase – a tidy space creates a tidy mind comes in to play here.
How To De-Clutter
Once you have come to the realisation that de-cluttering is the way to go, there are a few different ways to go about it. If tidying, de-cluttering and anything cleaning related is not for you, then considering hiring services that can help you. There are professional de-cluttering services available where somebody can come to your home and help sort through your belongings and work with you to finally muster the courage to throw away those items you just haven’t been able to let go of.
A fantastic de-cluttering service is called neat. and run by a lady called Kate Gorman in Brunswick. Check out her website here for more information, pricing and ways to get a quote.
First things first – when packing and de-cluttering before a moving home, it is important to work out what belongings you are not going to need for the first month or so of moving. These items can be packed separately and will not need to be a priority when unpacking.
Next, attack each room of the house in turn, and keep three boxes with you at all time, for:
- Packing Box
- Donate Box
- Throw away Box
When assessing every item, make sure to ask yourself – do I really need this? If you are not sure, then chances are you don’t. If the item has use, pop it in the donate box. If the item is as good as rubbish, you know where to put it.
Do this for every room of the house and each time you fill a box, make sure to close it and clearly label it with 1) The room the items belong to and 2) A general list of what is inside.
The trick to this style of packing is as follows. The throw away boxes you can send to the dump straight away, no regrets. However, the Donate Boxes, do not seal them off but place them to the side. For ones you are unsure of, feel free to actually bring them with you to your new home. If you find you didn’t need to open them for more than a month or two, you can safely take them to the local donation store.
After You’ve De-Cluttered
Once you have sorted through your items, de-cluttered and packed, it is time to get your house cleaned. You have the choice of either working through each room of your home yourself and cleaning top to bottom, or alternatively hiring a cleaning service which offers a bond-return style clean. If you are completing an end of lease clean with pets, there will be some focus areas you may want to pay more attention to when cleaning.
Maid to Clean offers end of lease cleans with bond back-guarantees, so if you are feeling a little exhausted after all your packing and de-cluttering, feel free to either book a service online, or give us a call to get a quote. We offer our cleaning services not just in Brunswick but all over Melbourne and our end of lease cleans are tailored towards making sure you get your bond back, whether you live in a small unit/apartment or a brand-new townhouse.