In July last year, I moved out of a large studio flat in London. I was moving to New York for one year, so there was no way of bringing everything I owned across the Atlantic. Looking back, I still find it hard to comprehend how much stuff there was in that house. I had a small amount of storage space at my parent’s house in Kent, but I was going to have to throw out, sell or find a new home for most of my stuff. At first this seemed like a mammoth task. However, after following these simple rules, I found it far easier to separate the things I wanted to keep and the things I didn’t.

Moving Out
Moving Out

Cheap furniture is replaceable

One of the first things to bear in mind is not to be too sentimental about furniture. This is the most difficult item to store and is certainly not going to travel anywhere with you. As an interior designs writer, I have a lot of furniture that I am very fond of, but there was no room for sentimentality.

Mostly, I was able to sell my unwanted items by posting on classified advertisements and contacting online companies that ask for unwanted items. In London, it is not difficult to find at least one person looking for the item you are trying to sell. I got a great price for my four year old IKEA bed. The other thing that dawned on me is that the only electrical items one needs to keep are phones and laptops, so you can lose the rest.

Find a temporary home for things you want to keep

The chances are that if there is something in your home that you really don’t want to get rid of, someone will be happy to take it off your hands on a temporary basis. I had a beautiful antique Dutch dresser and wardrobe and a couple of paintings I couldn’t bear to throw away. However, given their aesthetic value, it was easy to find friends who would take them off my hands on a temporary basis. I was happy that these found a place in a temporary home where they could be seen and enjoyed rather than being locked up in storage.

Clothes come and go

I am a massive hoarder of clothes, even holding on to the moth-eaten and torn clothes from my youth. But a friend taught me a simple system for choosing which clothing to keep and which to throw away. Work your way down in terms of time. Throw away anything you have not worn in the last six months. If you still have too many clothes, reduce the number of months until you have just enough items to fit in your rucksack.

Daniel Adams specialises in writing on interior designs and property reviews. Selling off stuff that he didn’t need provided a bit of supplementary spending cash. It also enabled him to get rid of a lot of unnecessary clutter and baggage from his life. He says he now tries to sell his unwanted items as frequently as possible, providing a bit more cash and a lot less stress.