How to Downsize Before a Move: Tips for Minimizing Your Belongings

Moving is the best forced opportunity you'll ever have to downsize. Every box you don't pack is money saved on the move and one less thing to deal with on the other end. Here's how to do it without spending three weekends sobbing on the closet floor.

Start 6–8 weeks before the move

Downsizing well takes time. Start the day you commit to moving. The closer to move day you start, the more you'll just throw everything in boxes "to deal with later" — and "later" never comes.

The four-box method

Every room gets four destinations: - **Keep**: comes with you - **Donate**: still good, no longer needed - **Sell**: worth real money (>$25 typically) - **Trash/recycle**: broken, expired, or worthless

Decisions get made once. No "maybe" pile.

Room by room

Closets

Pull everything out. If you didn't wear it in the last 12 months, donate it. Exceptions: formal wear, ski gear, maternity. Be honest about "I might wear this again" — usually you won't.

Kitchen

The biggest hidden weight in any move. Get rid of: - Duplicate gadgets (you don't need two whisks) - Specialty appliances you've used <3 times (bread maker, popcorn machine, juicer) - Mismatched glassware and chipped dishes - Plastic food containers without lids (or lids without containers) - Spices older than 2 years - Pantry items you won't finish before the move

Bathroom

Toss expired medications (CVS will dispose for free). Toss old makeup, expired sunscreen, half-empty product bottles you don't actually use.

Garage

The hardest room emotionally, the easiest financially. Camping gear you used twice, golf clubs from 1998, the kids' bikes they outgrew — all of it. If you haven't used it in 2 years, you won't.

Bookshelves

Books are heavy and expensive to move. Be ruthless. Donate to Friends of the Library, schools, or Little Free Libraries. Keep only books you'll actually re-read or reference.

Sentimental items

The hardest category. Strategies that work: - Photograph items before donating (you keep the memory, lose the storage) - Keep representative items, not full collections (1 piece of grandma's china set, not all 47) - Pass to family who'll use them now - Designate one "memory box" of fixed size — when it's full, you stop

Where to send stuff in San Diego

• **Goodwill / Salvation Army**: most clothing, household goods, small furniture
• **Habitat for Humanity ReStore**: large furniture, appliances, building materials
• **Father Joe's Villages**: clothing, household goods, supports SD homeless services
• **San Diego Public Library Friends**: books in good condition
• **Buy Nothing groups (Facebook/Nextdoor)**: anything someone in your neighborhood would want
• **OfferUp / Facebook Marketplace**: anything worth $50+
• **Junk removal**: for everything broken, oversized, or otherwise unwanted (often cheaper than a second moving day for the same volume)

What to actually sell vs. donate

• Sell: furniture in good condition ($100+), electronics, exercise equipment, designer clothing ($50+), tools, kids' gear in great shape
• Donate: most clothing, dishes, books, decor, toys, anything under $25 of likely sale value

The time it takes to list, photograph, message, and meet for a $20 sale is rarely worth it. Donate and move on.

What it saves you

• Movers charge by weight, volume, or labor. Cutting 15–25% of your stuff often saves $300–$1,000 on the move.
• You unpack faster and feel settled sooner.
• You don't pay to move things you'd just shove in a closet anyway.
• The new home starts intentional, not cluttered.

The single best moving advice we give: don't pack what you wouldn't unpack. If you wouldn't put it on a shelf in the new house, it shouldn't go on the truck.