10 Items You Need to Throw Away Before Your Move

Moving to a new place is the perfect time to declutter and start fresh! But what counts as “clutter”? Sometimes, it can be really tricky deciding what’s worth bringing along and what to get rid of. But learning how to declutter your home before moving can save you time, stress, labor, and even money, if you need to hire moving help. Before you start packing, it helps to take a thoughtful look at your belongings and consider which ones really serve you. Let’s break down the everyday items you can confidently let go of before the big day.

Expired Food and Pantry Items

One of the more obvious points on this list, maybe, but it’s still worth outlining! Throw out canned goods past their date, stale snacks, old spices, and anything opened too long. Moving with food is often inconvenient anyway. Containers can spill and attract pests, and temperature changes can cause many foods to spoil during transit. Old, expired food products aren’t worth the effort of transporting.

Before packing, take some time to sort through your pantry shelf by shelf, tossing anything old or unsuitable to eat. For unopened, still-good items you don’t want to take with you, consider donating them to a local food pantry. If they’ve stayed forgotten in your cupboard this long, you probably weren’t going to use them, but they don’t need to go to waste.

“After helping 100,000+ residents transition into stable housing over the past three decades, I’ve seen what people hold onto—and what to definitely get rid of when moving. Expired or nearly-expired pantry items are the biggest culprit I see families struggle with. When we work with individuals moving into permanent housing, they often want to bring every can and box from transitional housing. But moving half-used flour, stale cereal, and questionable spices costs more in boxes and effort than replacing them costs at your new place. For a fresh start, you’ll want fresh food.”
Beth Southorn, Executive Director at LifeSTEPS

Broken or Mismatched Kitchenware

A move is the perfect chance to let go of some of your chipped plates, warped pans, mystery lids, and plastic containers without tops. These items often require special packaging that takes up a lot of box space, and they may not survive a move, anyway. Sort through your cabinets and drawers to identify what’s still functional and what’s simply adding to the mess.

Letting go of these pieces both lightens your load and gives you a clearer sense of what you’ll actually need in your new kitchen. This makes it easier to organize your essentials once you’ve settled in!

Old Toiletries and Cosmetics

Products like expired makeup, dried-out mascara, half-used lotions, crusty nail polish, and skincare items you didn’t end up liking are rarely worth bringing along. Many of these items have a much shorter shelf life than people realize, and using them after that date can render them ineffective or even irritating to your skin. Plus, liquids and gels are prone to leaking during transport, creating a mess you definitely don’t want to deal with while unpacking.

When decluttering for a move, take an inventory of what you actually use, not what you may someday use or might have used at some point in the past. Check expiration dates and toss anything that has a strange texture or smell.

Worn-out Linens

Worn-out linens are something you might overlook in your day-to-day life, but are worth clearing out before a move. This includes towels that have become thin, scratchy, or frayed, sheets with stains or holes, and old blankets that have lost their softness. Bedding in particular takes up a lot of space during a move, so if you have a closet full of old, ratty blankets you aren’t using now, they’re unlikely to feel any better in your new home.

Sort through your storage with a critical eye and decide what’s truly worth keeping. Many animal shelters accept old towels and blankets as donations, so they can still go to good use rather than ending up in the trash!

Damaged Electronics and Cords

Be honest, you’re never going to boot up that old Kindle Fire again! Safely packing electronics can already be a logistical challenge, and frayed charging cables, old headphones that only work in one ear, remote controls with missing battery covers, and gadgets that stopped working long ago all take up space without offering any real value. Moving these items doesn’t make sense; if they’re broken now, they’ll still be broken in your new home. Plus, worn or exposed wires can actually be a safety hazard.

Before you move, take time to sort through all your cords. Keep only what you actively use and know pairs to a device you still own. Everything else can be tossed or, in many cases, recycled at an electronic waste drop-off to practice sustainability during your move!

Old Paperwork

Over the years, it’s easy to accumulate stacks upon stacks of receipts, expired warranties, old bills, junk mail, and school or work documents you no longer need. Most of these papers serve no purpose and only add weight to your moving boxes.

Before packing, sort through your files and create three piles: shred, recycle, and keep. Anything containing personal information, like bank statements and medical documents, should be shredded for security. You’ll want to keep important identification documents like birth certificates and tax forms, but almost everything else can safely be discarded.

Single-Purpose Clutter

Single-purpose clutter includes those odd gadgets, novelty items, or specialty tools that you rarely—or never—actually use. Think of promotional freebies and unused decorative items that don’t fit your aesthetic choices.

If you’re not sure what to get rid of when moving, identify items that serve one very specific purpose and that you haven’t used in months or even years. Ask yourself if they’re truly adding value to your daily life or if they’re just taking up space. Of course, you probably already know the answer to that question. Most of these items can be donated, sold, or recycled, giving them a new life while you enjoy yours!

Clothes You No Longer Wear

Clothes you no longer wear are one of the easiest—and most satisfying—categories to declutter before a move! Over time, our closets accumulate a lot of different clothing items, but the average person only wears about 20% of the clothing they own. Clothes that don’t fit right anymore, don’t match our style, or are damaged beyond repair are often to blame! Go through your wardrobe piece by piece. Ask yourself honestly when you last wore each item and whether you even enjoy wearing it. If the answer is “I don’t know,” or “not really,” then why bring it with you?

Gently used clothing can be donated to shelters or thrift stores, while worn-out items can either be recycled or thrown away. Keeping only clothes you enjoy wearing and getting rid of everything else when moving lightens your load and will help you put together a more functional, intentional wardrobe.

Old Cleaning Supplies

Nearly empty bottles of spray cleaner, dried-out sponges, crusty scrub brushes, or products you bought for a specific task that you have already completed can all accumulate over time, and moving with them is inconvenient; they can leak, spill, and stain other items they’re packed with.

Keep only the essentials you actively use and plan to continue using in your new home. Ideally, only keep items that are unopened and clearly marked. If you have full or nearly full products you don’t want to move, consider donating them to friends, family, or local community centers. This reduces waste while still allowing you to start fresh and not risk a nasty chemical spill.

Anything That No Longer Serves You

Sentimental items can be some of the hardest things to let go of, but not all memories deserve to take up physical space. This is especially true if they cause you emotional turmoil! Objects tied to past relationships, difficult times, or memories you’d rather move on from can saddle you with extra weight you don’t need, both literally and figuratively. Moving is the perfect opportunity to reassess these items. Ask yourself whether holding onto them truly brings comfort or only prolongs negative feelings.

You don’t have to throw everything away, of course! No one’s arguing you should throw out a loved one’s urn because looking at it makes you sad, but there’s no reason to lug your ex’s old clutter that they never came back for. Letting go of painful sentimental items can be liberating, too! You can enjoy a truly fresh start without old baggage weighing you down.

“I’ve worked with clients for 14 years who’ve held onto items that symbolize unhealthy patterns or painful memories. During moves, I always recommend discarding things tied to past trauma—old journals that keep you stuck in negative thought loops, gifts from toxic relationships. One client I worked with kept moving boxes of her ex’s belongings from house to house for years, and it kept her trapped in unhealthy patterns. When she finally threw them out during her last move, she described feeling physically lighter! Also, get rid of anything that triggers anxiety when you look at it or makes you feel guilty. That includes clothes that don’t fit (they feed negative self-talk), broken items you’ve been meaning to fix for years (they represent unfinished business), and duplicates of things you’re keeping “just in case” (classic anxiety behavior). A move is the perfect reset for your environment to match the internal changes you want to make.”
Holly Gedwed, Owner, Southlake Integrative Counseling and Wellness

Conclusion

By thoughtfully decluttering—tossing expired food, broken kitchenware, old paperwork, worn-out linens, unused electronics, and even emotionally burdensome items—you’ll lighten your load, save time, and make unpacking in your new home far less stressful. Remember, every item you let go of is one less box to load and unload! In turn, this can save you additional costs associated with a larger moving truck or renting a storage unit. Start early, be honest with yourself about what truly serves you, consider hiring movers who can help you pack if you’re stressed about the task ahead, and embrace the freedom that comes with only holding onto what matters. Taking just a few minutes each day leading up to a move to focus on how to declutter your home and what to get rid of before moving can prevent last-minute chaos. Your future self will thank you!

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J. Dailey

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J. Dailey has an English degree with a focus in technical writing. When not busy blogging, find J. Dailey hiking, playing tabletop games, or spending time with cats.

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