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Ask anyone that’s moved home before and they’ll probably tell you that it can be a busy and exhausting period of time. They need to pack away loads of their stuff, they need to organize and label things properly, and it’s also a physically demanding process. Even if you hire a moving service to help you, there’s still a lot of manual labor involved.

But despite that, moving into a new home can be a great opportunity to actually make a bit of cash and declutter. Not only can you make enough to pay for all of your moving expenses, but you could potentially make your move a lot smoother and lighter with the right approach. So here are some of our tips on how to get more value out of your next home move.

Make money by selling your clutter now

If you’ve got a lot of clutter that you just don’t need then consider selling it. Auction sites like eBay are the perfect option for getting rid of items that you know have a bit of value, but you can also host garage sales or even contact people over the internet that may want to buy some of your rarer or more valuable goods.

This is a fantastic way to make a bit of money, especially if you know you have a lot of valuable things left in your home. However, you’ll want to do this nice and early before you move so that you can post the items before your moving date.

Save money by gathering moving boxes

One of the best ways to save money during your move is to save up any boxes that you might have. Decluttering is much easier when you can organize your goods into various boxes, and there are some cases where you might actually use packing materials like bubble wrap to secure fragile goods.

Moving companies like North American Van Lines usually provide these materials, but you could save a bit of money by gathering these on your own. It’s a lot better than throwing all of your clutter into large boxes, and you can even use some boxes to send to buyers if you plan on selling your goods.

Deciding what to throw away and what to keep

Not everyone likes to declutter their home. Home people just enjoy being able to keep all of their stuff because it means a lot to them. They may have rather useless but sentimental items that they want to keep, but there might also be barely functional items that they just can’t bear to throw away. If you’re in this group then it’s hard to convince you to declutter. After all, those items mean something to you and it’s understandable that you want to keep them.

When you’re packing up your stuff before moving into a new home, try and think hard about if or when you might actually use something. Some people prefer to just take pictures and keep memories of certain things and then throw away or repurpose things they don’t need. This is most common with old toys and electronics that you want to keep for sentimental value, but in reality, they could be worth more if recycled or sold for a low price to someone else.