The Spare Room of Doom

Procrastination, decluttering and moving house are obviously not good bedfellows. Everyone procrastinates. Why? Often because they are not ready to make a decision and consider themselves “waiters”. Sometimes because they’re chronic procrastinators waiting for someone else to make the decision. Sometimes because of time constraints.

Being realistic, it has the same end result when it comes to moving house with too much stuff – a spare room of doom! By the way – it might not be a spare room. It could just as easily be the loft, the cellar, the outdoor shed, the garage. It is where the excess boxes are put when you run out of space – knowing that you will get to them in the end.

At least 50% of our clients have boxes from their last move that are still unopened. Or if they haven’t moved for 50 years, they have boxes from their children’s school days, boxes that they’ve inherited from relatives, etc. You get the idea.

So why have they kept them all this time? Because they haven’t been made to deal with them. They’re hidden away and have never had to be dealt with. If you put a box in the loft – it will only come down again when you need to move house. Fact!

But is this a problem?

Not necessarily – but you always know they are there. You always know that when you move you’re going to have to deal with them. Their clutter constantly signals to our brains that our work is never done. And as you get older and more infirm, or further in your career with less and less time, it can’t help but increase your unconscious anxiety levels. If it doesn’t, then that means you have no emotional attachment to it so why not just chuck them out.

So, what to do about it?

Take a leaf out of Abi’s book and “seize the day” when you can. She was juggling her house move around running her own business, which was thankfully manic with the easing of lockdown. Being “lastminute.com” there was no time for decluttering before moving house, so everything moved house with her.

As we were directing the removers, it became very clear that although she had moved into a larger property, there was absolutely no storage space. The choice was the loft or the spare room. We chose the spare room. This became affectionately known as “The Spare Room of Doom”.

Abi acknowledges that if the boxes had gone into the loft they would never have been seen again. Out of sight – can be ignored. However, with Christmas approaching and with family coming to stay (fingers crossed), she needed the spare room.

Knowing she would never get around to it herself, 2 huge decluttering sessions followed.

We opened box after box.

Some items were greeted with “OMG I’d forgotten all about that” and a home was found. But more often than not, it was “why have I still got that?”. Or “why did I buy that?” Or “I was given that but never liked it, do I need to keep it?” Unearthed were potential Christmas presents for friends. Items to be sold. And two car loads of items to be donated to charity.

Decluttering and moving house

So, while Abi didn’t have the head space or time before the move, she seized the day when she did have time. She knew she’d have procrastinated and never got around to it on her own. And if she had put the boxes in the loft, they would have stayed there for ever!

Procrastination, decluttering and moving house are not good bedfellows. But if you’re time short before your move, don’t stress. Just make sure you store your excess items in a room that you will have to get around to sorting out. Don’t hide them away in a garage or loft.

If you would like a chat about how the Homemover Specialist could help you move house (or clear your unwanted belongings), contact us on 01483 255895 or by email. For more top tips and latest news make sure you follow our FacebookTwitter and Instagram page