Tips for cleaning out your Chicago home before relocating

Moving is often a stressful process. First you need to sell your house which can take time and effort. Then, once you’ve managed to find buyers, you need to pack up your things and clean the entire home so it looks good for the new owners. This involves many steps and can be a real challenge! But don’t worry, Golan’s Moving & Storage have prepared 5 tips for cleaning out your Chicago home before relocating. Let’s get started!

5 tips for cleaning out your Chicago home

1. Plan your cleaning

If you have a plan of action, your life will be much easier. Decluttering takes time and patience, which is why you need to start as soon as possible. Try making a list of all the things you need to do and in which order you should do them. Write down which areas of the house need decluttering the most and start from there. It’s much easier to take care of the big messes first and then move onto more detailed cleaning of you home.

Moreover, make sure you have cleaning “appointments” you have made with yourself. This way it will be much easier to avoid procrastinating and then stress cleaning two days before your move. And nobody wants that kind of stress, right? If you can’t do it by yourself, try asking your friends or family for help or turn to packing services Chicago if you want professionals to do the job for you!

2. Prepare supplies

Packing supplies are a MUST when cleaning out your Chicago home. You will need boxes and bags to pack up your belongings. Preparing these beforehand is a crucial step if you want your move to go as smoothly as possible. So, once you’ve bought everything, you can start decluttering, packing and labelling everything!

Packing supplies can include:

1. Cardboard boxes
2. Plastic boxes
3. Bags
4. Bubble wrap
5. Tape
6. A label maker

3. Declutter and donate

Now that you have a plan of action and packing supplies at the ready, you can finally start decluttering! This is a slow and tedious process, which is why you need certain tips and tricks to have productive decluttering sessions.

Steps you need to take when decluttering your home:

1. Work in areas – Working room by room will make the cleaning more manageable. You will also feel better with every room you clean and this will motivate you to continue. Otherwise, if you take on the whole house at once, you are setting yourself up for failure.
2. Take everything out – Don’t leave anything unturned or unchecked. Look in every drawer, corner or remote shelf! This is the only way you will be able to give your home a proper deep cleanse.
3. Be honest with yourself – Ask yourself if you really love or need a certain item when decluttering. It won’t do you any good to spend time and money transporting things you don’t actually want. It’s a waste. So, be honest and get rid of as much unnecessary things as possible.
4. Throw out or donate – Make two piles of belongings that you have decided not to keep. One should be the throw-away pile and the other the donate pile. You can also gift your items to friends, family or acquantances if you have a hard time throwing away things because of sentimental value. Who knows, maybe that old vase you got 10 years ago will find the perfect new home in one of your friend’s places.

4. Get rid of bulky items

Another very important tip – get rid of those huge, bulky items you don’t actually need. Oftentimes, transporting huge items will just bring additional stress or anxiety to your moving situation. If you have a big couch or dresser with good resell value, it might be a better idea to sell them and buy yourself new ones once you’ve moved to your new home. Additionally, getting rid of large items will also give you a sense of relief and will speed the moving process along significantly.

5. Pack and label

Last but definitely not least, label everything! Here is where all of those packing supplies you prepared beforehand come into play. Start packing boxes or bags and label right away. As soon as one box is full, you should write down the category of items on the box such as books, plates, clothes etc. You can even write down everything that is in a box, if you have the patience for it. This will make your life even easier since you won’t have to open anything in order to know what’s inside. If you want to skip the step of packing everything up, go to Chicago area movers for packing services and tips!

6. Hire professional movers for cleaning out your Chicago home

Last but not least, hiring professional movers can make your life so much easier. Moving companies offer different deals and services you can make use of. If you don’t want to spend money on packing supplies and putting in your time and effort, you can hire movers to do that for you! Then, once they’ve packed everything out, all that is left is cleaning up the house for its new owners and starting your journey to your new home. You can look up reputable movers and start from there!

Summary – Cleaning out my Chicago home?

Cleaning out your entire home isn’t an easy job. It requires lots of planning, hard work as well as time. The 6 tips mentioned above will help you in the process of cleaning out your Chicago home and having a stress-fee time in the process. First, having a plan for cleaning is very important. You need to know exactly what to tackle first and what to leave for later. Moreover, preparing the supplies you need for packing such as boxes and labels will minimize the risk of losing things in the cleaning process. Second, decluttering and donating is the hardest step because of the time and effort it takes. Try getting rid of as much as possible so that your relocation costs less. Third, hire a reputable moving company to help you in the process. Residential movers Chicago can always turn to Golan’s Moving and Storage for a reputable team of movers. This way, you won’t have any trouble while cleaning out your Chicago home. Happy cleaning and moving!