Moving House? Your Pre-Move Decluttering Checklist

Here's the thing nobody tells you before a move: you will pay to transport every single item you own, whether you want it or not.

Removalists charge by volume and time. That broken exercise bike, the wardrobe that won't fit the new place, the six boxes in the garage you haven't opened since the last move - all of it gets carefully wrapped, loaded, driven across town and unloaded into your new home, where it will sit unopened again.

Culling before you pack is the single cheapest thing you can do when moving. Here's a timeline for doing it without losing your mind.

Six weeks out - decide what's not coming

Too early to pack, perfect time to think. Walk through the house with fresh eyes and identify what shouldn't make the trip.

The obvious candidates:

• Anything broken you've been meaning to fix for over a year
• Furniture that won't fit or suit the new place - measure first, this is where people get caught
• Duplicate kitchen gear, linen and tools
• Clothes that don't fit or haven't been worn in a couple of years
• The garage and shed, which is where most of the volume hides

Measure the new place before deciding on big furniture. A three-seater that doesn't fit through the new door is an expensive thing to discover on moving day.

Start the sell pile now. Six weeks is enough time to actually sell things. Two weeks isn't. Anything you're hoping to get money for needs listing now, not the night before.

Four weeks out - sort room by room

Work through the house methodically rather than wandering. One room at a time, four piles: take, sell, donate, dispose.

Order that works well:

1. Garage, shed, storage - biggest volume, least emotional, most rubbish
2. Spare rooms and cupboards - the accumulation zones
3. Kitchen - duplicates and expired everything
4. Wardrobes - slower than you expect
5. Living areas and bedrooms - do these last, you'll be living in them until moving day

Rules that help when you're stuck:

• If you've forgotten you own it, you don't need it
• If it would cost less to replace than to move, don't move it
• If it's been in a box since the last move, that's your answer

Book your removalist now, and if you're moving at end of month or in summer, earlier. Good ones book out.

Three weeks out - deal with the sell and donate piles

Selling: list now with realistic prices and honest photos. Anything unsold two weeks before the move moves to donate or dispose - don't let a $40 bookshelf hold up your move.

Donating: call ahead. Charity capacity and pickup policies vary, many won't collect, and most won't take used mattresses. Working whitegoods and clean furniture are usually welcome. Clothes, books and homewares almost always.

Giving away: local buy-nothing and marketplace groups clear usable items fast, and people collect - which solves the lifting problem.

Set a hard deadline for the sell and donate piles. Without one they'll still be in the hallway on moving day.

Two weeks out - book the junk removal

This is the right time, and here's why: early enough that you're not panicking, late enough that you know what's actually going.

What typically ends up in this pile:

• Broken furniture and appliances
• Old mattresses and bed bases
• Garden waste from tidying the yard for the sale or inspection
• Renovation leftovers - half-used paint, offcuts, that pile behind the shed
• Everything that didn't sell or get taken by charity

What it costs. We price by volume - the space it takes in the truck:

Most pre-move clear-outs land between a quarter and a half truck.

Worth doing the sums: removalists charge by volume and hours too. Clearing a half-truck of things you don't want before the move is usually cheaper than paying to relocate them and dealing with them at the other end.

Full pricing: How much does junk removal cost in Melbourne?

Free alternatives, if you've got time: council hard waste collection is free within your allocation, but it needs booking weeks ahead and won't take mattresses, fridges, e-waste or mixed loads. If your move is six weeks out and your council allocation is unused, book it now. See Hard rubbish collection Melbourne guide.

One week out - the last sweep

The things people forget:

• The fridge and freezer. Run them down, and defrost the fridge at least 24 hours before it moves.
• Chemicals, paint, gas bottles and batteries. Removalists generally won't take these, and they can't go in a normal bin. Take them to a council chemical drop-off or transfer station.
• The garden. Prunings, dead pots, the old barbecue.
• Under the house, behind the shed, top of the wardrobe. Always something there.
• E-waste. Old cables, dead devices, the printer that never worked. In Victoria none of it can go in a household bin. See E-waste disposal Melbourne.

Keep a "last load" box for things you need until the final morning: kettle, chargers, cleaning gear, toilet paper, tools for reassembling beds.

Moving day and after

At the old place: do a final walk-through of every cupboard and room after the truck leaves. Check the roof space, under the house and the letterbox.

At the new place: you'll generate a surprising amount of packing waste - cardboard, bubble wrap, foam. Flatten cardboard for recycling. If the previous owners left anything behind, that becomes your problem, and it's a common reason people call us in the first week.

Also common: furniture that seemed fine in the old house doesn't work in the new one. Give yourself a few weeks before deciding, then clear it in one go rather than piece by piece.

Frequently asked questions

Moving soon? Call 0435 377 111 or send a photo of the pile for a free, fixed quote - often same day.

Family-run and based in Oakleigh, servicing all Melbourne suburbs. Rated 5.0 from 105 Google reviews, fully insured, and around 80% of what we collect is kept out of landfill.