In 2010 I read a book that changed my life. It was called "The Minimalist Parent" and it described in detail how stressful it is for children to be surrounded by stuff. It suggested that a child should have access to only the amount of toys they could clean up in 10 minutes and that tidying up before bed was critical to a good night's sleep.
As the parent of 5 children, this was very freeing to me. It made sense that a child should be able to take responsibility for cleaning up after themselves quickly and that the problem of mess wasn't that my kids were bad at picking up after themselves (although ....), but it was due to the fact that they were able to take out more things than they could manage to put away. Reducing the number of toys my children had access to helped (we rotated toys by keeping them in boxes).
This principle of only having the amount of stuff we could manage to keep tidy has been a part of our lives ever since. We reduced laundry by reducing wardrobe and why have 20 towels when we could have 10 and wash them more often? Each child had about 5 outfits and two pairs of shoes with extras being stored away until their current clothing needed to be replaced. This made getting ready for school or church much easier because it reduced decision fatigue.
Another benefit for only keeping and maintaining what we need and not accumulating piles of unnecessary stuff means that moving is greatly simplified. Each child had a box of their special items and a suitcase of clothing and as a veteran of 10 moves in the last 20 years, this has been very helpful.
Minimalist Moving tips:
1.) One month before the move get rid of everything you do not love. This includes furniture. If it would cost less to replace it than it will cost to move it - get rid of it. Every time I move I sell a great deal of our furniture and then replace it once we are in our new house. I've never had a furniture budget and most of what I buy is off of craigslist, at thrift stores, and Facebook marketplace. I don't like the quality of most furniture that is available these days and I can appreciate an older piece made with quality materials that might need some love and attention more than anything I've ever gotten at Ikea. I've usually been able to buy good enough second-hand pieces that I can sell them for a profit and be able to outfit our new place with slightly better pieces. It's a lot of work but each piece I own has its story and I really like it that way.
2.) Start packing everything you do not use on a daily basis. Things in closets, attics, under beds, garage, less used kitchen items, tools, decorations.
3.) Use only three standard sizes of moving boxes, small (for heavy things like books), Medium, and large (for bedding and pillows.) Fill every box to capacity or they will crush when stacked. IF you have a box that has gaps in it, fill in the gaps with excess washcloths and towels. I packed my entire kitchen without having to buy packing material by using my kitchen towels, hot pads, and washcloths.
4.) Two weeks from loading the moving truck start camping: pack a suitcase (include towels) and reduce the kitchen to the minimum. Eat everything from your freezer and pantry that you can possibly eat.
5.) One week from loading the moving truck stage all your boxes. You will want to pack the least important stuff first and the most important stuff last (beds, kitchen, clothing)
6.) Moving day: pack the truck with the heaviest items on the bottom (furniture, appliances), Medium boxes in the middle, and lightest boxes on the top which means the small boxes will be on the bottom and the large boxes on the top. It sounds wrong but it works as long as you pack your boxes together to make cubes, rows, and stacks that are as even as possible. As you pack the truck use ratcheting tie-downs and boards to brace each section. Things will shift in the truck and you don't want the whole load to jump out of the truck when you open the doors. Pack to the ceiling and pack it tight!
7.) After the truck is packed take one last bath with Epsom salt (your muscles will thank you), grab your suitcase and plants, and head to your new home!
8.) At some point you will need to put laptop computers, important documents, cleaning supplies, box cutters, a few towels, and toilet paper, paper plates and cups, and maybe a case of water and some snacks in a box that you take with you to the new house, You won't want to be heading to the store the first time someone needs to go to the bathroom and realizes there is no toilet paper!
9.) Truck Arrival: establish a command center with computers and important documents. As the truck is unloaded focus on setting up a functional kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area. If you have movers hopefully you marked your boxes "kitchen, master bedroom" etc, instead of "blender, extra closet". You want them marked as the room they will be going to, not the contents or the area of the house it came from.
10.) Once all the boxes have been brought to their designated rooms, unpack and get rid of the boxes. Date any remaining boxes, label the contents, and seal. Anything that hasn't been opened in over a year can probably be donated.
I'm sure everyone does things in a way that makes sense to them. This is my method and it works for me. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to know where and how to start and it actually doesn't matter where and how you start. Just start!
