What to Keep When Moving to a Different Bay Area Town

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Relocating to a different Bay Area town is the perfect opportunity for you to go through your entire inventory and declutter. If you’re one of those who like to hoard things and can’t choose what to keep when moving, the following guide will help you decide exactly what to do with almost any item you own.

How to Decide What to Get Rid of and What to Keep When Moving to a Different Bay Area Town?

Although the benefits of relocating to a different Bay Area town far outweigh the cons, trying to move your entire inventory will extend the process significantly. This means you’ll usually have to decide what to keep and what to throw away before the actual relocation. If you want to move efficiently, decluttering will help you get rid of everything you don’t need. You will only have to deal with all the:

• Expired goods – Consuming food and medication that are past their expiration date is incredibly dangerous, so they certainly shouldn’t be packed.
• Old and unusable objects – There’s no reason to keep outdated pieces of tech like the VHS player, feature phones, or anything that’s broken and non-functional. The same can be said for clothing that doesn’t fit and all the baby-related stuff.
• Forgotten stuff – If you forgot an item even existed, there’s no point in keeping it. You’ll be surprised how many of these can be found in the storage shed, attic, basement, and other utility rooms.
• Item duplicates – While packing dishes is an essential part of every relocation, you don’t have to move every single pot and pan you own, particularly if they are rarely used.
• Things that don’t go with anything – If certain belongings can’t fit the aesthetic you’re going for, feel free to get rid of them. These include everything from highly stylized furnishings to all sorts of lamps and decorations.

What to Do With All the Stuff You Purge from the House?

Going through the inventory is only one part of the purging process, as you still have to decide what you’re going to do with all the unwanted belongings. Although you should undoubtedly get rid of the expired goods, not everything you selected has to be thrown out. For starters, most of the objects in good shape and in demand can easily be sold. While you might sell a few of them online, organizing a garage sale and setting a lower price point will allow you to purge most of the unwanted stuff pretty quickly. If there are still a few items left, donate them to a local charity like the Habitat for Humanity, The Salvation Army, or Goodwill. Lastly, anything that’s unusable should either be recycled or tossed in the trash.

Store Anything You Can’t Part With for the Time Being

If you can’t decide what to do with some of your unwanted stuff right away, placing everything in storage might be the best option for now. Renting a unit from one of the local moving companies in the Bay Area will allow you to safely keep anything you can’t get rid of for as long as you want. Although most San Francisco movers don’t offer these services, we’re one of the few that do have storage facilities. Feel free to contact us and arrange a pickup.

Decide Which Furniture Pieces You Want to Keep

Whatever your reasons for relocating might be, furniture should always be on your packing list. While some choose to move their entire household inventory and not worry about decluttering, others prefer to lead a simple, minimalist lifestyle, keeping only the most necessary pieces when relocating. If you’re not sure what to keep, let’s take a look at some of the essential furniture pieces every home needs to have:

• Seating – We can’t talk about packing furniture without mentioning the sofa. This piece is almost never a waste of space, as it can be used for sitting, lounging, and even sleeping. Depending on the size of your newest place, you might also want to bring an armchair, a few dining chairs, and a desk chair for your home office.
• Tables – Eating is going to be a lot harder without a stable surface to put the food on, so keeping the dining table is a must, particularly if you’re relocating with a family. You also want to move the desk, as it’s great for keeping all the important documents organized.
• Bookcase – If you’re boxing up books, you might as well pack the thing that’s going to keep your literature collection organized. Bookcases are also great for displaying fragile items and smaller pieces of artwork. Some can even hold a TV and other electronics, making them a valuable addition to any new home.
• Wardrobe – Does the new place have a nice walk-in closet? If it doesn’t, you’ll need a nice wardrobe that can fit all your clothes and shoes, or everything will end up on chairs and the floor.
• Bed – Considering we spend about a third of our life sleeping, relocating the bed is a must. Although the mattress is the only thing that’s truly necessary, not everyone likes to sleep so close to the floor. If you’re going to transport the bed frame as well, disassembling it before the move will keep it from breaking.

Remember to Pack the Appliances and Electronics

Besides all the necessary furnishing, you will also want to keep most of the appliances and electronics. While a majority of these are relatively easy to replace, having to buy a ton of devices during the move could significantly increase your total relocation expenses. That’s why you should leave behind anything else that didn’t come with the old place. Although you certainly won’t forget to pack the TV and your computer, you should also bring the smaller things like the microwave and the coffee machine.

Keeping All the Home Essentials Allows You to Set up the New Place Right Away

As the name suggests, you can’t set up your home without a few essentials. These belongings are usually the last items to get packed and among the first to get unpacked once you arrive at the new place. However, despite being used almost regularly, they are still one of the most commonly forgotten belongings, so it might be better to keep a separate checklist just for them. If you’re not sure what essentials cover, remember to box up:

• Kitchen supplies – You can’t have a proper meal without some dishes, so remember to pack plates, glasses, utensils, and anything else you use for cooking. You also want to bring a sponge, dish soap, and anything else you need to keep the kitchen tidy.
• Bedroom necessities – These include everything needed to set up the bed, including some sheets, pillows, and blankets.
• Bathroom supplies – Besides boxing up all the necessary toiletries, remember to bring towels, the hamper, cleaning supplies, and some toilet paper.
• Personal essentials – Anything you use regularly is an essential part of your routine, so you’ll undoubtedly want to keep them when relocating. This covers all kinds of belongings, from the phone charger to daily medication.
• Toys – While most of these are usually easy to replace, keeping your child’s favorite toy will keep it happy and calm, allowing them to adapt to their new surroundings much more quickly. The same goes for anyone relocating with a pet.

If you want to see how securing all the first night essentials looks in action, check out the video below.

If You Have a Pile of Paperwork, Keep Only the Most Important Files

If you have to move in a hurry and only have the chance to grab one thing, it should be the folder with your personal files. The most important records are either irreplaceable or hard to come by, so keeping them close by will save you a lot of trouble in the long run. That’s why you want to make sure the following documents are packed before the move:

• Personal files,
• Health records,
• Real estate deeds,
• Financial records,
• Vehicle titles,
• Children’s files,
• Pet records.

Scanning All the Files Makes it a Lot Easier to Keep the Documents Organized

Paperwork easily piles up over the years, so you’ll quickly end up with a ton of documents that need to be filed appropriately. If you want to avoid keeping a large cabinet for all your papers, try creating digital copies of all the files. This will allow you to declutter your paperwork, leaving only the most important documents in paper form. You can do this even if you don’t own a scanner, as you only have to take a photo of the file using one of many mobile scanning apps.

Keep Old Mementos, Valuables, and Other Items That Can’t Be Replaced

Mementos and heirlooms are irreplaceable things that hold incredible emotional value, so you’ll probably want to hold onto them no matter how old they might be. While keeping all the weekend getaways memorabilia might seem impractical, most can be easily moved in a photo album or a decorative container. Similarly to paperwork, you might also want to create digital copies of all the photos and postcards. Although most of these won’t require any special treatment when being transported, heirlooms and valuables like jewelry should always be packed as if dealing with very delicate objects. The same goes for any antique pieces of artwork you might own.

Make Sure That the San Francisco Moving Company in the Bay Area You Want to Hire Can Move These Things

If you’re planning to hire a Bay Area moving company to assist you with the move, be aware that valuables are one of the most common items movers won’t move. All the local movers in the Bay Area have a specific list of non-allowables, so check whether the company you want to hire can move these belongings. Otherwise, you’ll have to transport them on your own.

Now That You Know Which Stuff to Keep, Contact the Best Movers in San Francisco to Pack Them for You

Although decluttering might seem complicated, the tips in this guide will help you decide what to keep and what to sell when moving to a different Bay Area town. However, this is only one of many things to do before relocating, meaning you’ll need a lot more time to finish all the tasks on your to-do list. More often than not, it’s a lot easier to let one of the best Bay Area moving companies handle all the packing for you.

Golden Bay Relocation offers some of the best services in the region. Whether you need a residential relocation or a commercial move, our local Bay Area movers and packers are going to make sure your belongings are quickly and safely transported to your newest residence. To learn more about all the services you can use, contact us right away. Our representatives will give you a few tips on what to get and provide a free quote on every service that interests you.

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