BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ONCE OBSERVED THAT EVERY MINUTE SPENT ORGANISING IS AN HOUR EARNED, SO WE HAVE SOME GREAT ORGANISING TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU PREPARE FOR THE MOVE TO YOUR NEW GEMLIFE HOME!
FIRST, THE BIG STUFF
When Carla Cross and her husband Eric moved into GemLife Maroochy Quays, there was one piece of furniture Carla realised she didn’t need.
“It was my sewing cabinet,” she said. “I love my crafts and was delighted to see the craft room in the country club had a sewing machine, an overlocker, and a cutting table. I’m giving the sewing cabinet I brought with me to my daughter-in-law.”
Some GemLife homeowners decide they want all new furniture and furnishings to go with their brand-new homes and brand-new life, but even if that’s not you, it is likely you will have household goods that will need a new place to live.
“We were very fortunate,” said Carla. “Our youngest son bought our last place which means there was furniture we didn’t have to move at all.
Those pieces we knew had to go, we could take our time to sell.”
Grab the tape measure, take your GemLife floor plans, and have a good look at your existing furniture to see what will fit into your new home.
If you find that you have too much furniture, go back to basics and choose just one or two items, then design your new living space around these treasured pieces.
Now that the big stuff is out of the way, it’s time to sweat the small stuff.
DELVE INTO DECLUTTERING
Once you start opening the cupboards and drawers you might be surprised (and alarmed) by how much stuff you’ve accumulated over the years.
Take the opportunity to rid your home of clutter and discover the things you really treasure.
Organisation experts recommend starting with the contents of one room that you’re not emotionally attached to – this could be the garage or the kitchen.
Start by throwing away anything that is broken or at the end of its useful life.
Next, identify all the double-ups (who needs three can openers and four potato peelers?). Create a ‘sell’ or ‘donate’ pile. In the case of garage and shed tools, you might find they have a new lease of life in the GemLife residents’ workshop.
Carla recommends people be pragmatic about getting rid of things they don’t need.
“We spent 27 years living in a big, old beautiful Queenslander, then went to a four-bedroom brick home before moving to GemLife,” said Carla. “My husband and I thought we’d done our downsizing really well, but just this week we took eight bags of donated items to the op shop.”
Once you’ve worked your way through each room, decluttering as you go, create a project plan.
BOXING CLEVER
Your project plan should consist of a master list in which every box is numbered with a note about its contents.
Start by putting away items you’re not likely to use for the next three to six months – for example, Christmas decorations when it’s July, or winter clothing in December – then pack in stages so the most important daily-use items are packed last.
Assign each room in your new home a colour. When each box is packed, tape a matching coloured A4 sheet onto the box with the number and the room name printed on it. This makes it easier for the removalists (or helpful family and friends) to quickly put boxes in the right rooms to make unpacking easier.
When you arrive at your new home, check off each box from your master list to make sure nothing is missing.
If you’re not sure where to start, the website Move My Stuff has a printable checklist you can use straight away: movemystuff.com.au/blog/moving-house-checklist