I moved across the city last month.

This move was less difficult than the prior one (where I had contracted a norovirus and couldn’t pack because of projectile vomiting) but fraught, no less, with indecision and pain.

Here are 5 pro tips that I intend to employ the next (and hopefully last) time I move.

  1. Play the yes/no game: With the exception of seasonal clothing, if you haven’t used it or thought about it in the last 6 months, you don’t need it. Partially used bottles of conditioner, Christmas cards from 8 years ago, and Shopper’s Drug Mart receipts dating back to 2008 all need to go. Be merciless in your cull. Large items can go to Habitat for Humanity.
  2. Ask First. I pitched a lamp comprised of spent markers and plastic. I thought it constituted a fire hazard. Turns out it was a prized, irreplaceable art object. My husband continues to remind me of this grievous oversight to this day.
  3. Filing boxes: They’re a bit more costly but they’re sturdy and can be broken down and re-used easily. The uniform size makes them easy to pile up when you’re loading and unloading.
  4. Hire Someone. In years prior, I bribed friends with paltry offers of pizza and beer, and have joined them in laboring under heavy boxes for 12 straight hours. That is a recipe to lose friends and gain misery. For a bit of extra cash, you can get chiseled professionals to do that for you. I recommend El Cheapo.
  5. SpaceWays: I sure as hell would have loved someone to just cart my excess stuff off to Uranus, or failing that, a warehouse compound at an undisclosed location. Had I known then that SpaceWays* was available, I would have leapt at the opportunity to truck away my husband’s ancient collection of High Times magazine too.

CONTEST!

We’ve teamed up with SpaceWays to give one Toronto-based reader the gift of free storage for 3 months (aaaand free returns)!

To enter, tweet “Hey @Shedoesthecity and @SpaceWaysCanada, please help me declutter my home!”

*SpaceWays provides customers with large heavy-duty boxes to store their belongings. Customers go to www.spaceways.ca to coordinate. Then the SpaceWays team picks up those boxes (for free) and brings them to the storage location just outside of the city, eliminating the hassle of the costumer having to do this. They then store your stuff until you need it, whereupon they bring it back to you.