Short answer: Anything expired, broken, duplicated, or untouched in the last year. For a typical household that's two to four totes of stuff you'd otherwise pay to move and throw out anyway once it's sitting in the new kitchen. The twelve categories below are the ones people forget most, not the obvious junk but the stuff hiding in drawers.
Sorting first can save you a package size
Everything you pack gets carried down a flight of stairs, loaded onto a truck, carried up another flight of stairs, then unpacked. Do all that with something you're going to throw out in your first week at the new place, and you've paid to move garbage across town.
A 2-bedroom package here covers 20 totes. People who spend a weekend sorting before they book tend to fill 14 or 15 of them, sometimes enough to drop down a package size and save $30 to $40. That's not the main reason to declutter. It's a decent bonus for doing something you should do anyway.
The 12 things people always regret packing
- Expired spices and pantry food. That cumin from three moves ago is not coming back to life. Check dates on anything in the back of the pantry: spices, condiments, canned goods past their best-before. Most of it gets thrown out within a month of unpacking anyway.
- Chargers and cables for devices you no longer own. Everyone has a drawer of these. A charger for a phone you sold two years ago, three HDMI cables of unknown origin, a mystery USB brick. If you can't name the device it belongs to, it goes.
- The appliance you used exactly once. Bread maker, juicer, fondue set, the pasta roller attachment nobody figured out how to clean. If it's been in the box since the day you unwrapped it, donate it rather than paying to move it again.
- Takeout containers and mismatched Tupperware. Lids without bottoms, bottoms without lids, containers that smell faintly of last year's leftovers no matter how many times you wash them. Keep a working set, toss the rest.
- Manuals and warranty paperwork for things you don't own anymore. The instruction booklet for a microwave you replaced three apartments ago doesn't need a spot in a moving tote.
- Towels and linens that have gone thin. If you can see through it when you hold it up to the light, it's a rag now, not a towel. Rags are useful. Keep two or three for cleaning and let the rest go.
- Duplicate kitchen tools. Three can openers, four spatulas, two garlic presses you bought because you couldn't find the first one. Pick your favourite of each and be honest about which one that is.
- Dead batteries and broken electronics. The remote for a TV you don't own, a laptop with a cracked screen you've been meaning to fix for two years, a phone from 2019. These need proper e-waste disposal, not the regular trash. More on that below.
- Expired medication and half-used toiletries. Old prescriptions, sunscreen from three summers ago, the sample-size shampoos from hotel stays. Pharmacies take back expired medication for safe disposal.
- Free promotional stuff you never use. Conference tote bags, branded water bottles, the pen cup full of pens that don't write. It felt free when you got it. It isn't free to carry up a new flight of stairs.
- Clothes and shoes you haven't worn in a year. Not the seasonal stuff: winter coats and holiday sweaters get a pass. This is for the jeans that don't fit, the shoes with the worn-through sole, the shirt you keep meaning to get around to wearing again.
- Furniture that doesn't fit the new place, or that you've stopped liking. Measure the new space before move day. A couch that barely fit the old living room might not fit the new one, and furniture you've been mildly annoyed by for two years isn't going to improve with a change of address.
The one-year rule works for most of this: if you haven't touched it in the last year and can't think of a reason you'll need it in the next one, it's a candidate. Sentimental items and genuinely seasonal gear are the exceptions. Everything else gets a harder look.
What not to put in the regular trash
These need proper disposal, not the curb:
- Paint cans, full or empty
- Aerosols
- Batteries of any kind
- Old electronics
- Expired or unused medication
- Motor oil or car batteries
Most municipalities run a household hazardous waste depot or an e-waste drop-off. Check your city's website before move day, since some locations only accept these items on certain weeks or by appointment. Pharmacies will usually take back expired medication for free.
Donate before you toss
Anything still usable (clothes, small appliances that work, books, furniture in decent shape) is worth a trip to a donation center instead of the curb. It takes the same amount of effort as throwing it out, and someone gets a working blender instead of a landfill getting one.
Questions
What should I throw away before moving?
Start with anything expired, broken, duplicated, or untouched in the past year: pantry food, dead batteries, chargers for devices you no longer own, worn towels, and duplicate kitchen tools. Those five categories alone usually clear out two to four totes for an average household.
How do I decide what's worth keeping when I'm moving?
If you haven't touched it in a year and can't name the last time you needed it, it's a candidate. The exceptions are seasonal items (holiday decorations, winter gear) and sentimental items, which don't follow the one-year rule. Everything else gets a harder look.
What can't I throw in the regular trash before a move?
Paint, aerosols, batteries, old electronics, and expired medication all need proper disposal, not the curb. Most municipalities run a household hazardous waste depot or an e-waste drop-off. Check your city's site before moving day, since some only take these items on certain weeks.
Does decluttering before a move actually save money?
Usually, yes. Fewer totes can mean a smaller rental package, and less stuff means a faster pack, a faster unpack, and less time paying movers by the hour if you're hiring them. It also means less to carry up the stairs at the new place, which counts for something on its own.
Should I donate instead of throwing things away?
For anything still usable, donate it. Clothes, working small appliances, books, and furniture in decent shape can go to a local donation center instead of the curb. Save the trash pile for things that are actually expired, broken, or worn out.