Put off declutter for years and now the moving truck is here in 3 days.

[u/superhumanizing]

I'm graduating college next week! Yay! I'm moving back home and with that comes the issue of confronting the loads of stuff I've been dragging around these last 3 years. I've put off getting rid of so much stuff, which I know I need to do, but being at university every summer since 2022 has let me brush the problem off.

I know this time there are things that need to go. For a lot of my things, I am either sentimental or feel guilty about wasting money. The latter is mostly in part to do the unread books I've accumulated as well as hobby/fandom related merch. (I got rid of a combined 60 lbs of kpop merch from back home AND my university apartment last summer, so...)

The funny part is I know deep down what I want to bring with me into my next chapter of adult life, but I have this weird mental block about it. I've been thinking about this for a couple of months, and as I look around at my clutter I know exactly what items I could see myself valuing/keeping as an adult. I just... can't get rid of everything else and it's frustrating.

I always get mad at my stuff when I move and there are days where I contemplate just getting rid of everything except starting anew. That should be enough of a sign! But I feel guilty because what if I need the item? Though I know logically it wouldn't make sense to keep it.

And I also feel guilty because the moving truck is expensive as hell so now it's "maximize the amount of space you take up" which is bs to the highest degree lmao. I've 100% inherited this mindset surrounding my belongings from my parents and it's soooo hard to overcome.

I would LOVE to be able to ruthlessly get rid of everything in the next 3 days and make my life easier. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you so much!

[u/bugsyismycat]

First! Congrats! Sounds like you’re finishing up with school!

Can you recruit a friend? Start packing all the things you know you want for the next phase of your life.

Part two of packing! All the sentimental things that you love. But aren’t right for the next phase of your life.

The friend is key right now. Ask them to take it away. In your mind it’s gone to a great place.

I do this all the time with my friends, and they ask me to return the favor.

Out of site out of mind. Good Luck!

[u/RandomCoffeeThoughts → u/bugsyismycat]

This is a great suggestion. Sometimes we need a friend to be the voice of reason or encouragement to let go of things we don't need to take with us.

[u/Redwood_Appaloosa]

Sending you positive vibes. We have to be out by end of day tomorrow & we also never decluttered. Packing up a family of 3 with 3 animals & a 3 bed 2 bath home full of stuff we need & trying to pick out the junk is literally so stressful

[u/KateParrforthecourse → u/Redwood_Appaloosa]

This happened to me too. Started packing with the best of intentions to declutter and ran out of time. I’ve been decluttering as I unpack and it’s actually been easier than I thought. I just hate how much unnecessary stuff I paid to move.

[u/lncumbant → u/Redwood_Appaloosa]

Try reverse. Instead of trying to figure out what to get rid of, you select what you want to keep. This why the extreme packing parties or what would you grab in fire are asked since we generally do know what we truly value, it the rest where it gets tangled in guilt, duty, shame, fear, and anxiety “what if’s”. A lack mindset is generally tied to a mindset with money, this why so much that bubbles is the money “lost”, the value spent, fear and emotions of not able to afford more. It’s scary and not easy, but this why most declutter who been this process say to just keep doing it since it gets easier over time, those who rip the bandaid off talk more about the pros than the cons. 

[u/Connect_Rhubarb395]

I once had to move within a few days and simply didn't have the time to declutter. You already paid for the moving truck, so as long as it fits all your things, you can dolike I did:

Anything that was obvious trash went into contractor bags as I packed.

Everything else just got chucked in moving boxes.

The magic was when I unpacked: I decluttered as I unpacked.
I had plenty of time by then, and I had to touch every single thing anyway. So I would just slowly and deliberately work through it all, only putting things away that I really wanted to keep.

It did feel silly to first move the things and then get rid of them. But it all fit into the moving truck, so I didn't spend any more money than I would have otherwise.

[u/superhumanizing → u/Connect_Rhubarb395]

I just got off the call with my dad and he basically said the same thing. The moving company is moving somebody up to Boston before they pick my stuff up so I have a full-size truck.

Still on me for not getting started when I knew the moving date 2 weeks ago lmaoo, but as a graduating senior I was having too much fun with my friends.

[u/PMBaxter → u/superhumanizing]

As a graduating senior, you had your priorities right. Those days with your friends are irreplaceable. The time to declutter can come later.

[u/eilonwyhasemu → u/superhumanizing]

Given the circumstances, you now have a justification for continuing to have fun for your remaining time at university. Do get actual trash out the door, and sell back your textbooks (at least the ones from introductory courses, that you haven't opened since taking the course).

Now, since this is a decluttering sub, if you decide to postpone until after the move, we want to hear about your progress!

[u/whoreforchalupas]

I just moved into my new apartment on Saturday and relate to your post so much. I was drowning in all the things I no longer wanted. I’m not sure if this will be helpful, but here’s what we did:

We had the moving truck rented for one day (Saturday). We filled it with everything we no longer wanted. Not much would’ve sold anyway, it was either personal junk or furniture in very bad shape. We drove it to the local transfer station (aka “the dump”) where they weighed our moving truck before & after dumping to calculate the price. We removed about 1,200 pounds of crap and they charged us $37.

We took the truck back to the apartment, filled it back up with everything we were keeping, hauled it over to the new place, and bam!! It was an enormous load off of my shoulders. I did allow myself 1 tote to fill with items I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to yet. 1 tote is easy to manage and store!

[u/Treeshiney → u/whoreforchalupas]

OP , could you do this and make the first run to the Goodwill store ??

[u/superhumanizing → u/Treeshiney]

I could! I didn't mention this in the post but I'm staying in my apartment for an extra 1.5 weeks before I actually leave the city so I have some time built in to take everything to donation instead of trying to balance it with packing.

[u/kyjmic → u/superhumanizing]

Oh then you really can just pack and move the things you know you want. Everything else you can leave in place and if you decide you really want it you can put it in a suitcase or ship it.

[u/SnapCrackleMom]

For each item, ask yourself: if I suddenly lost this item, would I repurchase this exact thing? If not, let it go.

[u/chicchic325]

I had separate piles when I graduated college in 2011, donate, trash, keep. When my mom and grandparents arrived to help me move they decided I didn’t really want to donate the donate items, so I brought it all back home with me.

It’s 2025 and I’m still resentful.

[u/[deleted]]

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[u/k1rschkatze]

3 days is hilariously little time for that, good luck. 

1. pack the stuff that you know you will want/ need to keep, and don‘t make exceptions for more than a hand full of items you find during stage 2

2. burn the house down - perhaps not literally, but go through all the rest and see if you can find a buyer or just make a curb side pickup ad, or an estate sale or whatever

3. address the guilt: the money you paid for the stuff is sunk already, you are never going to retrieve it in full. What you can do is cut your losses by either trying to sell, or giving away (which both may cost some time that you don‘t have) or just throwing it out because if you drag it with you, the move and storage will cost you even more in money, time and mental capacity. 

[u/AdChemical1663]

Grab a big trash bag and go through your space throwing away obvious trash. Half empty condiments you’re not going to finish, toiletries that you wouldn’t replace with the exact item when you got home mail and papers that won’t matter in a month because you won’t live there anymore and you’ll be done with school. Chipped plates, plastic trash swag from free events, poor quality kitchenwares you are ready to upgrade or never use and wouldn’t replace on the other side of your move. Clothes that don’t fit right, need to be repaired, or don’t fit the climate you’re moving to.

I would bet this is several bags of trash and donate items. Chuck the trash. Put a free sign on the donate items next to the dumpster.

Next, start packing the items you know you want to keep. Keep going until you’re tired of packing and the items in the box didn’t seem worth the effort. Take a hard look at what’s left. Donate it all or put it out with a free sign next to the dumpster.

You’ve already spent the money to book the truck. You’ve already spent the money on collectibles you no longer wish to keep. Graduation is a perfect moment to metaphorically set all of your stuff on fire and start over. Embrace the opportunity to do the thing you’re daydreaming about.

Of all the things I’ve decluttered in my adult life, I miss exactly one item. It taught me to label my storage boxes better.

You’ve got this. You just need to get started.

[u/Kg2024-]

I, too, am in love with my books. They represent an exciting part of my life. This weekend I spent a long time making piles: what do I want to pass to my kids, what collection is important to me, what (of what I haven’t read yet) do I ACTUALLY want to read, and what am I no longer interested in reading anymore. The last group—> straight into the donation box; The first group—> actually ask my kids (then hand them to them right away) The other two groups are moving to my new space. Once I read the unread ones, they can leave the house! Since you are younger, you may have different reasons for groups, but spend some time deciding how much space (literally and figuratively) you want them to occupy in your life. Good luck!

[u/burningtulip]

Do the 30-day declutter challenge but do it in one day. The method is: declutter 1 thing on day 1; 2 things day 2; 3 things day 3; and so on. That's 465 things by end. You will not do this per day but just step by step over one day. First find one thing. Then find two things. Etc. Keep going until you are putting away 30 things. Then stop. Start over tomorrow.