The answer to this question is, a lot! Depending on the size of the items and the amount, a junk hauling service may be in order. Whether you’re moving to a smaller home or not, it often surprises my clients how much trash we find when downsizing. However, when you’re downsizing to prepare for a move, the purging process is more involved.
Since you are moving to another home, you have to literally touch every item you own and look in every nook and cranny in your home to determine what to keep and what to discard. Your home needs to be empty for the new residents to move in.
The things you don’t want can either be recycled by repurposing, by selling, by donating, put in a recycle bin or put in your trash bin if it can’t be recycled. You may also have things to give to family and friends. These things fall into the recycle category, but they also add to the amount of the things that will be purged from your home.
Trash comes in many different forms. From scraps of paper to broken items and everything in between; it’s basically anything you no longer want or believe to be useful. There is a saying, ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’. I couldn’t find the origin of this saying since it’s been iterated in many different ways over time. My interpretation of this saying pertains to recycling, not necessarily trash.
Some clothing items can become trash if they are stained or have holes in them. However, they can be recycled if you have clothing recycling facilities in your area. Many recycle these items by reusing them as rags, or take stained towels and sheets to animal rescues for their use.
So, when you go to downsize, and at some point during your journey you will, carefully examine every item you own to determine if it’s really trash, or could possibly be ‘another man’s treasure’, and take the appropriate action.
