You're moving to a new home or apartment across town. This is a good time to get rid of clutter and move only what you really need into your new home. By using a mini storage unit mid-way between residences, you give yourself room to clean out the old house and maximize the space in the new one. Here is how to use staging techniques for a local move.

Secure a Storage Unit

Find a self storage facility half-way between the two locations. If nothing is available half-way, secure something closer to the new residence. You may decide to leave items in storage for a while after the move, so use a facility that is convenient to the new house or apartment.

The First Step of Organizing and Decluttering

You'll now make a pass through your house to decide what gets moved and what goes away. You'll get a second chance at this, so don't worry abut inventorying every spoon you own now. You'll sort items into one of three categories:

• items you want to get rid of by selling at a garage sale or on an auction site
• items you want to donate to a local charity or thrift store
• items to be thrown out or put into the recycling bin

This will remove a lot of clutter from the house and reduce what you'll have to move. Once you've categorized these items, you can now sort through the items you want to take with you.

Sorting Through Items To Be Moved

Now you can go through the items in the house that will go with you and categorize them into one of three groups:

• items that you aren't sure about keeping but aren't ready to part with
• seasonal items that you won't need for several months
• items that you'll want right away in the new space

The items in the first two groups can now be moved into the storage locker. By keeping them out of the new residence, you'll only be moving the items you most need into your new home.

The Second Step of Packing

As you begin packing, you can go through a similar process to weed out items you don't want or need. Perhaps you don't need all twelve sweaters. Give away four, put four in storage and move four into the new residence. Sort through the rest of your clothes the same way. Go through cook ware and dining ware, tools, recreational items, books and music this way.

One way to help you decide about moving an item into the new space is to ask whether you will need the item in the next couple of months. If not, put it in the storage locker to deal with in the future. This way you will be moving only those items you use on a regular basis to your new home.

After the Move

Once you've moved in and are settled into the new space, you can address the items in storage. You can bring items back in from storage or you may decide that you like the feel of an open, less cluttered living space. The storage locker gives you the additional space to keep your personal items handy, but not clutter up your new home with items you're not currently using.