Every room in your house is neatly packed into boxes; all the heavy and not so frequently used things in the bottom and the more used and light things on top and in the front. There are a hundred tips on how you pack up each room in the best way possible but there is one space that people may forget to plan. That’s right, the closet; the space that might contain more items than any room in the house. You sigh heavily and just throw the clothes into black bin bags and throw them into the car to later on in your new house empty them on the beds. This is both an unorganized, heavy and space wasting way of packing up your closet. Let this space be a part of the planning process and you will come to your new home with neatly folded clothes and shoes organized by seasons.

Now, first of all clean out your closet! Throw everything on the bed or floor and clean the closet space. After this is done, turn to your pile of items on the bed and start sorting. This is not a time to be picky, there are probably things in there that you haven’t seen in ten years and if you are thinking about keeping it since it brings back nostalgic feelings, don’t! I know, I do this myself; starting to clean out the closet and find things that I once fit into and kept because one day I might fit into it again. I always need my fiancee to hold my hand while clearing my wardrobe, I want to keep everything while he looks at me with his big eyes and asks me “when did you last use that shirt?”. If the answer is “a year ago…” maybe it is time to get rid of it. Make a “keep” pile and a “do not keep” pile and pack away the things you won’t be bringing with you to your new place in a box and get it out of the way, you will get back to that later. Go through the “keep” pile once more and give some extra thought of what to keep and what not.

When you are left only with the clothes you are going to keep, pick out some that you will wear for the next couple of days. Maybe you will not prioritize unpacking the clothing boxes until a few days after the moving in day. So to have outfits that will give you about four days to unpack will do well.

Another good tip is to pack by seasons. All the winter shoes and jackets should go into their own boxes or suitcases and be marked “Winter Shoes” for example, so, if it is summer, you can just stuff them away, not having to unpack them until the cold weather comes.

Now, to go back to the “do not keep” box, put it by the other donate-things and give them away to charity. Never toss anything away; there are always people who are in need of clothes. Check with your local shelters if they are willing to take your things. Or if you want to make some money out of this, you could always sell some of the shoes that are still in good shape or a nice dress that won’t fit you anymore.

If you have some nicer clothes like tuxes or gowns there are moving companies that sell taller boxes with a possibility to hang the clothing in. Another tip is to keep the hangers on to the clothes while folding them, that way you’ll bring the hard-to-pack hangers with you and it will be easier for you to unpack.