One of the stressors of moving is coming face to face with how much stuff you actually own. In fact, there's a little humor involved as moving is the most certain way there is to find something you believed you lost ages ago. The truth of the matter is that you're likely to be placing all of your possessions into one of three categories: keep, pitch, or shove. The idea is a simple one. Even if you are moving to a larger space, there are certain things that are simply not worth your time or energy to take as well as items that you want to keep but will not need readily available.



The hard part, of course, is coming up with a method for determining how a particular item falls into a category. Making the decisions to keep some things are easy. Big ticket items, like the television, are a must for the truck, and that horrible sweater that you've lugged around for years because your aunt bought it for you? She's not going to notice its absence. And then some things are harder. Large collections of CDs or DVDs, and especially books, can look wonderful on shelves, but also take up a great deal of space when boxed up. Cheap shelving, even when used in the kids' room, can take up a considerable amount of space in a truck and can often be replaced for $20 or so at the local Wal-Mart. As the move date draws closer, the option to simply shell out a few dollars at the other end of the move trumps the attachment to a particular item.

Pitching an item does not necessarily mean throwing it away. Many of us probably remember the moving day yard sales of old. The internet and the green movement have combined to prove that one man's trash is indeed another's treasure. Those albums, movies, and books can be resold online which both helps to lighten the load of moving, but also to lighten the financial burden and help in replacing other items. The internet doesn't stop with eBay; Craigslist is a great means to move furniture, as you're advertising for free to an inherently local audience. Granted, you will likely have local options to boot, such as consignment shops and the Salvation Army, which if not giving cash are tax deductible and ensure that your old goods simply don't end up in a landfill.

Storing has advanced too, perhaps most notably thanks to heavy duty plastic containers. These devices are available at most stores and provide a water-resistant, reusable alternative to cardboard boxes. A good idea is to move all of your goods that you know you're going to store into plastic bins prior to the move. Doing this allows you to sort through items that you were already storing, say holiday decorations or off-season clothes, and determine what should be kept and what doesn't quite meet the cut. Sorting these items out into plastic bins makes picking them out once you finish the move that much easier, and helps to protect these items should your storage unit, attic, or basement prove to be not entirely weather proof. Weatherized crates can be rented from many storage companies to ensure weather proofing and presenting a greener alternative to plastic bins.

The Keep It, Pitch It, Store It method doesn't have a clear cut algorithm that can be applied to everyone. The key is to really create a standard for by which you are going to judge your goods and adopting the best methods to make the most out of the your decisions. In the end, the goal is to make your move as easy as possible.