Follow the rules

Doing a cleanout doesn’t mean that you can just randomly throw away some things. You must pay attention to many different things and be very careful in order to do that safely and in the right way. You must set some rules and follow major cleanout disposal instructions, with which you will know what to do. For example:

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• Forbidden for containers: Many things, like batteries and electric stuff, cannot be thrown away into containers, and for them, you must find a different way.
• Selection: See which containers are for mixed trash and which ones are for recycling, and be careful with them.
• Bulky waste: If you are renovating your apartment, then you cannot just throw away your big furniture into regular containers. In those situations, you will need to rent containers specially for your purpose.

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When you follow instructions, you will avoid paying penalties and save your money. All those rules are set up for a reason, and with them, you can do a cleanout properly. Also, try to set up your own rules with which you will not make any mistakes and do your cleanout faster.

Digitalize the paper

People store a lot of papers and memories very often. Even if the paper is thin, a lot of it can create a huge mess in your tiny living space. It's great that there is a very good solution to make small spaces work and solve those problems. All those documents and other papers can be digitized. In that way, you will immediately free some space and have all those papers saved on the cloud. That is an even safer method to save your papers. That is because:

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• Fire accidents
• Flow
• Humidity

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Paper is very sensitive, and a lot of different things can destroy it. For example, you can have very important papers for your house that can be destroyed by water if a pipe starts to leak. That scenario can be avoided with digitalization. The good thing is that with it, you can even sort them however you want, which can help you to save time searching for an important document when you need it.

Get rid of duplicates

Having two or three of the same thing takes up way more space than you realize, and a lot of people have duplicates sitting around without even noticing. Take bedding, for example. You really only need two sets per person, not five. The same goes for kitchen gadgets, tools, or even storage containers. When you're living in a smaller space, you just can't afford to keep extras. It's much smarter to have a variety of useful things than a bunch of the same thing taking up room.

Sell and earn

You don’t need to just throw your things away because there are different and better scenarios that you can do when you have many different and useful things. Selling your things is a great option to get rid of some things and even earn some money with it. Inside your home, there can be very valuable items without you even knowing. It is good to check the value of your stuff before selling. You can sell your items in many different ways, like:

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• Garage sale 
• Antique stores
• Online platforms

Selling can be fun also, and you can learn a lot of useful skills while doing it.

Donate to those in need

A lot of people are looking for a chance to do something good, and moving to a smaller space can actually be that chance. Since you'll need to part with some of your things anyway, it's the perfect moment to donate. You can give your items to whoever you'd like, as there are plenty of organizations that would be happy to take them. And it feels great knowing your stuff will keep being useful and might even make someone's day.

Be aware of sentimental value

In the cleaning process, people can accidentally throw away many different things that are actually very important to them. Many of our things have sentimental value for us, and you must try to save them in some way. That can be saved when you organize everything in the right way. Have separate boxes for the sentimental stuff and mark them well. In that way, you will not mix them with others, and they can not be lost.

Think just about what you really need

If you are planning to move into a space that is a lot smaller than the previous ones, then you must choose only the things you really need to bring with you. That is a good approach to this problem because later you will realize how little you actually need and that a lot of stuff that you brought you actually don’t need. When you determine which things you actually need, then your tiny space will be walkable and spacious. That is a lot better scenario than having a bunch of stuff with limited space. 

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When you know a few good tips and tricks, moving into a smaller space and clearing out your stuff becomes way easier. This list will help you get it done without the stress, and might even surprise you with how simple the whole process can feel.