Moving out of state! Help me decide what to keep/toss/give away!

[Sneezykids]

I want to cut our stuff down by a third.  Half would be my ideal goal!  We're moving out of state from a 3000 sq ft home into a 3 bedroom rental home until we can buy something of our own again.  So, we need to downsize.

Any ideas where to start?  I've already been decluttering for years but we still have way to much..

I have two older kids...ages 10 and 15.  The teen is a borderline horder so she's going to have a hard time with this.  I was thinking one medium box for personal stuff per kid.  Is that too little? 

Then we have a one year old.  I have a Step 2 plastic toy box and whatever can fit in that can go. 

I want to get rid of a bunch of our extra furniture too.  We just don't need half of it, the extra table in the basement, the extra sofas (we bought new)

If anyone has any tips I'd really be grateful!

[MStephens]

Best way to help the teen would be to ask her to help you de-clutter YOUR stuff.  That will help her learn about the process without having the pressure be on her.  Then, make sure you reward her when finished. 

Here's a blog post with a story of a mother who helped her kids learn how to de-clutter.

De-cluttering furniture will definitely help you achieve the most progress.  Also try cutting down collections by half (look for least favorites to get rid of),  If you could post more info about items you're on the fence about that might help us help you more.
 

[EarthyMamaofDaisy]

When I downsized I looked around at what could be packed up for long term storage then decided that since I really wasn't using those things that I could just get rid of them.  So aside from a box of seasonal decorations and some craft stuff and photo albums, I pretty much regularly use everything that's left.  The kitchen was the easiest to sort through for me so you might want to start there first.

[Sneezykids]

thank you!  I have downsized my kitchen stuff already but i need to do it again, cupboard by cupboard!  I'm doing the baby's toys now actually...i have a huge amount to give away.  It's hard when I come across the little things that have emotional attachment...sigh..