Decluttering before a move to Geneva or Lausanne: the 4-week plan

The Geneva lease is signed. Claire looks around their 4-room flat in Lausanne: full shelves, a kids' room bursting at the seams, and a basement still holding boxes from their move seven years ago. "We are not paying movers to carry all this," says Thomas. He's right: every box you don't move is time, money and space saved in the new home.

Here is the plan they followed. It works for most moves in French-speaking Switzerland.

Week 1: the forgotten spaces first

Claire and Thomas start with the basement and the attic, where decisions are easiest: whatever hasn't been opened in years won't be missed. Their rule: any box untouched since the last move gets 15 minutes of sorting at most — otherwise it goes to donation.

• ✓Book a bulky-waste pickup or a trip to the recycling centre right away.
• ✓Photograph what you want to sell and list it this week: sales take time.
• ✓Put important papers in a single "do not pack" box.

Week 2: room by room, least used first

Next come the rooms you use least: guest room, home office, living-room storage. One question for every item: "Would I buy this again for the new flat?" If the answer is no, it doesn't move.

Week 3: kitchen, clothes and the kids

The kitchen goes fast if you keep one of each utensil. For clothes, keep what you wore this year. For the children, Claire gave each of them one box: "Whatever fits in here comes with us." They choose for themselves, and sorting becomes a game instead of a fight.

Week 4: pack only what's left

1. 01Label by destination room"Léa's room – Geneva", not "toys". The movers put each box in the right place.
2. 02Pack a "first night" boxSheets, toothbrushes, chargers, coffee: everything for the first evening.
3. 03Plan for the handoverAn empty, clean flat makes the final inspection far less stressful. Book the end-of-lease cleaning.

"We moved 30 fewer boxes than planned. And for the first time, we unpacked everything within a week." — Claire

When to get help

If time is short or the decisions get heavy, a professional organiser can take over the sorting, coordinate donations and prepare boxes for the movers. LémanSpace works across Geneva, Vaud and Valais — in French, English or Italian.