As if there wasn’t enough to do when you’re getting ready to sell your home, the thought of moving can feel overwhelming. If “sell my home” is your goal for 2022, now is the time to begin planning for a less stressful move.
10 Tips to Make Your Move a Breeze
Follow these 10 moving tips to help your move go as smoothly as possible.
1. Consider storing “don’t need” items ahead of time
Are you planning on a local move? If so, consider reserving a storage unit. Then, start using spare moments and weekends to pre-move items you don’t need into the storage unit, making them easy to load up on moving day.
Things to move into storage now include:
- Holiday and seasonal decor that won’t be used until after the move.
- Rarely- or never used items stored in your basement, attic, garage, or closets.
- Anything you uncover while decluttering (see next!) that isn’t needed in the next three to six months.
Choose a storage facility en route to/from work or your children’s school, making it easier to drop off boxes or storage totes as you pack things up.
2. Declutter like a pro
Decluttering is one of the most satisfying processes during a move. Closet by closet, cabinet by cabinet, and drawer by drawer, we slowly but surely divide things into three piles: trash, donate, and keep. Create a schedule for the family and start small decluttering projects from here until your target “sell my home” and move date.
Keep these projects short and sweet. Unless you plan to move in the next month or two, there’s no need to spend more than 30 minutes to an hour on any given decluttering mission. Instead, tackle one shelf of the closet at a time if the whole closet overwhelms you. Anything you can live without should be boxed up and moved into the storage unit.
3. Watch Tidying Up With Marie Kondo
Decluttering is so essential to the moving process. And as Volusia County real estate professionals, we assure you that decluttering is also essential to the home sale preparation and staging process. That’s why we’re dedicating two tips to “decluttering.”
Need the inspiration to start and finish the decluttering process? We love Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. It’s especially helpful for people who tend to get sentimental and have difficulty letting go of things, even items they haven’t used or taken out for years.
Other great resources to support difficult decluttering and packing for a move are:
4. Use a professional moving company
Think about using individual services if the quotes for a full-service moving company are beyond your budget. For example, using movers to pack your things makes it easier to rent a truck and load the pre-packed and pre-wrapped boxes and furnishings. On the other hand, you may prefer to pack everything yourself but use movers to do the loading/moving/unloading.
A la carte moving services may be well worth the investment when it comes to simplifying, streamlining, and speeding up the start-to-finish on moving day.
5. Start collecting moving boxes now
If you want brand new moving boxes, you can find them for reasonable prices at big box stores such as Home Depot or Walmart. If, however, you’re open to reusing boxes and want to keep the move as frugal as possible, start reaching out to local grocery and retail stores to let them know. Most are happy to give away boxes as it saves them from doing the breakdown themselves. They’ll let you know when and where to collect them. This method supports your long-term decluttering and packing plan.
6. Do a walk-thru with your real estate agent
As mentioned in #3, decluttering is essential for the home staging process. Clutter is a turnoff to buyers who prefer a cleaner and neutral canvas so they can envision the home as already theirs. “Make it Pretty” is the #1 suggestion in our post, How Can I Sell My Home Fast…Your real estate agent should walk through with you to let you know what can stay and what should go.
Typically, we use post-it type notes or no-stick adhesive markers to designate which items are which. Once the walkthrough is complete, you and your family can start packing up and moving the “move ’em out” furnishings into your storage unit or neatly into a garage or outdoor shed.
7. Take pictures of the backs of electronics
Before you unhook the entertainment systems, take a picture of the back/sides. This is the simplest way to set it all back up again when you’re in your new home without having to reinvent the complicated wheel.
8. Pack clothes on hangers in unscented garbage bags
If you aren’t getting professional wardrobe bags, pack clothes on hangers in groups using trash bags, tying or taping off the tops of the bags with the hangers exposed. This keeps clothes organized and unwrinkled and makes it easy to unpack bundles of clothes in the new home’s closets. As with seasonal decor, start with all of the clothes you won’t be wearing for the next few months to get them out of the way. Once you’re all moved in, trash bags can be reused as originally intended, making this a shrewd, re-purposeful, moving solution.
Note: Make sure to select unscented garbage bags for this purpose since scented bags will leave their mark on your clothes.
9. Pack “first night” or “first days” boxes
The last thing you want to do in the first few days of your move is frantically trying to find what you packed where when it comes to the “often used” items in the home. Pack up the first night or first days’ boxes and mark them accordingly, so they are front-and-center in your new home.
These boxes should have:
- One of each staple cooking pan (frying pan, large saucepan, small saucepan)
- Coffee maker and coffee (don’t forget milk/sugar/creamer)
- Set of plates, cups, silverware for each person
- Pet beds, food, water bowls and food dishes, favorite toys, etc.
- Kids’ favorite stuffies or blankets
- Bedding for each bed
- Toiletries and a few days’ worths of clothes/shoes if you don’t already have suitcases packed
- Books, cards, or a couple of board games in case the internet isn’t connected as scheduled
As long as you have all of the above, you’ll be able to sort out the rest over the first several days and weekends.
10. Breathe deep and often
As they say, “this too shall pass.” While moving isn’t on many people’s list of favorite things to do, you will get through to the other side. Breathe deep and do your best to keep calm.
Are you still looking for the right realtor to help sell your home? Contact Southern Exclusive Realty. We’ll do our part to keep the “sell my home” phase as stress-free as possible, and we’re happy to refer you to some of our area’s most reputable professional realtors.
