The contingencies in your contract is cleared and your Agent is telling you, we are definitely going to closing. So, the pressure is on and now you have to rush to get the home packaged and prepare to vacate. So what next? Normally, it's time to panic, but wait, here are some logical and important tips to follow when the pressure is on.
According to the National Association of Realtors, most homes will be on the market for an average of only 3 weeks as of 2017 statistics. A transaction does have the ability to close in as quickly as 2 weeks in some cases...such as a cash Buyer.
Before you look around the house and panic, take a deep breath and follow the advice and tips from the experts:
1. Start by putting together a team to assist in the process. The first thing you should do is circle the wagons and call in the troops. Many hands make light work, and you’ll need all the help you can get! Pitch it to your relatives and buddies as an excuse to get together. Make it fun by hosting a purge and packing day where you supply the pizza and beer. Before your helpers arrive, get organized by planning out who will do what, or you’ll waste everyone’s time. Find out how many hours each person can dedicate and divvy up tasks accordingly. Do enough prep so that you can put Billy on assembling boxes, Mary on spackling & filling the nail holes, Pat on bubble wrapping your glassware, and so on down the line. They’ll be glad to help if they aren’t standing around waiting for instructions.
2. Find out what your moving company will do for you on the packing front. Ask if their service package includes wrapping all of your furniture in plastic, including dressers, nightstands, and end tables. That allows you to keep your clothing and personal items tucked away in furniture drawers and move it all together as is, reducing your box count and packing burden. Many moving companies will also provide and use their own furniture blankets to protect your big bulky items, meaning you can cross expensive padding off your supplies list.
3. Hire a senior move-manager to help organize and de clutter your personal belongings. Moving Managers are like the fairy godmothers of downsizing who can swoop in, whip your home into shape, and help you tackle daunting moves faster than you can say “shazam.” While your real estate agent handles marketing your home and the specifics of the transaction, Senior Move Managers are your friends in sorting, organizing, packing, de cluttering and more.
4. Sort all of your items into 3 specific piles: What I need to sell, donate, and finally throw away. If you’re in a rush, you might be tempted to start throwing miscellaneous items into boxes. But you can actually save time with a focus on simplifying and paring down before you pack. “Don’t do your donating, purging and downsizing on the day of the move, it’s just too chaotic. It’s very costly to move. So, don’t pay to move something that all you’re going to do is get rid of it on the other end. Smart sellers realize less is more when it comes to showing a home and start de cluttering months in advance. If your home is on the market, it makes sense to pack what you can and rent a storage shed. So where to start? Do a quick scan of every room and look for obvious items to purge. Closets, countertops, cabinets, bookshelves and garages can easily become catch-alls, so go through these spaces with a discerning eye and be honest—is this item important enough to pack and haul it to your new place? Even if your move is still weeks away, a mindset shift toward early preparation will save you from wasting time down the line.
As yourself these 3 questions during the purge process for each item:
Do I need it?
Do I use it?
Do I love it?
If the answer is no to all three, then it’s time to put it in one of your piles: sell, donate, or toss. Items you should try to sell. You can make money on clothes and accessories in good condition (especially anything designer) by posting them on apps like Posh mark or e Bay. Furniture that won’t fit into your new place. Post your LaZBoy and platform bed frames for sale on Craigs list, click on “post to classifieds” in the upper lefthand corner of your city’s homepage (start here to find your local Craigslist site). Worthy items for the donation pile
Through your real estate agent, communicate with the buyers of your home about any items you’d rather leave behind and see if they’d have any use for them. If you’re moving from a house to an apartment where maintenance will be handled for you, you’ll no longer need your wheelbarrow, gardening tools or hedge trimmer. Remember, you can’t leave a single item behind when you move unless the buyers have confirmed they’d like to keep it.
Expired food! If your refrigerator door filled with half-used bottles of condiments or your deep freezer overflowing with frozen veggies and bread? Pitch anything that’s almost gone, looks old, freezer burned or close to expiring: ketchup, mayo, jellies, pickles, soy sauce, and salad dressings.
Same goes for clutter—old magazines, junk mail, cards and coupons, old magnets, chipped dishes and glasses, ripped linens or towels, expired cosmetics, old medications and lotions, clothes and shoes in poor condition, and excess holiday decorations.
5. Invite your family and friends over for a pre-moving party. As the saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Before you send perfectly good items to the landfill, host a pre-move party and invite friends, family and neighbors over to go through your unwanted goods. Remember your dream team—the ones helping you pack? Repay the favor and give them your half-used liquor bottles, cleaning supplies and perishable fridge items. Generally, it’s much cheaper and easier to restock once you’re settled into your new home than hassle with moving those items. It’s also a great time to send your grown children home with any lingering momentos from high school or college. Who knows what’s hiding in the garage, attic or basement—Barbies, hockey skates, an antique Radio Flyer wagon? Give them first dibs to grab anything sentimental from childhood—or anything they might want to pass on to their own children.
If you’re ready to downsize, consider giving away family photos, heirlooms, furniture or other personal belongings to the people you want to have them. A suggestion from an estate lawyers tells us that this avoids hurt feelings and family feuds, or the possibility of it ending up in the wrong hands or an estate sale, in the event of an unexpected illness or death. Why not have your family members enjoy your china and all your other items so you can see them in action.
6. Hold a last minute garage or yard sale for the final purge. Live on a busy street? Have lots of large or valuable items to off-load? People still enjoy stopping at good old-fashioned garage sales. Some of the top sellers include:
Larger, quality items such as furniture and appliances
Power tools and sporting equipment
Lawn care and gardening items, home building supplies
Electronics, office equipment
Good used toys and bicycles
Items for kids, toddlers and babies
Kitchenware, CDs/DVDs, household goods
Used clothes priced cheap tools (typically under $1)
If there’s no time for that, post unwanted items on Craigslist, LetGo, local Facebook garage sale groups, and Facebook marketplace. Also, ThredUp is the world’s largest online secondhand shopping resource and is also a great place to sell quality used clothes, accessories and other personal items.
7. Create a moving timeline and take a home inventory. Whether you write one out by hand or download one from the internet, a simple home inventory checklist can help keep you on track in the weeks leading up to your move. Start by taking a home inventory, and creating a timeline. There are many printable templates and Moving Guides available on Pinterest or make your own Excel spreadsheet.
8. Determine how many boxes you will need ahead of time. Boxes, boxes, boxes—they are a necessity when planning for any big move. But there are so many variables when it comes to how many boxes you will need: how much stuff you have, how many containers you already own, and how much you plan to purge or pitch. Save yourself from extra trips while you’re in a smooth packing rhythm by estimating your box needs up front. I'll bet you didn't know that Home Depot offers a handy moving calculator to help estimate how many boxes you need per room.
9. Do a quick hunt around town for free boxes. There are a variety of ways to collect boxes for free that won’t add much time to your packing process. Someone in your neighborhood may have recently moved. Post an ad on Craigslist or Nextdoor asking for free boxes. You'll be surprised how many people have them just sitting in the garage waiting to donate to someone in need. Also, visit grocery, liquor, office-supply and discount stores and ask for boxes. Make sure boxes have lids and are clean, dry and still in good shape. If you’re doing a DIY move and renting a moving truck, check with the company about special box programs. U-Haul offers Take a Box, Leave a Box, a 100% buyback guarantee and a Box Exchange program for customers.
You can always buy boxes from your moving company, a shipping-supply store and even retailers such as The Home Depot and Walmart. If you want to skip the store, and buy them at a discount, order them online through sites such as cheapcheapmovingboxes.com, Uline.com, Uboxes.com, and Amazon.com. Last, check with your moving company on any box requirements or restrictions before you collect a bunch of boxes you can’t use.
10. Get creative with other “boxes” at your fingertips. sing storage items—plastic totes, recyclable grocery bags, storage containers, sturdy baskets—around your house can cut down on your box expenses. Make use of hampers and laundry baskets by filling them with:
Sheets
Towels
Linens
Bedding
Pillows
Use your suitcases and overnight bags for:
Clothes
Scarves
Belts and accessories
Empty and clean out your trash cans and use them to move:
Bathroom and kitchen cleaning supplies
Garbage bags
Rubber gloves
Toilet paper
Paper towels
packing-tips
11. Use boxes that are the right size, strength and material for what you’re packing. Use small, sturdy boxes—think copy paper boxes—or those with built-in handles for heavier items such as books and dishes. They hold up and are easy to lift, stack and move.
Here are some other good rules of thumb:
Wardrobe boxes work best for hanging garments. Measure the number of linear feet of hanging clothing to calculate the quantity you’ll need.
Use boxes with pre assembled partitions to protect glassware.
For books and dishware, boxes larger than 12 inches square can be difficult to lift when full.
You can purchase specialty boxes for large items such as flat-screen TVS, mirrors, artwork, instruments, mattresses and lamps.
Save larger boxes for light items, and use medium boxes for everything in between. Heavier items should be placed at the bottom, lighter ones on top. Same goes for stacking them when it’s time to move.
If you’re doing the move yourself, you want to be realistic about what you can lift and carry, Albert says. Most moving companies won’t move heavy items in large boxes or those without covers. There are different grades of box strength, so don’t risk packing breakables, dishes or small appliances in the least expensive boxes.
12. Stock up on all your essential moving supplies in one fell swoop. Get everything you need with a moving supplies checklist:
Bubble wrap for wrapping breakable items. It’s more affordable to buy it in large rolls and cut sheets as you need them.
Brown packing paper, available from packing-supply companies, to stuff boxes and wrap fragile items before packing them. Avoid newsprint because it can leave ink stains and all your dishes will need rewashed.
Labels for identifying boxes. You can buy blank self-adhesive labels at most office supply or shipping stores, or find printable packing labels online. Or use permanent marker to write directly on the boxes.
Large trash bags—get extra!
Pens and a notepad for making notes; brightly colored sticky notes for leaving notes to yourself or the moving crew on what stays and goes (curtain rods, special light fixtures, appliances included in the sale), any special instructions or getting organized early in the packing process.
Small sealable plastic bags for keeping small items, screws and brackets together.
Stretch wrap for securing doors and drawers. It sticks to itself, leaving no residue behind.
Standard packing tape, strapping tape for reinforcing the bottoms of heavy boxes, and clear plastic mailing tape to affix labels (it also makes them waterproof).
Box cutters and scissors
13. Protect valuable items even when you’re in a rush. You should always pack and carefully handle valuables like jewelry, coins, special china, family heirlooms, and important paperwork, even when you’re on a tight timeline.
Bubble wrap works well for protecting breakable or fragile items. If there is a particular item you’re worried about, and you have room in your vehicle, it’s wise to transport it yourself.
14. Stay organized with a consistent labeling system.
Label each box and what room it goes in and stack them near the door or an empty wall, but out of the way until move day.
Use a marker, typed labels or a color-coded labeling system—whatever is easiest for you and the movers to see and remember.
Label each box with your name, its general contents, “Fragile” if contents are breakable, and which room each box belongs in.
Assigning color codes to label and corresponding rooms or family members can make unpacking quicker.
Refer to your inventory checklist and keep track of how many boxes you have for each room.
Briefly list the contents of each box on the box or make an inventory list. This reduces confusion for movers and simplifies the unloading/unpacking process.
“The more organized you are to pack, the more organized you will be on the unpack and you’ll save yourself so much on the back end,” Albert says.
15. Create a packing station to combat the chaos.
Designate one room in your house for packing—the guest room or an empty corner of your living room, for example.
Collect boxes in various sizes, packing tape, markers, and supplies like newspaper and bubble wrap, and keep these items contained to your packing station.
Label and stack full boxes in this space as you go. This way, you won’t be tripping over boxes all over your house, and you’ll always know where to find those Sharpies.
16. Pack non-essential items first. Begin by packing non-essentials, seasonal items, or anything you don’t regularly use or need for a few weeks:
Art on the walls
Clothes and shoes that are out of season
Holiday decorations
Dishes for special occasions
packing-tips
17. Break up your packing into manageable chunks. Pack one room at a time if possible. Albert says to pack like items from the same room in the same box. Don’t gather items from various rooms and put them in the same box; it’s too confusing and wastes time on the unpack. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you look around and see everything that needs packed. Start with a closet, the bathroom or living room knick-knacks and books. You’ll feel excited when you see an empty wall or closet. “It’s time-consuming and it’s a stressful time in anyone’s life so do it in smaller chunks, a couple of boxes a night,” she says.
18. Don’t lose track of the little things. When disassembling furniture, put the screws and hardware in a plastic bag. Label each bag and designate one box for hardware for curtains, furniture, special light fixtures and wall decor. To keep loose items organized, wrap the entire container or storage bin in plastic wrap and place it in a box.
Silverware
Mini blinds
Snacks
Jewelry
Bathroom toiletries
Desk supplies
19. Snap a picture of the back of your TV and electronic setups. You’ll want to know how (and where!) to plug everything in, and it will save set-up time at your new home. If you saved the boxes for TVs, office equipment, even counter appliances such as coffeemakers and stand mixers, good job. Pack these items back in their original packaging.
20. Plan for the first few days in your new place. Just as it takes several weeks of preparation for a move, it’s going to take the same amount of time to settle into your new home—unless you want to hire a professional to come in and help put things away. They can bring in a team and have your home put together in a day or two.
It helps to have necessities and essentials ready and easy to find-your pillows, your laptop, your favorite yoga pants and snacks. Typically, these are the items you packed up last, and either loaded last or hauled with you. Label these boxes and totes so they’ll be the first off the truck and put them in a spot that’s out of the way but easy to access.
21. Assemble an overnight bag for moving day essentials. Gather important electronics, toiletries, clothes and medication.
Designate a special box or tote for things you’ll need first at your new home and transport that in your vehicle:
Soap/hand sanitizer
Change of clothes for every person
Bed sheets and pillows/air mattress
Phone, charger, cable cords
Towels
Paper towels
Toilet paper
Snacks
Cleaning supplies, trash bags
Basic household tool kit
Disposable plates, glasses and cutlery
Flashlight, batteries and lightbulbs
Toys for children and pets
Pet items—food, food dishes, leash, treats, crate, and other essentials
22. Use a binder to keep track of important documents. Make a special file for critical personal documents or put them in your safe/fireproof box and keep that with you during the move:
Birth certificates
Passports
Medical records
Vet records
School records
Credit cards not in your wallet
Banking and insurance information
23. Spread the word about your new address. Notify all utility companies of your move several weeks in advance and schedule shut off and start dates at your old and new residence. Change your address on important accounts and subscriptions:
Employer and children’s school
Banks, credit cards, loan holders
Magazine and newspaper
Insurance companies
Doctor’s offices
Gas, electric and water companies
TV/internet and phone companies
Packing doesn’t have to be dreadful, but it’s usually a hectic and stressful time for most people. If you’re too tired, busy or physically not able to move, Albert suggests outsourcing what you can. And planning in advance as much as possible.
All the headaches will be worth it. You’ll be enjoying your new home in no time!
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