Moving/packing/selling a House Tips

Children have favorite toys so box everything else up and put it in the garage and if this is going to take a while every week go to the garage and switch the different toys out for new ones the kids will like doing that.

Hiding places for your personal items, things you have to have out but dont want out when the house is showing should be stored in something that is not an eyesore and can be quickly tossed there then retrieved later.

Finish all outside front yard work, curb appeal is very important! No personal items out front.

When you know you are going to show the house, shortly before you leave take some Vanilla and a little bit of water and heat it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, open the oven if you have to so the aroma (did I spell that right?) circulates to get rid of "your house smell". Not saying your smells but the smell the vanilla gives off is pleasant and bakers can imagine themselves cooking in your marvelous kitchen!

when we were staging our house to sell we packed up all personal items and put them all in the garage. This made our house seem more open large and spacious it also made the garage look large enough to store a lot of things and still fit a car! lol
Anything you dont want broken pack it up yourself.

We are former military
Before I put any of the houses on sale I

got a storage unit
Removed 1 piece of furniture from each room
padked away all nonessentials, books, stuffies, toys, crockpot and baking things, tools in garage

If you have a company coming to move you---
Put all like items in one area, all knickknacks from all rooms go in dining room
All glassware in kitchen
all pictures off walls in one spot
all harps and mirrors off dressers, these should all be picture packed or mirror packed

If you move yourself---
All linens are wrapped around mirrors and pictures and breakables
Decide either you pack with like kinds or by room
Packing by like kinds mean all glassware into dining room and pack it all together, separate it at the other end

Now, pack up all nonessentials and get them out, each room should have the bare minimal
Pack the linen closet with that you will not use to buffer glassware, heavy quilts etc
Remove all holiday to the storage unit
Have the kids rooms packed in one day and let them have one suitcase each for their loveys, do this about two days before you pull out
Use paper plates at the beginning of the pack week and get the kitchen packed

At the other end unpack the kitchen first and one bathroom and the kids .
rooms. Then work on the other areas

if the clutter is under control it isn't too hard to keep clean
Every night run a swiffer and a quick dust over everything
At night get set up for a show the next day, no matter what

If you are caught and things are messy, fill a laundry basket with whatever is laying around, grab the dogs and throw everything into the car and go.

Kennel the pups before any open house, two days before and clean
Use Airwicks judiciously

If you can have Grandma keep the kids for the week you move.

I keep all change in a piggy bank, then in three years we use that money to eat on when we have to move.

Paint the house neutral.
Take down all family pics, anything personal
DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES!! Put jewelry in a lockbox for the duration of the move/selling of the house, or give to Grandma for a while

Buy fresh fruit for the table ---- staging for a showing, lemons are especially cheerful
Or a new bunch of flowers every week, usually about $10 from the grocery store, for a showing
Power wash the outside of the house
Have carpets cleaned, I actually redid both my hardwoods and my carpets in the last house.
Plant summer flowers, petunias and verbena, lantana, low maintenance, but showy.

Anything you are not selling with the house, like an undercounter radio, or similar get it packed. Curtains, pack them if you are not selling them with the house.
Buy fresh clean throw rugs for the kitchen and new towels just for showings.

Do all repairs now, before any inspections

We've moved 7 times, I was homeschooling through two of them. People understand use, like using a table for homeschool, they do not understand gross, like leaving a half eaten lunch on the counter.

Good luck, daunting is right. Our worst move was with 4 kids, one was an infant, and one was 3. THis last move we had 5 kids, three dogs and 3 cats. My son was home from the Navy and we had a foreign exchange student.

I'm still a renter so I don't know much about what it takes to sell a house. I have moved (AGAIN) recently though. It's always a pain but getting to pack in stages helps. First, get a good stash of flattened boxes, packing tape, bubble wrap/wrapping stuff and a Sharpie. Involve the whole family as much as possible. A two year old can be the gopher :P Older kids can pack their own belongings. For now to prep for the showing, pack everything that isn't used on a daily or weekly basis. Imagine yourself going camping and keep that out. You'll be surprised how much you can pack away if you really think of how often you use it. It'll sell your house sooner and help ease the packing process. Pack away all personal stuff, like family pictures, kids artwork. You want your home to be so neutral that almost anyone can walk in and imagine themselves living there. Think hotel room. Clear out all unnecessary furniture, like that little side table the just holds clutter. You should consider renting a storage unit close to home, so stacked boxes don't hide the size of rooms. Consider fresh coats of paint if it's been a while. If it ends up being a while before you actually move, you can swap out toys with the ones in storage. Since you'll have less stuff around, it should be easier to keep clean/picked up. You'll just have to pick up and straighten daily to keep it presentable for sudden showings. I would hope your realtor would be understanding and give you an hour to get out of the house. Another tip is make it smell nice. Get fresh air in as much as possible, especially if the dogs are inside a lot. Us animal owners can't smell what non-animal owners can. Keep a tube of cookie dough on hand to bake quickly. Who doesn't love a fresh cookie, especially if you leave a plate and a cute note telling them to help themselves. Take small steps every day so it doesn't seem so overwhelming. Maybe some weekend day, get the kids out of the house so you and hubby can do some major packing/prep. Best of luck!

We have moved several times. So here are the tips that helped us the most.

Start packing now. Don't wait until your ready to list.
If you don't have a storage shed or empty garage rent a storage locker.

If it is a fairly short time til you move pack everything for the other seasons and keep only the summer stuff and a couple pair of pants out for the kids. keep only the favorite toys (this is the perfect time to sell / donate / give away things that they have outgrown. Both toys and clothing and furniture items).

Kitchen area. keep out only enough dishes and silverware out for each person to have a place setting. pack everything else except absolute necessity items. semi empty cabinets look bigger.

linen closets and coat closets and bedroom closets can be emptied so that they look big and roomy this is a big selling point.

Buy your boxes at home depot they are about a third of the cost of u haul but go to uhaul and get the moving tape. they have bags with labled tape in different colors. we got a package for 4 bedroom house. it had tape in different colors for living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, basement, garage and 4 bedrooms. made moving so much easier when we unpacked as the movers could put the stuff right into the proper rooms.

Have the kids start making their beds as soon as they get out of them. and laundry into hampers. toys put away each night so you don't start out already messy. Good luck.

First of all, move everything out of your house that you're not using at this very minute. Get rid of almost all of your spares in the linen closet, all of your clothes from the opposite season, all of the tools you won't need until you get to your new house, and 80% of your kids toys. It's a huge pain - but putting everything in a storage unit will make your house look so much bigger. And you'll have less to clean up when you have showings.

Find homes for all of your kids toys, in bins or on shelves so when you stage it, everything has a place and potential buyers aren't coming in to kid clutter. Keep a bag in your car of everything you could need for two - three hours while your house is being shown. That way you can spend your time straightening when you get that last minute call, not running around the house packing snacks and diapers. Good luck!

With our last move we got our house ready to sell by cleaning, decluttering and donating. For things we didn't need or want we used www.craigslist.com or we donated to the Lupus foundation or Goodwill. LF came to our door step every month which was so convenient. The Goodwill in our previous town had a drive-thru, drop off service which is also nice when you have kids with you.

Because our last house needed some decorating/work I ended up sprucing up the bathrooms, diningroom and master bedroom. For the bathrooms I bought new rugs, towels, shower curtain, candles and spa stuff. It was daunting but I liked decorating and shopping is always a plus too!

For the master bathroom I shopped at Kohl's. They have really nice towels-Apt 9 are my favorite. If you use them for staging do not wash them or they may lose their "fluff" appeal. I rolled them up and set them in a basket or on top of the toilet tank. I also set out travel sized bars of soap, shampoo & conditioners that we collected from staying at hotels. I also bought some fluffy spa-like flip flops that I set next to the bath tub. For around the tub and sink I got some neutral colored candle holders and candles from Pier One. For the counter I got a charger, put some stones, candles and stone shaped soaps on it. I love Pier One! For open houses I would fill the tub with water with floating rose petals in the water. We also had a vase of roses sitting next to the tub. When we weren't showing the house I would set some of these things in a drawer or underneath the sink so the kids wouldn't play with them.

The Master bedroom also needed work so i got matching lamps for our nightstands from Target. I also found a new comforter (our other one was very dated) from Bed Bath & Beyond. It is the Columbia comforter which is red, brown and ivory stripes with matching floral red sheets. I chose this style so that it was not too girly but also appealing to men. At the foot of the bed I had a pretty red chenille throw that I found at a furniture store for $20 bucks. Also on the bed I set a tray on it with coffee mugs, matching tea pot, tea bags, fancy cookie wafers, and andes mints. I also put lots of different pillows on the bed that matched or came with the bedding. These were expensive but I still have them and use them all the time.

The dining room was fun to stage as well. I put a nice table cloth on the table from Target. Then I set the table with fancy clear plates, wine glasses silverware, more candles, an artificial plant from furniture store in the center and an empty wine bottle or two just for looks.

We hired a maid to clean the house twice a month, had the walls painted a nuetral color and hired someone to clean the carpets. We kept the lawn mowed and made sure to keep the weeds and dandilions under control. We always made sure that nobody wore their shoes on the carpet and this was worth it because I think it helps make the carpet last longer and doesn't get as soiled in the high traffic areas.

As for drawers and cupboards I just went through them one by one and organized everything, got rid of things we didn't need and bought dividers and containers or baskets. The old pills and toiletries were ridiculous and I threw out a lot of that stuff!

Lastly our realtor hired someone to set up a virtual tour of our house on line. This was the most helpful tool in advertising the sale of our home and it was SO worth it! We got more calls/showings after it was posted online.

HTH and good luck!

Packing kids room...pack wrap kids breakable items in kids bedding and towels, so when you arrive in your new home they are all together.

Staging: Pack light weight toys in a box that can go out in the garage on a shelf. Allow the children to play with them and put them up when not in use. Do not stage your house with breakable or valuable items and the same goes for toys, unless you want to provide a playroom while parents look at your home.

Less is better!

1. Keeping the house constantly spick and span is annoying and I hated it, don't know any way around it, besides hiring someone to do it for you.

2. We put a bunch of stuff in the garage - it was messy but we found people were more accepting of a messy garage than an inside room. You can rent a storage space or put stuff at someone else's house if you have that option.

3. Pack the stuff you don't use much first and just keep piling it up somewhere out of the way. You'll be suprised how much you can get done this way. You probably won't start packing until you have a contract anyway. Use old towels/sheets to pack breakables - killing two birds with one stone. Try to get rid of things instead of bringing them with. For example, I had about 4 boxes of books I wasn't going to read anymore, so I donated them to the library instead of breaking my husbands and brothers backs. I threw out a ton of stuff too.

LABEL every box with as much detail as possible!!! What room it will go in and generally what is in the box. Save your cars for your most breakable things that are most important to you.

AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I CAN SAY.... b/c I didn't do this when we moved 3 yrs ago. Oh I wish I had. Pack a suitcase as if you are staying in a hotel for a couple days - all your necessary toiletries, pjs, clothes you will want to wear when unpacking the next day, even a set of sheets for your bed and pillows and a towel. Put this in your car. You think you will remember where these things are but you will not, trust me.

If your moving day goes like ours did, you will be at it late into the night and once all your help is gone you will just want to crash, not hunt around for the sheets for the bed, and your pillows and your pjs etc. Then the next morning you'll want to shower (maybe :) and not want to look for your underware and a towel and shampoo.

I didn't do this and was so ovewhelmed the next day. My mom came over to help me unpack and she found me in my pajamas hanging my clothes up - I didn't even know where to start and I was so off b/c I couldn't even brush my teeth without hunting through all the boxes. Yikes. I'm laughing at myself remembering it.

Unpack your kitchen first, not your clothes in the closet :)

Good luck!

OH I forgot to say... Move out your valuables - jewlery and anything else you don't want stolen. Not all folks are there to buy a home, some may be looking for something else.