cajunrose Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 We will be moving in 9-12 months. We are going to have the house READY to sell (needed repairs made) by June but likely won't be able to list the house until a few months later. I have lived here for 10 years..my husband 15. That is a LOT of stuff. Not to mention, I have never made a huge move like this in my adult life. My house isn't filthy but it's cluttered. Definitely lived in. I have NO idea where to start getting it ready. I KNOW I need to declutter like mad. Do I box everything we aren't using every day before June or wait until we are ready to list? We will have to go through every room and paint so do I do it then? How do you go about deciding what you need now or what you MAY need soon and will hate if it's in a box, etc. I have sooooooo much stuff you guys. I just don't know where to begin with this. Can you give me tips? Should I start now? Wait? I just don't know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoftwinboys Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 I've self deemed myself expert at moving and getting homes ready for sale(I've owned/sold 5 homes in the last 10 years). Get boxes now. Start packing everything but necessecities. Pack ALL your chockies(sp?) Pack/store all family photos and take 1/2 the pictures off the walls. Declutter everything and pack and store neatly in the garage against a wall or better yet rent a storage unit. Depersonalize your home while still keeping it *homey*, ywim? Take 1/3 of your furniture and store in it the rental unit. You want the space to seem open, CLEAN and airy but people don't want it to feel sterile. Paint a neutral taupe ( I personally like Sherwin Williams whole wheat color-it was on my last home-sold in 3 weeks- and I painted the whole house we just built the same color and I get compliments all the time)...paint all the rooms the same(unless you have some rooms that are dark or small-paint them 1 or 2 levels lighter on the same color card-it will give the illusion of the same color but will trick the eye into thinking the room is bigger and lighter)..hope some of these tips help! I love to buy, fix up and sell homes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 (edited) duplicate post somehow? Edited October 17, 2010 by elfgivas@yahoo.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 that's exciting! first off, i would aim to have the house on the market when your area has its "high housing season". for many places that is spring. autumn is usually a tough time to try to sell a house. second, my advice would be different from many.... we moved every year for several years; if we had started packing right away, we would never have been unpacked! so we try to live fully where we are, for just about as long as we can. i would pick a room a week (i use flylady's zones) and declutter. the first month, that would take care of the obvious things, the next month more things, the next more.... like peeling an onion. i'd also take time each month to do things in the area i am in that i won't be in anymore, so that i will have great memories and not regret having put off doing something that i really wanted to do. i would cut down on buying anything optional so that i had a little money tucked aside to by new drapes, etc. for the new home. then, when you are ready to list the house, i would take some furniture out of most rooms to make them look bigger. and then starting 4 weeks from a move, i would pack as much as i could, each day. i leave the kitchen and kids toys for last, as we love to cook and eat, and i love for kids to have things to play with while i pack! hth, ann eta: i've repainted sometimes and not repainted others; for us, it doesn't seem to have made a difference in how quickly it sold or for how much BUT i do know folks who swear by it. i keep thinking of things. you could plant bulbs this autumn so the home shows nicely next spring. its cheap, and makes a difference. and if you are in a colder climate, you may want to declutter the garage NOW, while it is still bearable out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajunrose Posted October 18, 2010 Author Share Posted October 18, 2010 that's exciting! first off, i would aim to have the house on the market when your area has its "high housing season". for many places that is spring. autumn is usually a tough time to try to sell a house. second, my advice would be different from many.... we moved every year for several years; if we had started packing right away, we would never have been unpacked! so we try to live fully where we are, for just about as long as we can. i would pick a room a week (i use flylady's zones) and declutter. the first month, that would take care of the obvious things, the next month more things, the next more.... like peeling an onion. i'd also take time each month to do things in the area i am in that i won't be in anymore, so that i will have great memories and not regret having put off doing something that i really wanted to do. i would cut down on buying anything optional so that i had a little money tucked aside to by new drapes, etc. for the new home. then, when you are ready to list the house, i would take some furniture out of most rooms to make them look bigger. and then starting 4 weeks from a move, i would pack as much as i could, each day. i leave the kitchen and kids toys for last, as we love to cook and eat, and i love for kids to have things to play with while i pack! hth, ann eta: i've repainted sometimes and not repainted others; for us, it doesn't seem to have made a difference in how quickly it sold or for how much BUT i do know folks who swear by it. i keep thinking of things. you could plant bulbs this autumn so the home shows nicely next spring. its cheap, and makes a difference. and if you are in a colder climate, you may want to declutter the garage NOW, while it is still bearable out there. I like the idea of decluttering in layers...not boxing everything up right this second..but by the time I get there, it should be easier. I hate stuff being SO up in the air...if I had a definite date, it would be so much easier! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcyB Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Also - visit your local UHaul office regularly - especially the bigger ones that have warehouses. Many of them have free box boxes..boxes that have been used by others and are now being offered for free. It can be a way to get boxes free to use them to pack up. We would pick up a handful every other week or so and use them to pack as we went (didn't grab them all so that we weren't hoarding them), and made the last move with very few boxes purchased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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