Getting our house ready to show

[DawnM]

My plan was to buy a house.   Move.   THEN start packing and moving our current house to put on the market.   The realtor keeps telling us that since it is already the end of June, we need to do it ASAP so people can get the contracts signed and get their kids enrolled in the local school.

She isn't wrong.   

I am reading that it takes roughly 1 day per larger room in the house to pack up.   I am not fully packing yet, just getting the excess out so we can stage.   I think the bedrooms are the biggest challenge but the boys can each pack their own stuff.

Can I get this all done by Sunday, June 25th?  

Stay tuned for the drama!

Packing pointers welcome.   I have done this so many times, but I still get so overwhelmed.

 

 

 

[scholastica]

Number the boxes and keep a spreadsheet listing the contents of each box. It takes time, but makes things easier when you’re looking for something and you have 18 boxes labeled “kitchen”.

[DawnM]

3 minutes ago, scholastica said:

Number the boxes and keep a spreadsheet listing the contents of each box. It takes time, but makes things easier when you’re looking for something and you have 18 boxes labeled “kitchen”.

It is so funny because you really think you don't have a lot and then you start packing and you start stacking those boxes and MAN it is a LOT!

[scholastica]

23 minutes ago, DawnM said:

It is so funny because you really think you don't have a lot and then you start packing and you start stacking those boxes and MAN it is a LOT!

So true!

[stephanier.1765]

58 minutes ago, DawnM said:

It is so funny because you really think you don't have a lot and then you start packing and you start stacking those boxes and MAN it is a LOT!

Because my craft room is tiny, I decided to remove everything before I removed the wallpaper and started sanding the walls. I could just imagine all that dust in my craft things. Oh. My. Word. The amount of stuff that came out of that tiny 9x11 room is unreal. I don't know where all that crap came from. It's now filled my closet, a wall in my bedroom, and the center of the living room. The only good thing is that I have a powerful incentive to get this done and done as quickly as possible. So yeah, I would rent storage and put all your "extras" in there before I started showing because otherwise you take the chance of them being everywhere. Like literally everywhere.

[DawnM]

Ok, our local/closest storage facility has no deals at all.   It is 2.5 miles away from us.

The storage facility 5 miles away from us has $1 for your first month, the unit itself is about 1/3 less the cost, and they have a giant until available.   We will do the 5 miles away.   They have a 15x30 for about $300 with the first month at $1.   I don't think we will need it for more than 2 to 3 months.

I am also having 19 year old help today.   He can run a few things to the thrift store and go to Lowe's and get some moving boxes.   I know I can run all over town for free boxes and ask the liquor store, etc....but I seriously have a time crunch here.   I have a lot of sturdy plastic boxes too that I can use.  I wouldn't mind a few more of them from Costco.

[lmrich]

You can do it! Removing 1/2 the stuff from  each room makes a tremendous difference. Buy more packing supplies than you think you need,  you can always return it later. There is nothing wrong storing all the boxes in the garage. 

Dust, vaccuum, touch  up  paint and close  the door to that room. Get fresh flowers and a new doormat for the front door. Make sure the cobwebs are removed from your front porch or entry way; people spend a lot  of time while the realtor fools with the key.  I baked bread the morning of the showings - smelled so good but not sweet. Turn on all the lights and open the blinds. - You will have that baby sold in three days!

 

[KatieJ]

Check your local. Craigslist or FB marketplace for boxes. We got most of our moving boxes that  way.

When we moved to a new state about 2 years ago, everything went into storage for several months while we house hunted. A master detailed list was so helpful! Every box had a number and my master list had the contents of that box. When we put it in storage, boxes were organized in sections …helpful as we needed a few things during our temporary stay at our daughter’s. Moving day to our new house i was able to direct traffic to where the boxes went.

[DawnM]

1 hour ago, KatieJ said:

Check your local. Craigslist or FB marketplace for boxes. We got most of our moving boxes that  way.

When we moved to a new state about 2 years ago, everything went into storage for several months while we house hunted. A master detailed list was so helpful! Every box had a number and my master list had the contents of that box. When we put it in storage, boxes were organized in sections …helpful as we needed a few things during our temporary stay at our daughter’s. Moving day to our new house i was able to direct traffic to where the boxes went.

That is what I did last time but I literally spent hours driving all over for boxes only to find that many of them were unusable, crushed, or not the right size or density.   I ended up having to buy quite a few anyway, but the time I spent going all over to people's houses, places of business (Walmart got nasty with me BTW), liquor stores, etc.....only to be told to come back because they MIGHT get a shipment on Tuesday with boxes but it was first come first served and they had no idea when they would be finished unboxing, etc....and if no one is there, they crush them immediately.   

I have looked this time and a few people have them listed for free but they aren't that close and it looks like a lot of the boxes are bent, or I can't see all the boxes, or, or, or.

If I find some 5 min. away I might send my son to collect them, otherwise, I am just going to put it in the budget.   I don't really need to box up EVERYTHING I don't think.  I am just staging now and then once I stage we plan to move most things straight from this house to that house and then collect the storage stuff.

[vonfirmath]

5 hours ago, scholastica said:

Number the boxes and keep a spreadsheet listing the contents of each box. It takes time, but makes things easier when you’re looking for something and you have 18 boxes labeled “kitchen”.

My parents have been in their new house for 5 years and STILL use that list to find things still in boxes

[Scarlett]

Did I miss something? Did you guys go under contract ?

[Grace Hopper]

13 hours ago, scholastica said:

Number the boxes and keep a spreadsheet listing the contents of each box. It takes time, but makes things easier when you’re looking for something and you have 18 boxes labeled “kitchen”.

Write that number on all four sides and top of box so it’s visible no matter how the boxes are stacked. 
 

Start with the garage. Use one of the bays as your “storage facility.” People understand that folks are moving and that packing has to happen; neat stacks of boxes in a clean swept garage is not a problem for a prospective buyer to see. You just don’t want it to look junky iykwim. 
 

Keep a laundry basket in each room. When you get a call for a showing each room gets all loose stuff tossed into the laundry room (eta I meant basket) and put in the trunk of the car when you whisk yourselves away for the showing to take place. When all are in the car, make a last run through the house to adjust your thermostat, lights and window coverings to the most attractive settings. (Realtors will flip on wall switches but will not turn on lamps, so do that yourself).

I boxed up as much out of season clothing as possible to make closets appear more spacious, as well as extra bedding and throws. I also washed, dried and put away all the laundry every night so it wouldn’t pile up anywhere and have to be dealt with at the last minute. 
 

You can do it!

Edited June 20, 2023 by Grace Hopper

[prairiewindmomma]

3 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

My parents have been in their new house for 5 years and STILL use that list to find things still in boxes

This is why decluttering before packing is so important. If you haven’t needed something in 5 years, odds are you don’t really need it at all and could get by without it.

I try to be fully unpacked within a week. 80% of that is done in the first three days. The last bit is books, wall art, and decor.It’s easier when you own a lot less stuff.

[vonfirmath]

Just now, prairiewindmomma said:

This is why decluttering before packing is so important. If you haven’t needed something in 5 years, odds are you don’t really need it at all and could get by without it.

I try to be fully unpacked within a week. 80% of that is done in the first three days. The last bit is books, wall art, and decor.It’s easier when you own a lot less stuff.

They actually decluttered quite a bit. Things were not unpacked due to lack of place to put it. This is my dad's shop that he has been working on unpacking as he has placed to put things. They have already moved the things and stored them at this point. I'm just glad it is getting used now.

 

[vonfirmath]

ETA: this shop and the items to stock it are my dad's dream. Think of these items in boxes in some ways as a hope chest for my dad. Just waiting for the right time to be able to put them out and use them. If he NEVER builds anything with them, they have earned their value by fulfilling his dream.  And there have been plenty of projects he's been able to do because of some tool he bought years ago and my mother noted where it was stored in the meantime.

 

[prairiewindmomma]

Just now, vonfirmath said:

ETA: this shop and the items to stock it are my dad's dream. Think of these items in boxes in some ways as a hope chest for my dad. Just waiting for the right time to be able to put them out and use them. If he NEVER builds anything with them, they have earned their value by fulfilling his dream.  And there have been plenty of projects he's been able to do because of some tool he bought years ago and my mother noted where it was stored in the meantime.

 

I’ll give that a pass.

My ILs have 50 years expired canned goods and other unboxed goodies that have been sitting there since they moved into their current home 50+ years ago. It’s just rooms of stacked boxes of stuff in the unfinished part of their basement…:including wedding gifts that were never opened, and just moved from house to house until they built this one.

[Laurel-in-CA]

If you can afford it, it is worth it to buy boxes -- you get the sizes you want and they all stack smoothly. Then you can bless someone else with them after moving, or else try to peddle them for $.

We labeled each box by room bedroom #1, etc. - with a word or two of detail -- clothes, toiletries, crockpot, etc. We had a box or two of OPEN FIRST items -- cleaning and kitchen supplies, pillows and bedding, etc.

We had a patio room where we stacked all our stuff, as well as in the garage. And lots and lots of books went to goodwill -- every time we move THAT happens. LOL

[Jaybee]

33 minutes ago, Laurel-in-CA said:

If you can afford it, it is worth it to buy boxes -- you get the sizes you want and they all stack smoothly. Then you can bless someone else with them after moving, or else try to peddle them for $.

 

I found it worth it to buy boxes, personally. I mean, we sometimes added a few more, but the bought ones were new, sturdy, and more uniform.

[Grace Hopper]

2 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

They actually decluttered quite a bit. Things were not unpacked due to lack of place to put it. This is my dad's shop that he has been working on unpacking as he has placed to put things. They have already moved the things and stored them at this point. I'm just glad it is getting used now.

 

We’ve had a couple of moves that happened so fast there was no opportunity to declutter, just had to box everything fast without giving things too much thought. So unpacking strategically was necessary, decluttering each box individually as we unpacked. I had an empty “donate” box going for things I decided to give away rather than keep. Worked well. 

[scholastica]

23 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

We’ve had a couple of moves that happened so fast there was no opportunity to declutter, just had to box everything fast without giving things too much thought. So unpacking strategically was necessary, decluttering each box individually as we unpacked. I had an empty “donate” box going for things I decided to give away rather than keep. Worked well. 

We left some stuff in storage and I had my husband grab a box or two on his way home from work. I’d sort through what was staying and what was being donated. With 2 young kids and infant, that worked really well for me. 

[crazyforlatin]

Dawn, you seem like a high-energy can-do gal! I’m still spinning from the other thread about buying a property and you’ve moved on to packing up for storage. 

[Wishes]

Offer-Up is great to get rid of free stuff. Put it in front of the house. Take a picture of the whole pile of stuff. Run the ad. This worked better for me then listing item-by-item. Good luck! My house just closed last week.

[DawnM]

15 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

Write that number on all four sides and top of box so it’s visible no matter how the boxes are stacked. 
 

Start with the garage. Use one of the bays as your “storage facility.” People understand that folks are moving and that packing has to happen; neat stacks of boxes in a clean swept garage is not a problem for a prospective buyer to see. You just don’t want it to look junky iykwim. 

You obviously haven't seen our garage!   One bay is DH's woodworking equipment.   One bay is all his tools, car repair items, cleaning supplies, pool supplies, etc.....and then one bay is already the "junk pile."

Today I am clearing out as much of the garage as I can to take to the storage unit so we have a place to put the things that are ready to go to storage next.
 

Keep a laundry basket in each room. When you get a call for a showing each room gets all loose stuff tossed into the laundry room (eta I meant basket) and put in the trunk of the car when you whisk yourselves away for the showing to take place. When all are in the car, make a last run through the house to adjust your thermostat, lights and window coverings to the most attractive settings. (Realtors will flip on wall switches but will not turn on lamps, so do that yourself).

I boxed up as much out of season clothing as possible to make closets appear more spacious, as well as extra bedding and throws. I also washed, dried and put away all the laundry every night so it wouldn’t pile up anywhere and have to be dealt with at the last minute. 
 

You can do it!

I will be boxing up a lot of clothing today.   

Today I have the full day and I will have a bit of help from two of my kids.   My goal is to clear out as much of the garage as I can, box up quite a bit in my room and the guest room and get it out of here.   

If I have additional time, I will get started on DH's office.

We are having a bit of an issue with Aspie's areas.   He was fine with the move until yesterday when he freaked out and told us this is much too fast and it is stressing him out.   UGH.   His area is stuffed with legos, board games, etc.....I really need to start boxing that up.   But I can wait until the end to do that.

[DawnM]

DH and I sat down and talked last night.   He is off the week of July 4th.   His entire office is shut down.   So, we have come up with a plan.   I will purge/pack/take some things to storage, etc....between now and July 1st.

July 1-8 DH will work on any repairs to the house that haven't been completed.   He will also help move the heavier stuff to storage, including his woodworking tools that take up an entire garage bay.   OY!

The house will not officially go on the market until after that, with a target date of July 8 or 9.   I had hoped it would be sooner, but at least we now have a plan.

That gives me a little more time and relief.   I calculated about 40-50 hours to get the house ready.   That is only a few hours per day and with some help from the boys, we should be able to knock it out.

Or am I being unrealistic?   

Roughly 75% of the furniture will stay in the house for now unless the realtor tells us otherwise.   As long as things can neatly stay in drawers or out of site, it can stay in the house.   

Today?   

Bag up extra clothing in the guest room and our room and get it out.   Bag up extra toys for storage.   Bag up all additional bedding/blankets/etc....

Take over (to storage) all boxed up items, items already boxed up in the garage, all work/school related items can be stored.   

 

[DawnM]

11 hours ago, crazyforlatin said:

Dawn, you seem like a high-energy can-do gal! I’m still spinning from the other thread about buying a property and you’ve moved on to packing up for storage. 

I admit I am a go getter and when I know what I want and know how to get it done, I do!   DH was attracted to me because he is the opposite.   He loves it and he hates it about me! 😜

Last night he freaked out a little and said, "This is way too fast!"   I said, "Well, you have been griping for over a year about this HOA issue and you want land and privacy and you said you were ready to look, so I looked!   What did you WANT to happen?  To keep griping for a few more years until you might move?"   

My drive is what pushed him into grad school.   He says, "My wife kicked my butt and told me to get back to school! If it weren't for her, I am not sure if I would be where I am today" but then he also gets very irritated with me for suggesting changes......he is a "don't mess with my comfort level" type of guy. 

As Monk says, "It is a blessing.    And a curse."

[DawnM]

16 hours ago, Jaybee said:

I found it worth it to buy boxes, personally. I mean, we sometimes added a few more, but the bought ones were new, sturdy, and more uniform.

Yes, I agree.   DH got some basic ones and some heavy duty ones.   He only got 15 to start.   I will pack all of those today, although I think my son took some of them last night.   

Then I will go buy more.

I also have some plastic bins with lids.   I need to see how many I have.

[DawnM]

A random person on Next Door advertised that she packs people up to move.   She charges $65/hour.

I have no idea how much experience she has, how fast she works, would ask for references, etc........but is that a typical cost?   I am thinking I will need about 40-60 hours and would hire out for maybe 25 hours.   But that is a LOT of $$.

Edited June 20, 2023 by DawnM

[lmrich]

I have been seeing "coming soon" for listings. Eager buyers and realtors can get a sneak peek, knowing that the house is 'not ready' - you might want to ask your realtor if your area does that. 

When we moved, I hired a few students, who I knew were hard workers, to come and move boxes into the U-Haul and then into  the storage area. I think you could find a few young people that you could hire to pack; you would have to train them.  Even just making the boxes takes a lot of your time. They could pack clothes and non-breakable stuff. Just an idea. 

Good luck!

[JustEm]

1 hour ago, DawnM said:

I admit I am a go getter and when I know what I want and know how to get it done, I do!   DH was attracted to me because he is the opposite.   He loves it and he hates it about me! 😜

Last night he freaked out a little and said, "This is way too fast!"   I said, "Well, you have been griping for over a year about this HOA issue and you want land and privacy and you said you were ready to look, so I looked!   What did you WANT to happen?  To keep griping for a few more years until you might move?"   

My drive is what pushed him into grad school.   He says, "My wife kicked my butt and told me to get back to school! If it weren't for her, I am not sure if I would be where I am today" but then he also gets very irritated with me for suggesting changes......he is a "don't mess with my comfort level" type of guy. 

As Monk says, "It is a blessing.    And a curse."

Are we the same person?  In 2018, I noticed that our house was no longer underwater from the 2008 housing crash and we would have quite a bit of equity in it if we sold it.  Well I had hated that house so much and was ready to go, so 8 days later the house was boxed up, we were moved into my parents house, and we started getting it ready to sell.  It needed a lot of work. 4 weeks after that we had replaced the kitchen cabinets and counter tops, painted the entire house, put new flooring down in 700 sq ft of the first floor, finished a bathroom, and put it on the market.  Dh and I did 90% of the work ourselves. We had a few family members help paint one weekend and someone helped us hang some closet doors. 

Also, dh mentioned to me that he wanted to go back to school to get his bachelor's.  2 days later I sat him down and handed him a sheet of paper with the game plan for getting it done as quickly, cheaply, and efficiently as possible. Efficiently meaning using his employers tuition reimbursement optimally so we aren't paying anything other than fees.

[Grace Hopper]

As I look at this thread I have to confess I’m feeling a wish that we were back in a need-to-move-quick scenario. It’s a pressure cooker but wow, what a way to get the house cleaned up. 😂

I’m honestly not joking. I’d love to move, our home value has risen substantially so we’d profit with selling. But the areas we’d like to relocate to also have increased house values, so…. We just need to stumble across the perfect can’t-say-no opportunity to flip the switch. 

[DawnM]

2 hours ago, hjffkj said:

Are we the same person?  In 2018, I noticed that our house was no longer underwater from the 2008 housing crash and we would have quite a bit of equity in it if we sold it.  Well I had hated that house so much and was ready to go, so 8 days later the house was boxed up, we were moved into my parents house, and we started getting it ready to sell.  It needed a lot of work. 4 weeks after that we had replaced the kitchen cabinets and counter tops, painted the entire house, put new flooring down in 700 sq ft of the first floor, finished a bathroom, and put it on the market.  Dh and I did 90% of the work ourselves. We had a few family members help paint one weekend and someone helped us hang some closet doors. 

Also, dh mentioned to me that he wanted to go back to school to get his bachelor's.  2 days later I sat him down and handed him a sheet of paper with the game plan for getting it done as quickly, cheaply, and efficiently as possible. Efficiently meaning using his employers tuition reimbursement optimally so we aren't paying anything other than fees.

Yes!   We are the same person!

DH was selling cars when I met him.  He had been a pro golfer but he had torn his rotator cuff and broken his collar bone and he needed some income while everything healed.   However, he really didn't want the life of a pro athlete and so I sat him down and said, "I don't want to marry a car dealer, what else do you want to do?"   His response?   "Well, I have always wanted to be an accountant but that would require grad school."   By the end of that evening I had found 4 quality programs in our area, told him I would work while he went to school, and got the applications ready for him to fill out!   😜

All that to say, he KNEW what he was getting into before he married me, and he still married me!  But I will also admit that this can be an issue for us.   He needs to "think about it" for forever first and we have lost so many houses because of his "let me think about it" attitude.   There is one house that got away when we first moved here and I am still upset about it.   And he sometimes hesitates until right up to the deadline which makes me wiggy.   

[DawnM]

2 hours ago, lmrich said:

I have been seeing "coming soon" for listings. Eager buyers and realtors can get a sneak peek, knowing that the house is 'not ready' - you might want to ask your realtor if your area does that. 

When we moved, I hired a few students, who I knew were hard workers, to come and move boxes into the U-Haul and then into  the storage area. I think you could find a few young people that you could hire to pack; you would have to train them.  Even just making the boxes takes a lot of your time. They could pack clothes and non-breakable stuff. Just an idea. 

Good luck!

I think we will see where we are at the end of this week and then decide to hire or not hire anyone.   Two of my sons will help today.   My goal is to pack up the main floor (only the excess) and get it over to storage.  

I think:

Tuesday and Wed.- main floor excess, office clean up and moving (office is a mess), and take several loads from the garage, including donation pile

Thur/Fri- Master bedroom and guest room

Sat/Sun- kids' game room/media room to storage

By Sunday our realtor will come and walk through and tell us what else needs to GO. 

[history-fan]

I bought boxes at U-Haul, three different sizes. What was great about that was they stacked so well, instead of all odd sizes these all fit together and saved so much space. I used colored tape that each room was assigned so it was easy to identify where to put the boxes.

[DawnM]

1 hour ago, Grace Hopper said:

As I look at this thread I have to confess I’m feeling a wish that we were back in a need-to-move-quick scenario. It’s a pressure cooker but wow, what a way to get the house cleaned up. 😂

I’m honestly not joking. I’d love to move, our home value has risen substantially so we’d profit with selling. But the areas we’d like to relocate to also have increased house values, so…. We just need to stumble across the perfect can’t-say-no opportunity to flip the switch. 

We happened to get a great deal on this house when we bought and they had to come down significantly.   It was a divorce situation and they had had 2 other very good offers and the divorce agreement said they both had to agree to the sale and the wife kept saying no.   Finally it sat long enough that they agreed to the lower offer we gave.

But our house has gone up significantly too.   Almost doubled from the price we paid.

And we will be downsizing and paying almost cash, so I am excited to not have mortgage or have very little mortgage, and our monthly expenses will go down as well with a smaller house, being on a well, no HOA fees, taxes will be much less, etc.....   in fact, I think between our interest payments, our additional payments with things I listed, we should save over $1,000/mo, prob more like $1,300.   That is nothing to sneeze at.

[Lecka]

That is awesome!!!!!!

[DawnM]

15 minutes ago, Lecka said:

That is awesome!!!!!!

It really is.   And I told my husband, the savings over the next 13 years (until Andrew finishes high school) would be around $130,000.   I think that is worth busting our tail over!

And just so you know.....our taxes have gone up and up since we moved in and our HOA has risen from $1200/year to $1800/year and they are already discussing raising it even more.  And I asked for the utilities of the house but never got a clear answer.   I should have pushed, but I really wanted the house.   Our utilities are like $500/mo.   They were $200 in the previous house.   

[Jaybee]

11 hours ago, history-fan said:

I bought boxes at U-Haul, three different sizes. What was great about that was they stacked so well, instead of all odd sizes these all fit together and saved so much space. I used colored tape that each room was assigned so it was easy to identify where to put the boxes.

Not to mention the time saved from going around and trying to find the boxes you need from every place in town.

[DawnM]

5 hours ago, Jaybee said:

Not to mention the time saved from going around and trying to find the boxes you need from every place in town.

Exactly.   And, often times, many of the boxes that were used really were no longer useable.   

[DawnM]

Got some things done yesterday.   Packed up boxes from DH's office and A's room.   I also secured a storage unit and took a small load over.   I have another load to take but some things happened yesterday that prevented me from going back to the storage unit.

For one thing, the neighbor had professional pressure washers over to wash his driveway, pool area, and sidewalk/walkway.    Dh went over to talk to the guy in charge to ask for a quote and the guy told him that they had had a cancelation last minute for washing windows and he would not only be able to do it now, but would give us a 30% discount.   

So, they came over here after but they blocked the driveway for 2 hours and we couldn't get out.   Then it started raining, then my cousin called (the one who lost her dad this week), then the painters came to give us a quote, and, and, and......

It's fine.   We are going to look at houses this morning but this afternoon I should be able to get a load over and pack up some more boxes.

[Ottakee]

Late to this game (and maybe your HOA will not allow it) but I rented a huge roll off dumpster….the biggest on there had.   My kids were worried, my friends laughed….but 3-4 days later that thing was as full as possible.

I downsized from a 5 bedroom 3 1/2 bath large home on 5 acres with 2 1/2 stall garage, a huge pole barn and a very nice horse barn to a 1200 sq ft ranch with 1 1/2 stall garage and not even a shed.

It was so much easier to dump stuff with the big dumpster right there.  We also took anything useable down to the end of the driveway and often by the time the kids went back down the long drive with the next load the stuff was already claimed.

My goal this summer is to purge even more….starting tomorrow when I am back from vacation.

[Faith-manor]

3 hours ago, Ottakee said:

Late to this game (and maybe your HOA will not allow it) but I rented a huge roll off dumpster….the biggest on there had.   My kids were worried, my friends laughed….but 3-4 days later that thing was as full as possible.

I downsized from a 5 bedroom 3 1/2 bath large home on 5 acres with 2 1/2 stall garage, a huge pole barn and a very nice horse barn to a 1200 sq ft ranch with 1 1/2 stall garage and not even a shed.

It was so much easier to dump stuff with the big dumpster right there.  We also took anything useable down to the end of the driveway and often by the time the kids went back down the long drive with the next load the stuff was already claimed.

My goal this summer is to purge even more….starting tomorrow when I am back from vacation.

We are doing this over Labor Day weekend. The week before we are going to take a bunch of stuff that is very usable but we are not using and will not put in the Alabama house out to the road. Then we are going to start filling a dumpster. We got stuck with roughly 600+ trifold science back boards with all manner of pictures, charts, reports, etc. on them because if the students do not claim them during a three hour window at the end of the 4H fair, the superintendent of youth sciences (us) has to take them home. They didn't fit in our fire ring, and they didn't fit in our trash cans without a lot of work. Since we can only put two cans out to the road a week, it was not easy to get rid of them. They accumulated since a lot of the parents don't want their kids to bring the boards home because then they have to deal with it. This meant that the bulk of the boards, and we would judge easily 150 science projects per year, ended up being hauled home in stacks in our mini van. I am done having a basement filled with science boards. We also have some broken chairs no one is going to want to repair, some books that got wet in the basement, etc. We are getting the 1/2 size dumpster and filling it.

I also have a goal for the rest of the summer of taking two boxes per week to Goodwill. I still have college textbooks, AP syllabi, homeschool stuff, music I am never going to teach again, found a box of camp clothes from when the kids were young, etc. It just needs to go. 

Dawn, I think that even if it is the small business size dumpster, it might be very handy to get one for w few days. I doubt the HOA can say anything. They have to allow those when contractors are working. For all they know, you are remodeling.

[DawnM]

21 hours ago, Ottakee said:

Late to this game (and maybe your HOA will not allow it) but I rented a huge roll off dumpster….the biggest on there had.   My kids were worried, my friends laughed….but 3-4 days later that thing was as full as possible.

I downsized from a 5 bedroom 3 1/2 bath large home on 5 acres with 2 1/2 stall garage, a huge pole barn and a very nice horse barn to a 1200 sq ft ranch with 1 1/2 stall garage and not even a shed.

It was so much easier to dump stuff with the big dumpster right there.  We also took anything useable down to the end of the driveway and often by the time the kids went back down the long drive with the next load the stuff was already claimed.

My goal this summer is to purge even more….starting tomorrow when I am back from vacation.

YOU are who I need to talk to.  I had a bit of a panic attack this morning thinking of the house we kind of liked and may put an offer in to.   The issue?   It has almost no storage in the house and is about 60% the size of this house, so we are losing 40% of our space.   And the garage is a 2 car and we currently have a 3 car.   And we have a huge attic in this house for storage.   

There are some other things I will put in my other thread but I am freaking out a little.

[Ottakee]

3 hours ago, DawnM said:

YOU are who I need to talk to.  I had a bit of a panic attack this morning thinking of the house we kind of liked and may put an offer in to.   The issue?   It has almost no storage in the house and is about 60% the size of this house, so we are losing 40% of our space.   And the garage is a 2 car and we currently have a 3 car.   And we have a huge attic in this house for storage.   

There are some other things I will put in my other thread but I am freaking out a little.

I needed to move to give my special needs kids access to public transportation (small door to door bus here) as well as financial reasons.

I am still downsizing.   Even today I am taking a load to 2 different charity thrift stores.

I guess it comes down to your lifestyle and desires.   I wish I had a bigger dining area as it is very tight with 10 of us (when my bonus son and his family come) but my neighborhood, walkability, etc more than make up for not having some of my previous possessions.

[Faith-manor]

2 hours ago, Ottakee said:

I needed to move to give my special needs kids access to public transportation (small door to door bus here) as well as financial reasons.

I am still downsizing.   Even today I am taking a load to 2 different charity thrift stores.

I guess it comes down to your lifestyle and desires.   I wish I had a bigger dining area as it is very tight with 10 of us (when my bonus son and his family come) but my neighborhood, walkability, etc more than make up for not having some of my previous possessions.

I don't blame you for wanting a larger dining room. Your beautiful family is crammed in there!

Are you thinking about moving soon?

[Ottakee]

31 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I don't blame you for wanting a larger dining room. Your beautiful family is crammed in there!

Are you thinking about moving soon?

Nope.   This is my age in place home.  When my now ex was arrested we had a large 5 bedroom 3 1/2 bath home with living in 3 levels and 5 acres and 2 barns and …….

Reality is, I couldn’t afford the time and money to maintain that and I didn’t want all the work plus it was rural so no jobs or transportation for my kids.

Our dining area is tight but I have 4 bedrooms plus an office/grandkid bedroom and 2 1/2 baths here in my 1200 sq ft ranch with daylight basement.

Other than the dining area and wishing it was easier for wheelchair access (could be wity a few modifications) it works great….and most of the time is it just 2-3 or us eating here, not 10+