Selling your home can be stressful enough, but the moving process can be even more stressful – if you don’t know how to do it. Moving involves cleaning, packing, physically moving your belongings, getting everything in place in the new home, and trying to keep life going through it all. The whole thing involves a lot of interlocking pieces, and it’s just, well, a lot of work. But you can make it more manageable. To that end, we offer these 5 tips to help simplify the moving process for Orlando home sellers.
1. Declutter and Clean Early
The moving process for Orlando home sellers (as well as part of getting your home ready to list and show) begins with decluttering and cleaning.
“As you know, you should be cleaning and decluttering your home in order to stage and entice buyers. But did you know that by cleaning and decluttering your space you can also simplify your move? The fewer items you have to move on the big day, the better! Begin by decluttering things you never use, such as clothing, shoes, toys, games, and electronics. Either donate these items or sell them for a little extra cash.”
The items and belongings you just can’t bear to part with you can always move to storage. Then, after doing without them for a while, you may discover that you don’t need them after all. And that will further simplify things.
2. Have an Organized Moving Plan
One of the best things Orlando home sellers can do to simplify the moving process is to devise and implement an organized moving plan/strategy. The most basic elements of such organizational plan are . . .
Putting Important Documents in an Easy-to-Find Folder
“Having a folder where all of your family member’s social security cards, birth certificates, driver’s licenses, marriage certificates, school and doctor records, etc. are in one place can save you time and energy during and after your move. As items get packed into boxes and moved around the home, it’s hard to remember what item went into what box. Save yourself a headache and make sure all the important documents stay together.”
Creating a Moving Checklist
Devising a game plan and writing it down can help avoid forgetting any items or neglecting any steps during the hassle of the moving process. You can create your own checklist from scratch or use one of the many checklist templates available online.
Labeling Boxes
Correctly labeling boxes can make unpacking far more manageable. According to moving experts, you should “[g]et your home items organized using a labeling system. Whether that means color coordinating tape or labeling what is in each of the boxes, make sure that you know what box goes in which room when it’s time to move into your new place.”
3. Pack the Right Way
Packing the right way can also do wonders to help simplify the moving process. And here’s what you need to do . . .
Pack by Rooms
Don’t just randomly throw stuff in boxes. Pack each room separately in dedicated boxes and label those boxes accordingly. (And, of course, the same thing goes when you unpack at your new home. Be methodical and go room by room.)
Use Household Items for Packing Materials
You can save money and space by using soft items such as towels to protect breakables when you pack. This does slightly contravene what we said just above, but you know where your towels and blankets go.
Pack Non-essential First
“Don’t begin packing items that you use day in and day out. You can begin packing up your home pretty early if you begin packing up your non-essential items first.”
4. Have a Game Plan for Moving Day
Not only do you need a moving plan/strategy, but you should also have a game plan for moving day. This will be the most hectic day of all in the moving process, and a game plan will help you navigate it far more easily. Some of the things you can do include . . .
- Packing a cooler with drinks and snacks to keep everyone’s energy high and momentum rolling.
- Carefully consider the order in which you load things into the moving van/truck. “Have the things you don’t need immediately loaded first. If you’re planning to stay in your new home right away, have your beds packed last so that they will be the first items to come off the truck.”
- “Make a plan for your children or pets. If you can arrange for your little ones or pets to be with a family member or close friend on the day of the move, that will make things less stressful.”
- Try to have everything completely packed the day before the move. That is, do everything you can to avoid hurried last-minute packing.
5. Measure . . . and Measure Again
The moving process isn’t all packing and loading. You also have to unload all your stuff and unpack it when you get to your new home. And that means things have to fit where you want to put them.
So “make sure you have accurate measurements of all the rooms and storage areas in your [new] house. If you don’t have a floor plan with measurements, measure before you move. Think through where it makes the most sense to place everything, whether it’s furniture or light bulbs. If you don’t do any planning, items will either get stashed in the nearest cabinet or cupboard in a rush to empty moving boxes, or they’ll get unpacked but not put away – creating clutter in your new home.”
Your Orlando Agent Can Help Simplify the Moving Process
Certainly, the tips we’ve given above can help simplify the moving process for Orlando home sellers. But with all the many moving parts involved in moving, there is actually a lot more to it. And your experienced, local agent can be an invaluable asset and guide in the process. If you’re a home seller who wants to simplify both the selling and the moving process, don’t hesitate to contact us today at (321) 217-7534.