How To Pack For A Move When You're Selling

Packing for a move while you're trying to sell your home can be tricky. As your real estate agent will tell you, you want your home to look a certain way when potential buyers visit. Everything ideally should be neat and tidy, and yet the very act of moving ordains that there will be a certain amount of chaos as you stage your move into another home. What to do?

Here are some tips that can help.

Empty or staged: Which is best?
An empty house isn't necessarily a bad thing when it comes to selling your home. Certainly, potential buyers won't have any trouble imagining their lives against the backdrop of your empty home. 

On the other hand, you may think making your home look a little bit lived in would help it sell. Perhaps you want to leave window treatments in place, as well as some rugs, a coffee table, other objects that liven up a space.

If you're going to host potential buyers while you're moving, do try to keep the home spotlessly clean, and even if you're still packing, keep clutter at a minimum, making use of closets and a storage room to stow your packing while showing the home.

Clear out the clutter. 
The first step in any move is to clear out everything you can say goodbye to. Be strong: if you haven't used it over the last year, get rid of it, whether that means recycling, donating, selling, or pitching. This goes for clothes, furniture, decorative items, appliances, dishes, and cookware.

Be organized about packing.
Acquire your boxes, bubble wrap, and packing tape early and in plentiful supply, so you don't run out. If you know someone who can give you boxes in good shape, that's great, but make sure they are not so old they're going to collapse once full.

Pack according to rooms, using color-coded tape: green for the bedroom, red for the kitchen, etc. Do not fill boxes, so they are too heavy to lift. For breakable items, be sure to wrap them and fill up the box with newspaper or other filler, so they don't shift around in transit. You can also wrap breakables with towels and washcloths, so you maximize space.

For bedroom drawers, try wrapping them with plastic wrap and taping them so you can leave the contents inside. Bundle clothes on hangers into a large plastic bag and tape up the ends, so you don't have to fold all those clothes.

Make sure everything's shipshape in the new home.
Before you start moving in, check that everything's running right in the new home: electricity, phone lines, internet, toilets and other plumbing, and all appliances. As your family gets ready to move in, direct everyone to pack a small bag with necessities such as a change of clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste, and other toiletries, so they don't have to search through boxes.

There's a lot to think about when you're selling a home and getting ready for a move. But the more organized you are, the easier both processes will go. Be sure to utilize the services of your real estate agent for the best results.

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