Organize Your Home to Sell

• What will your life be like when you move into your next home?
• What will you be doing? What do you want to have, do and enjoy in your next home?
• How will it be different than what you are doing now?
• How much will it cost to move things you may not use?
• How long before you move into your next home?

How I can help:  I'll ask these and other questions to establish your priorities, your focus and your desires.  When you become tired, overwhelmed or stuck we can come back to this clearer vision of your future, so we can continue to move forward and make progress.  I can do this with you in your home or through coaching sessions over the phone.

Keep only what you love, what you will use and what makes sense to move. Let go of the things you don't want to move or won't have room for. Give away what is in good condition, recycle what you can and throw away the rest.

How I can help:  Keeping your vision firmly in mind, I'll help you let go of the things that do not support your future, offer suggestions for keeping those things you want and encouraging you to stay focused. I can do this with you in your home or through coaching sessions over the phone.

Sort what you’ve decided to keep into 3 groups.

Cold — Won’t Use NOW
Pack everything that you won’t be using in the next 4-6 months but you still want to keep AND move. These are out-of-season clothes, supplies for hobbies that you want to continue but are not doing right now, cooking appliances that you use only once a year, and collections (books, photos, music, videos, figurines, art, etc.).

Warm — Unsure
Pack the extras. Clothes that you can wear now but they aren’t your favorites — pack it. Extra sheets, towels and linens — pack it. Pack away all but a few of the children's favorite toys. These are things that you could use now but don’t need. Pack as much as you can.

Hot — Routinely Use
You have to live a normal life while you are waiting for your home to sell, but keep these things to a minimum. Keep these well organized and nicely packaged. Remember, create more space and less personality. Use a basket for your personal toiletries. Limit your shoes to what fits on a shoe rack. Put mail & bills away. Even limiting the food in your pantry and cupboards will create needed space. When the house has sold these are the items you pack last and unpack first.

How I can help:  Keeping your vision and time frame firmly in mind, I'll help you determine what goes in which group and I'll keep you focused and on task.  Now is not the time to get distracted by memories and forgotten to-dos.  I can be there with you in your home or support you over the phone.

Pack as much as you can and as early as you can. Set a goal of packing a box a night or some other goal that is manageable. Do not put off packing.  Besides, you’ve already done the hard part — letting go and sorting. 

Pack like with like.  Pack all the clothes together.  Don’t pack the coffee cups in with the t-shirts.  If there is space left in a box, use some packing material to fill it and then close the box.  DO NOT go hunting for something to fill the space. 

Mark each box with the contents and the room. That way, when you move and begin to unpack, all the boxes can be placed in the appropriate room to unpack.

How I can help:  I can keep you focused and on task, run for that extra roll of packing tape or put boxes together for you.  I can also help you stay out of overwhelm and focused over the phone.  However, due to liability reasons, I am unable to actually pack your items for moving.  There are companies that have the experience, knowledge and coverage.

This it the one and only time that I highly recommend that you get a storage space and use it.  Moving your packed boxes to storage allows the buyer to see all that useful space in the garage and house.

How I can help:  Make sure you get rid of the storage unit once you've sold your house and moved.  This is not intended to be a long term situation and I will encourage you to focus on unpacking and getting organized in your new home as quickly as possible.  I can help in person or over the phone with this. 

Joanie Lehr, Realtor & Accredited Home Stager has made her booklet, Staging Your Home to Sell:  The Steps that make it Easy, available on my website.  See Stage Your Home to Sell

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