Congratulations, you sold your house!! That's what everyone who owns a home will one day hear from their agent, but how do you get to that point? Not the paperwork, marketing, showings, and everything that a realtor helps with; no what do you go through as a seller? That's what I'll talk about today!!

Well this post is going to be written utilizing firsthand knowledge of the process because that photo was taken on June 21 when my wife & I sold our first home after 9 years of owning it. We were beyond excited to sell our house, because it was time for a change of scenery and a new home. We absolutely loved our first home and it was difficult for us to say goodbye to some amazing neighbors, but friendships can last a bit of distance so we made a choice to sell because it was best for us. 

After we got both the first home under contract and the new home under contract we had A LOT of work to do; we had to pack and move!!! There was also a bunch of paperwork to handle with the Title company, but how all that works is a topic for a different post. This post is specifically about the moving process and my recommendations to help anyone you know or you personally; and hopefully I'm your agent to help walk you through it ;)

Now we were fortunate with the home we were purchasing because it was new construction that was near completion, so how we moved will not work for everyone, but the work is the same. Because no one was living in it and it was near completion we were able to negotiate access prior to closing so we could start moving stuff in, which was a big stress relief for us. 

Prior to even listing and marketing your home, you should have already started the cleaning and de-cluttering process. But once the house is under contract this will continue and honestly this is something you can do every year.
1. Walkthrough Home & Take Notes
2. Designate Holding Spaces
3. Scheduling
4. Go Room by Room
5. Spend Time each Day
6. Communication
7. Time to Move

Step 1 - Walkthrough Home & Take Notes
Guess what, when you live in a house you accumulate stuff, and the longer you live there the more stuff you have. So I recommend going through each room with a notebook to assess what you have, what you want to keep, what you want to donate, and throw away. You can choose to go item by item, but I recommend focusing on furniture and large items at this time. This will help you plan accordingly for Steps 2 & 3. My wife and I did this and we organized the list like I mentioned above; donate, give to friends, keep, toss and it was very helpful as we then planned out furniture in our new home and where we were storing stuff in the interim.

Step 2 - Designate Holding Spaces
If you are going to donate more than 2 or 3 boxes, which I honestly recommend becuase everyone can probably find success with this while decluttering, you are going to need space. I recommend utilizing a garage stall, or area of your basement for this stuff. Buy a few boxes or totes and put them in that area so you have a place to immedialy put small items as you are working on packing and finding items to donate. This will save time later and make it easy to move when it is time. Plus now it's out of sight & out of mind so you can't go back and change your mind to keep that dust collector you haven't used in 6 years.

Separately also designate a space for stuff you may give to friends or family because you want them to easily be able to come over and pick it up, or at least keep it organized so it's not in the donate pile. 

Lastly, the trash pile..... and for this I recommend the garage or outside (if possible). It's trash, so don't keep it in the house, and this should only be stuff that isn't in condition for donation. If something is in good shape, consider donating to help someone else out instead of tossing.

Step 3 - Scheduling
I recommend, early in the process, to schedule movers and other pick-ups. Utilizing the lists from Step 1 you can have a gut-check feel on what you are doing with things. So contact your friends/family and get on the calendar when they will pick stuff up, and the sooner the better (because schedules change and you don't want to move to a new home with stuff they are taking. Get them to take it now. Also call local non-profits and shelters and see if they need any furniture you want to donate or stuff, and they may even come pick it up, but again get on their calendar. Lastly, and here is the key, schedule movers and don't move yourself. 

My wife and I were fortunate to have 6 weeks to move our stuff, so we took our time and moved a couple boxes every day, while unpacking each trip but this is not the norm. Instead pay movers to help you because they do a great job, should fix anything that's damaged, and you'll be grateful you did it; trust me!!! 

So yes, schedule out various pick-ups because schedules change and you don't want to panic at the last minute.

Step 4 - Go Room by Room
Whether you're single or moving a large family, be methodical about the process and go room by room. Start with rooms less used and storage, and begin going through things. Go through everything you own and start donating & tossing items right away. No sense in keeping/moving something you don't use. And as you complete rooms, update those lists from Step 1 with notes. You will find that there are rooms and things you need right up to the last minute and thus you won't be able to pack everything on the first pass, but you can get a lot packed I bet, and obviously wait to pack kitchen daily items and clothes until the end because these are examples of necessities. Once you are through the whole house after a couple weeks, time to go back through and pack more that you won't need. You'll probably do two rounds on most rooms, and this is okay. 

Move boxes/totes out of rooms, or stack them in an organized fashion in the rooms so it's easy for movers to move & load stuff so then unloading is quick & efficient.

Step 5 - Spend Time each Day
Make it as fun as you can, but ultimately I recommend doing a little bit each day. If you wait until the last minute you are going to kick yourself. No, spend some time each day trying to pack up a few things because I promise this will lead to less stress.

Step 6 - Communication
If you are single, this doesn't apply, but anyone moving more than one person here is the key rule for you........... Good Communication is the Key to Happiness in a Move

If you are moving with a spouse or kids, you have got to talk through plans and action items regularly and make sure you are all/both aware of what's happening. Moving is stressful, so don't let relationships be negatively impacted because those are more important, so make sure to focus on communication. And hey halfway through the process or at random times, take a break and go relax with a beer or go out to dinner. Again your relationships are more important than anything else so don't let those suffer.

Step 7 - Time to Move
Those dates you scheduled are finally here, so it's time to move your stuff. Utilize those lists to make sure donations, friends/family, and you are getting what you planned on and supervise movers. They do this every day so let them do their thing and stay out of the way unless they have questions, plus then they won't spend as much time with you and then the move is cheaper ;)

Step 8 - Sorry, I didn't list this at the top a it's not fun..............
It's time to clean before you leave that old house. Furniture that is not regularly moved accumulates dust under it, fridges get surprisingly dirty and in general when you sell a home it needs to be in broom swept condition. So take some time and clean the house because one you are required to, but also it's a good thing to do for the buyers of your home as a sign of respect.

Now it's time to kick back and celebrate with a beverage before unpacking and getting settled into the new place because congratulations are in order.... you have successfully sold your home & moved.

Do you know anyone who will be making a move in the future? If so, give them my contact information and I'll happily help walk them through the process and provide insights along the way.