Moving into a new home can be a long and stressful process. Why should temporary setbacks rob you any joy of starting your next chapter? They don’t have to with a little planning. Are you facing a big move after selling your home? We’re here to help. At Offerpad, we’ve done this whole ‘moving thing’ a time or two (thousands, actually!), so we’re experts when it comes to relieving many of the common pain points. Check out our helpful list of expert tips below and start your move on the right foot.
1. Throw away old and unneeded junk
Have you heard of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo? It’s a simple principle: if something doesn’t bring you joy, get rid of it. Just venture into your closet or your kitchen and apply this line of thinking — you may be surprised how few of your material possessions satisfy the basic criteria. Those old shirts you haven’t worn since college? It’s time to retire them. That set of mugs your mother-in-law gave you for Christmas in 2011? Yeah, those have outlived their shelf life. There are plenty of charities where you can donate your old clothes, books, furniture, and toys. If you can’t donate it, just chuck it in the garbage — you’ll have less to worry about come moving day.
Perhaps this principle is a little extreme for you — that’s okay. Don’t cause yourself too much grief over it — just make it a priority to clean out the obvious junk in your home well ahead of moving day. As homeowners, we all amass garbage we don’t even think about — particularly in areas like our garage where we may not spend the bulk of our time. Don’t let this sneak up on you when it’s finally time to start hauling boxes into the moving truck — knock it out early.
2. Sell stuff on OfferUp, Craigslist or Facebook
Moving is generally expensive. There’s a lot of back and forth driving and coffee shop visits in your future — it doesn’t hurt to have a little funny money in your pocket. If you have any big-ticket items you don’t mind leaving behind — a television, piece of furniture, that tasteful painting of dogs playing poker — consider trying to sell it on OfferUp or a similar peer to peer marketplace. If you haven’t used these platforms before, a word of advice: always make sure you’re completing the transaction in a public place. We care about your safety at Offerpad!
3. Utilize the ‘debt-snowball’ technique
The debt-snowball method is a popular technique for reducing debt, but it actually works quite well in the context of moving. Under this method, the person prioritizes their smallest debt first — once fully paid, they focus on the next smallest debt. The process rolls on and on — effectively creating a ‘snowball’ effect — until finally the largest debt is wiped out. It’s pretty ingenious.
Exercise a little imagination here: let’s say all the stuff you need to move in your home is ‘debt’ in this scenario. Now, imagine each room of your home is a separate lender; some rooms contain a lot of debt, some rooms have significantly less — consider tackling the smaller ones first. If you’re having trouble motivating yourself to get things cleaned up and organized, knock out the easy stuff and build some momentum. Does the thought of packing up your kitchen make you break out into a cold sweat? Put it off, start breaking down that spare bedroom that’s barely getting any use while you prep to move. When you start to see the progress you’re making, you’ll be more motivated to finish up the big stuff.
Whether we’re talking about paying off your credit card debt or prepping to move, the snowball technique has some practical utility behind it.
4. Don’t cut corners with boxes and containers
Spending mental bandwidth on boxes — of all things, in the course of your move — is probably the last thing you want to do. Exercise some due diligence by ensuring you have some decent containers for moving, you’ll thank yourself later.
The most popular solution for movers is to take a visit to their closest grocery store and ask for spare boxes. The problem with many of these boxes is they experience a lot of wear and tear during their short lifespan, compromising the material and its future contents. You may want to consider more robust containers for the important stuff — it’s the best way to keep your valuables protected.
Reinforce your cardboard boxes with packing tape — it’s a cheap way to bolster your moving boxes and protect your valuables. While you’re at it, invest in some bubble wrap and tissue paper for the delicate stuff you’re boxing up for the move. It’s tempting to cut corners with the sheer volume of things you’re moving, don’t do it.
5. Keep things organized
Provided you box up your stuff room by room, it’s a good move to clearly label your boxes ahead of the move-in process. You don’t need to do anything over the top here, just buy yourself a pack of stickers and go wild. Perhaps blue stickers correspond with your kitchen boxes, maybe green corresponds to your office — look at you, you’re the Michelangelo of organization.
Rule of thumb: anything you can do to make your move-in process easier is absolutely worth it. This is a solid way to hit the ground running when you change addresses.
6. Sell your home through Offerpad
How could we write a post offering moving tips without a shameless plug for Offerpad? Following the tips above to get organized ahead of your moving day is a good idea — letting someone else move you all together? That’s the best idea. Sell your home with Offerpad and we’ll provide you a complimentary move — it’s just one more way we help take the stress out of selling your home.
Want to learn more? Submit a no-obligation offer request on your home or contact us to hear more about the benefits we provide to home sellers. We’ve made it our mission to provide the best possible way to buy and sell homes — experience the difference with Offerpad.