Realtor Moving Hacks

The Grove family moves a lot. It’s an illness. It’s a joy. We’re the only lunatics that live through our house flips but don’t stick around long enough to enjoy them. Job hazard, I suppose? Well, anyway, in light of all our moves, I have many, many, moving hacks to share with you . . .

Offload Your Children and Pets

Realtor Stacy says: Moving day is straight insanity. Oftentimes, exterior doors have to be taken off their hinges to get furniture out the doors. There are usually many adults carrying heavy, awkward items. Your ability to focus on the task at hand is critical. Ask a friend to care for your kids and pets, or find a day camp or dog-sitting facility to help you out. It’s just one day, and oftentimes, friends would rather do this than the literal heavy lifting—HA!

Seller Stacy says: This is for your mental health. Just trust me. Also, buy your movers (whether they’re professionals or friends) some good doughnuts or coffee cake and/or lunch. Also, if you did hire professionals, TIP THEM AT THE END OF THE DAY!

Find Your Keys

Realtor Stacy says: Please, please ask around to any neighbors or family members who might have extra keys. Then, find a way to identify which keys go to which doors.

Seller Stacy says: Save everybody. Tape all the keys to the appropriate doors. That way, the new owners won’t have to hunt for the right keys or call their Realtor and ask the former owner to identify the keys.

Marking What Stays

Realtor Stacy says: Go around your home and put some sort of identifier (post-it note, painter’s tape, etc.) on anything that remains with the house . . . appliances, furnishings, shelving, etc. There’s nothing worse than having a co-broker call you during a final walkthrough to tell you something isn’t there that was expected to be only to find out that it’s on a moving truck halfway to California.

Seller Stacy says: When moving day comes, you’re literally on the go the whole time . . . from figuring out what to feed your kids and how to keep them occupied to cleaning up all the gunk that was living under your sofa. You don’t have time to follow the movers from room to room to tell them what stays and what goes. And, if you did so before they got started, they’ve forgotten. Just do yourself a favor and post-it note that stuff!

Kitchen Cabinet Organization

Realtor Stacy says: Get rid of your gadgets and gizmos. You don’t need them. Kidding!! I defer to the other me.

Seller Stacy says: OK, this is one of my faves, and it will save you SO much time. Get some post-it notes and a pen, and label every single drawer and cabinet in your kitchen. (You could do this in any room of your home, but it’s especially helpful in the kitchen.) Write what’s in that ONE cabinet or drawer on ONE post-it note. Then, collect them all and tuck them in a safe place and carry on with your move. When you arrive at your new home, stick those post-it notes on the new cabinets. This will help you feel out how you’re going to arrange allllllll your kitchen stuff before you ever even un-tape a box. You’ll know if you need to do more purging or if you have the luxury of too much space. And, you won’t be stuck organizing and reorganizing your kitchen!

Moving Clothes

Realtor Stacy says: The moment you list your home you should start packing your off-season clothing. If you’re listing in June, pack up that winter gear!

Seller Stacy says: Moving clothes is absolutely a pain. Wardrobe boxes are gigantic. Taking clothes off the hanger (and having to rehang them) is annoying. This little hack is perfect for in-town moves. Lay out a flat bed sheet. Take your clothes (still on hangers) and lay them on a flat sheet. Once you have a hefty stack, tie up the flat sheet from opposing (criss-crossing) corners. You now have a “bundle” of your clothes (still on the hangers!). When you get to the new closet, untie the bundle and hang everything right up!

Overnight Bags and Essentials

Realtor Stacy says: Oh, I think she’s got a good idea here . . .

Seller Stacy says: Take a moment to assess how long it might *actually* take you to unpack and settle in. For some people, they have an army of help to get them all set up. For others, it’s a slow and laborious process. Either way, you likely won’t be settled in overnight. First of all, pack a suitcase with what you’ll need (this seems obvious). Then, identify an essentials box (I like a clear Rubbermaid-type container for this). This is where all the other essentials go: charging cords, checkbooks, medications, favorite toy/stuffed animal, etc. Your suitcase and your essentials box NEVER leave your sight.

Bedding Box

Realtor Stacy says: Beds are always the last to be loaded and the first to be unloaded. It’s Moving 101.

Seller Stacy Says: Moving is exhausting. You’ll want to sleep in your bed the last night in your home, if at all possible (even if that means a mattress on the floor), to be rested and ready for the laborious part. But, once you get to the new place, you’ll want to settle in as quickly as possible. So, find a box to fill with the clean bedding you’ll need for each of your family members upon arrival. This should be (like your mattress) one of the last boxes on and the first boxes off the truck. Get those beds set up with clean fresh sheets as immediately as possible. Trust me on this.

Food

Realtor Stacy says: Moving food is such a pain. Consider donating any unopened items to your local food bank. And you might find some local friends to give the open stuff to.

Seller Stacy says: You definitely don’t want to move food unless it’s prepared food. Before you pack up your kitchen, use up some of your groceries and prepare some frozen meals. Then, as you pack your kitchen, you have some easy dinners to pull out and bake (and eat off of paper plates). This is also helpful once you get into your new home. A few homemade dinners (that you might have prepared a week or more ago) are ready to bake and will fill your new home with delicious smells.

As you can see, some of these hacks are better suited for local moves vs. moves across state lines, but regardless, there are many, many ways to make the process less painful!! (These are hard-earned lessons, folks, and I speak from experience.)