4 Easy Steps to Declutter Before Moving
The big decision has finally been made: You’re making the move. Once the initial rush of euphoria wears off, you’re left with the immense task of packing up all of your worldly belongings in an orderly manner to get them to your new place. If you’re wondering how to fit that giant piano into your new place or where those 5 huge boxes of CDs are going to go, you might want to declutter before moving. Consider having a moving sale to get rid of all non-essential belongings before Mad City comes to help you with your move. So, get ready to downsize!
How to have a successful moving sale in four easy steps:
1. Pick a date and advertise. Before you begin assembling items from your home for the sale, it’s important to sit down and strategically pick a date to host your moving sale. Check first with your city or homeowner’s association if you need to get a permit before your schedule your sale. Then, consider scheduling your moving sale to coincide with rummage/garage sale season (usually springtime and end of summer) or when your neighborhood hosts its sale. Once you’ve picked a date, advertise, advertise, advertise!
Consider marketing in these ways:
- Flyers on telephone poles
- Signs at intersections
- Online
- By word of mouth
2. Gather and sort items to sell. It’s time to gather the items you want to sell from your house and take inventory. While our experienced staff at Mad City Moving is more than happy to move large and small items, if you’ve been wondering how you’ll fit all your items in your new place, it might be time to consider selling. Also, this is the perfect opportunity to get rid of items you don’t use that cause extra clutter.
Bigger items like pianos, electronics, and furniture you may want to try selling online in order to get the best price for the item. In the meantime, go through each room of your house and box everything that you would like to sell at your sale. Next, review each box with an inventory sheet in hand, and record each item.
3. Price items and prepare sale. Sit down with your inventory sheet and price your items. Things to consider when pricing items at your moving sale are:
- A general rule is to price items at about 40% of the original retail price.
- If you have many of one type of item, price them in bulk: For example, one CD for $6, two for $10.
- Don’t be afraid to advertise and sell some items for a bargain.
- Ensure ahead of time that you have enough coins and petty cash to make change for buyers.
4. Atmosphere. Barring bad weather, there are a number of things you can do to make the most out of your moving sale experience for potential buyers, including:
- Turn on the radio and play some light and fun music in the background.
- Keep large and/or sharp objects in designated spots away from any small hands to limit any chance of accidents.
- Cleanliness is very important. Not only will a clean selling space enhance the perceived value of your items, but it will invite people to stop by. Clean both your garage and yard before the sale and make sure that your items are arranged neatly.
- Have an extension cord plugged in and available in your garage for buyers who may want to test electronic items before they purchase.
- Provide snacks such as cookies or cupcakes to enhance the shopping experience.
- Don’t forget to be an active seller: greet everyone enthusiastically and behave as if you are a small business owner while you run your moving sale.
After your successful moving sale, you’ll want to make sure to pick up your flyers and signs soon after the sale is done. Additionally, you must decide what to do with your leftover items. If your main goal is to declutter before you move, you might want to consider donating leftover items to a charity or posting an ad online letting people know they can pick up items for free. Ideally, you won’t have too many things that are left over to dispose of—and even if you do decide to keep some of your things, our movers at Mad City Moving are more than happy to help you out.
Now that you know how to have a moving sale, it’s time to go out and do it!
