Moving!

Planning to move is such a difficult thing to do because of all the emotional baggage that comes with the project…anxiety, all the effort needed and the insurmountable decisions. So, plan ahead and determine what can be re-used, saved in SHORT TERM storage and given away.

For the client

The easiest is to start by throwing away everything you will never use again and clean out the attic, basement and closets. Pack everything you intend to take to your new house, then hold a sale to sell everything you don’t want to keep….everyone has things they think should be thrown out because they think no one would really want it, but put it in the sale…they are the items that sell first!
Don’t rush the packing unless you have an impending closing, but do plan everything way ahead so you have less stress. Put announcements in all the local papers if you are having a sale, and enlist all of the family members to help you, even friends who will help manage an estate sale with you. Plan to give the family members all the antiques from Grandma and if they don’t want them…sell them in the sale.

Recently, Cary and I had to pack up a 4,628 square foot house filled to the roof with three generations of both of our family’s possessions, in addition to all of our possessions we had collected over our 32-year history at the house. Cary’s family had been there since 1931, so believe me….there were a lot of things going to the dump, into the sale, and gifted throughout our family members so they, too, can share their family’s heritage. I had photos of my great great grandfather with his bride and his family photo of him as a child in school…thank God my mother noted who was who on the backs of all those photos!
Ask your designer to help you value the items you want to sell and let them know about some of the items they will need for use in your new home. Some items which need be re-upholstered should get out of the house sooner so you have time to recover and get to the new house in time for move in.

For the designer

Make room for keepsakes…it helps make your client’s home more of a livable space and some things are just worth keeping despite your aesthetic preferences. Accept the challenge and recover Grandma’s old sofa in antiqued leather and put it in a library….make it feel as though it was intended for that space. All in all, remember your final goal and that each day is an accomplishment toward that goal…then once it is in sight, enjoy the relief it gives to purge and start anew.