Everyone at some point in their lives must move. Whether to a college, apartment, rental, home, a larger home, a retirement home, a vacation home. Everyone has to move!
It can be easy to become overwhelmed, and so I hope these notes can assist you or someone you may know in some small way.
- Purging! What is the definition of purge? One meaning is “the act of removing people or things that are not wanted:” First, I would suggest looking in each closet, and establishing things you truly do not want or need and dispose of them. Then go through drawers, cabinets, etc. I call this the first purge. I then found that a second ‘purge’ was required!
It might be a good idea if your are selling your home, to procure a storage unit at a nearby facility. There are many in lower Westchester where I reside, and many have one free month, and if you pay in advance , you can keep the initial monthly charge for a set period of time. Many storage facilities will only offer the starter price and then might double after 2 months so bear and do your homework! I prepaid for a year to avoid those increase costs.
Also, once you have the storage unit, while the management might state the facility is open daily until quite late in the evening, there might only be 2 or 3 carts on hand on which to place your storage items, so be mindful of your timing when to go!
Be mindful where you place your boxes in storage. You might need to access a certain box months later so always try to leave a pathway!
2) Being able to place items into storage is a great way of emptying the home to some extent or at least decluttering a tad. The, of course, along the way, you can then throw out items too.
It is amazing how much we can store over the years. I was recently selling items on Facebook marketplace and I believe they had me ranked as a store as I was selling so much! NO! Just collectibles from over the years. I also listed on Craigs List, Next door Neighbor, and AptDeco. At the end of the day, everyone will negotiate your initial price points so just accept the fact that if you wish to sell an item, you will probably be selling it for less than initially desired!
I was told by so m many people to be beware of people who would take advantage of you. I was very fortunate and perhaps lucky but everyone who bought items from me or even those people who picked up free items were wonderful. Yes, there were people who wanted to send a check beforehand or send money to my account and I just avoided them.
3) In Westchester, we are able to donate to many charitable organizations. Go Green drop is one, which enables you to place your items in bags in front of your home, and book the date beforehand. You will then be able to print out a tax deductible receipt for those items. I did find that they would need to reschedule their ick up dates, and so I started to use Breast Cancer Donation Pick ups and they were always very prompt with no rescheduling.
While the charities will take away clothing, hard cover books, artwork, kitchen items, etc. they don’t take away magazines. I tried to sell 150 CD’s on flight, albums, etc. and ended up simply donating them. Accordingly with Italian designer men’s shoes. It was just easier to donate!
4) I live in New Rochelle and our refuse collectors are simply amazing. They will cart away many unwanted items – and always with a smile! I try to tip them well at the Holidays as they are so hardworking and worth it! When moving, it is always nice to tip them along the way as they work so hard!
I took advantage of getting ride of Gourmet Magazines, National Geographic Magazines, Travel Magazines all dating back to the 70’s! Every 2 weeks on paper disposal day, I would fill a few bins with the magazines. It seemingly took forever!
5) Garage Sales. It was so rainy in the spring months, and since I was on my own, I decided to hold my garage sales in my actual garage! That way, I could simply close the garage doors should I need to pop inside the house at all. Plus, there was no carting things outside and then putting them out again the following day!
6) Moving Companies. There are so may to choose from. I always try to refer several companies to clients. I chose to use Morris Movers as clients had always been very satisfied with them. They charge a little more I have been told, but I felt it was better to spend a little more and be happy with the service? Just like with anything else, sometimes it is better to pay a little more for the comfort level. The quote was given over Facetime (so easy!), and the 6 chaps arrived on the day of moving at 7:45 am, worked throughout the day and were cheerful, great and I was very satisfied! In my case it was close to 100 degrees that day, and they were wonderful. Luckily a coffee truck came by in the morning with cold drinks! It is always customary for the clients to also order lunch for everyone and to tip of course. I was told approximately 10% of the actual moving cost.
Label your boxes with numbers, rooms they should be delivered to, and have a list of those box numbers and respective contents!
7) With any move, there is usually items that need to be discarded such as paint cans, unwanted furniture that could not be sold/donated, too large to be thrown away, etc. A great company that has always come through at last minute is Ron’s Trucking. Great company, great guys who work there!
8), Westchester also has a great service for chemicals, unwanted cleaning items, paint cans in Valhalla. A reservation is required and so realize your appointment time might be in a 2 week time period. They are located at 15 Woods Rd, Valhalla. Please contact them at 914-813-5425.
9) I moved to a condo, and since moving I am now realizing that I can still part with items!! No room! Ha! Thank goodness I have good friends whose homes (addresses) I can utilize for additional charity pick ups!
10). Moving can be emotional, traumatizing to some so I will only suggest you keep your sense of humor, try to take the process slowly, and take advantage of friends should they offer to help you! I took advantage of my fiends by gifting them with items! I did it gradually so hopefully they didn’t realize how much they were getting!
Ask your Realtor should you have one for help! We can offer many companies whether it is to declutter your home, move, or store. It is always our pleasure to assist.
Lastly, once moved, take your time to unpack. Relax a little. You deserve it!
Westchester is great!
