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Quick Possession - Making It Work


Blog by Matt Carre | April 27th, 2012


Four out of my five last deals closed in 30 days or less.  That means that we signed the deal and then 30 days later is was moving day!  That's quick and it can be very overwhelming.  Packing your entire home in 30 days is a big job and the best way to tackle it is to break it down into smaller jobs.  

I suggest one of two methods - pack by room or pack by category.  Packing by room is great if you are planning to keep most things and put them in a similar room in your new home.  You might have a Sports themed bonus room and all of those items might be going into the "Man Cave" in the new house so it makes sense to pack them all together.  Start with a room that isn't used often like the guest room.  This method will likely mean that you have a box or two in every room that you are slowly filling but as you get closer and closer to moving day it will be nice and easy to just pack remaining items that you can live without for the next few days.  In the kitchen may you have a few boxes started with small appliances that you don't use often or serving dishes that you save for special occasions.  About a week out you might pack your baking ware if you aren't planning to pull a "Betty Crocker" before your move.  The last items to pack will likely be your everyday dishes, glasses and cutlery.  

The "pack by category" system works well if you are planning to move things around in your new home.  The first thing I suggest to start with is decorative items.  You might bring them all together on your table, assess want you want to keep, give away and throw out.  You would then pack all of the keep items and then when you get to your new house and it's time to start decorating you would open these boxes and at that point decide where you want to put things.  It can also work if you are moving from a home with one eating area to a home with a nook as well as a more formal dining room.  It's a great opportunity to separate items you may want to display in your new dining room that were previously stored in your kitchen.  It also works well for books if you have them stored in different areas of your home now but want to put everything in your office at the new place.  

It doesn't matter what method you use as long it's something that can be broken down into smaller jobs.  Also, don't forget about the yard, storage room and the garage.  These areas tend to have large items or things that don't easily go into a box.  For the garage consider putting your shovels, rakes etc. in a garbage can, everything is in one place and it's a lot easier to pick up and move.  If you have items like bikes or smaller outdoor items gather them together in one place so you aren't walking around the yard finding a sandbox that's been up against the side of the house at the last minute.  

Moving is the best time to purge but make it easy for yourself.  Set up a box (or two) for donations that you can add to while you are packing and come across items you no longer need.  Additionally plan a day to drop it off.  Call ahead to figure out where you are taking items so it's easy to plan.  Many places will take household goods, toys and cloths so it's one stop.  Also create a pile for the dump.  You will inevitably come across items that are broken or just need to be thrown out.  If you create a space for those things to go and also plan a day to take it all to the dump it will make it a lot easier.  

If nothing else label until your marker dries out!  It's not just putting "Kitchen" on a box, write a quick list of items that are inside.  It will help with the unpacking process at your new place and if you are so tired at the end of the moving day that you just want to flop into bed it's a lot nicer to quickly find a box that says "sheets" than open 12 boxes before you find them.

I've moved 15 times in the last 30 years so I've got a few great tricks for how to pack your stuff, tell me some of yours and I will compile a list of tips in a future post.