In my last entry I talked about the dos and don'ts of possession day. In the last paragraph I talked about leaving specific things behind for the new owners such as keys, garage door openers etc. but what else? Here are a few other things you may not think of and a couple you may forget to take with you!
1.) Tell me how it works how it really really works. If you grew up the nineties you know that's a sad play on a great Spice Girls song, regardless it leads right into my first point - manuals. When you start to pack things up you will likely come across dusty manuals for kitchen appliances that have been tucked into the very back of a cupboard you can't easily reach or the bowels of your oven drawer. Collect these manuals and booklets and put them in one drawer or a nice pile for the new owners. If you get a kick out of filing and labelling remember to go through your paperwork and pull out any manuals that are stored (alphabetically of course).
2.) Paint, it's always nice to leave any extra paint or other house hold building materials, as long as they are current!! For example if you painted your daughter's room bubble gum pink 8 years ago and have since painted it black because "oh my gawd, pink is for babies" then toss out the pink stuff (by that I mean recycle it responsibly). If you've redone your floor and have extra materials leave those behind as long as that is what is on the floors now. Do not leave behind materials that are really just garbage and would be of no use to the new owner.
3.) Food. I've actually had this happen, we are going through the house on possession day, open the freezer and it's FULL! It makes sense because that is likely the last thing that will be packed up. To avoid forgetting your frozen pizzas put a sticky note on the fridge or somewhere else that will remind you not to forget it.
4.) All that other "stuff". I'm talking about the items that build up on the side of the house, deep in the garage or under your stairs. We all have that pile of stuff we need to get rid of so plan a dump run before you move and get rid of it. No one wants to move into a house with your garbage. Even if that "stuff" was there when you moved in it is your responsibility now. Remember, it's all about karma, leave it the way you would want it.
If you have packing or moving questions, tips or dilemmas send me a note and I will talk about it in a future post!
