Month: August 2017

Countdown Checklist For Your Pre-Move Garage Sale

Posted on by Nicole Longo

When it’s time to move to a new home, that could also mean its time to slim down on what you have in your home before the relocation.  A garage sale is the perfect way to do it & make some money while you’re at it! Here is a countdown checklist on how to execute the perfect garage sale!

One Month Before Garage Sale:

  • Get A Date in Mind. Once you have a target date, it will help you remain organized and work towards your goals for the big day.
  • Trash the Trash! As you begin to go through the things you no longer want, separate in to three piles. “Keep, Throw, Sell”
  • Look in to City Requirements & Regulations. Make sure your town or city does not have any specific restrictions that prohibit posting signs around town.
  • Do a some research. Do a little basic research, pricing on antique items and one of a kind pieces. The things you have could have more value than you expect them to!
  • Ask neighbors and friends for grocery bags. Also start to collect folding tables to display the items on.

Two Weeks Before the Garage Sale:

  • Go through the items in your “keep” pile, make sure you still want to keep them in your possession, if not move them over to the sell.
  • Begin to clean and organize your “sell” items – The better condition they are in, the more money they will be worth!
  • Start thinking about pricing – Buy pricing materials & stickers and start a tentative pricing list for the items.

One Week Before the Garage Sale:

  • Begin to distribute ads around town. Post on local town pages & Facebook. Let your friends and family know.
  • Finalize your pricing. Take the list you made a few weeks prior and begin to label all of your items.
  • Go to the bank. Make sure you have plenty of change, all size bills and coins should be in  your possession for the day of the sale.
  • Watch the weather. If rain looks like it could be a factor maybe make alternative plans
  • Have all your sales materials in order. Bags, change, newspaper wrapping, calculator & pens.

One Day Before the Garage Sale:

  • Make sure you have enough signs around town, the day before is the most important day for advertising!
  • Mark off things around the site of the sale as “Not for Sale” – you don’t want anyone trying to buy you potted plants!
  • Check the weather, again – make sure you are good to go for the next day!

The Day of the Garage Sale!

  • Wake up well before the start time of the sale to get everything arranged outside, put the small valuable things close to you so you can keep any eye on them.
  • Organize your items by category so it is easy for customers to browse your sale
  • Lock your home. When you’re busy selling you don’t want to have to worry about your home. Safety precaution!

The idea of a garage sale can be extremely overwhelming. When you break it down by week it can make the day of worry free! Once you know what you would like to move to your new home. We promise to provide you with exceptional service.

For more yard and garage tips, be sure to check out our other blog: Creating the Most Successful Yard Sale Possible

Done decluttering and ready to start moving? Request a free moving estimate online or give Olympia Moving & Storage a call at 800-222-4744

After the Move: Getting Started in Your New Home

Posted on by Nicole Longo

When the movers leave and it’s just you and your family in the new home, it can be overwhelming. It’s time to pick a starting point and start tackling, unpacking, and organizing. We hope with these simple suggestions will help you start making your new house into a home.

Time to pull out that first night box! Something that might have seemed silly a few weeks ago is now essential. Bottled water, snacks, clean clothes & a tooth brush are simple first steps to making your first night in your house feel like a home. Check out the blog on the first night kit  linked here to make sure you have the essentials at your fingertips when they’re needed.

Make sure all the essential services are set up. Double check that the appliances that the movers installed work properly. Make sure the electricity works and you have hot water for a shower. If not, call to get these things addressed.

Boston

Electricity

Water

Internet/ Cable

Washington DC

Electricity

Water

Internet/Cable

Pennsylvania 

Electricity

Water

Internet/Cable

Google “Best take out around me” and celebrate! Make the first day in your new home a memorable one – you’ve worked hard to get to this point and you deserve it! Treat yourself to delicious take-out from your new neighborhood and pop a bottle of champagne. After a full move-in day the last thing you will want to do is worry about unpacking boxes to find pots and pans to cook with, or a trip to the grocery store. Make an indoor picnic, open up a moving pad, and dive in to your first meal in your new home.

Begin to plan out each room. Because all of the moving boxes are labeled and brought in to the designated rooms it will be easy to attack them one by one. A plan will make the unpacking process less stressful. When you are beginning to get settled, it’s apparent that some rooms take priority over others. A simple bedroom set up is essential in the first few days, some clean sheets and hung up clothes will have you feeling refreshed the next day. Nothing is worse than waking up in a new space with nothing familiar around you. That goes for the kids rooms as well, the sooner they get in to a solid routine in the new home, the better. Plus, if you get the kids set up in their rooms it will keep them preoccupied when you set up the rest of the home. After the bedrooms, we suggest getting the kitchen in order. While you might enjoy some take out for the first few nights, nothing gets you settled in a new house like a home cooked meal. 

Safety. Safety. Safety. Make sure that all fire alarms are wired correctly and working. Confirm that the home is child proof as needed. If the new home has a pool, make plans to fence it in.

Change Locks. It is important to change your locks on your new home because you never know who has copies of the keys. It’s an important safety precaution that can be easily over looked!

Manuals & Remotes: When you’re unpacking and unwrapping new things it is easy to throw away or lose track of user manuals and remote controls. Make a designated area for these. You will need them! (Even if you think you know how to work the new fancy washer and dryer)

Schedule a Debris Pick Up. If you find yourself in a pile of empty boxes as you continue to unpack, give Olympia a call to pick up the pieces for you. Also, check out our blog on how to use some of the leftover boxes for the kids entertainment when you unpack!

The most important thing to remember is, the small details can wait. Don’t stress to get everything unpacked and organized in one day! It will all get done, and your home will look great.