Decluttering, Downsizing and Moving after 50 years
Are you thinking of selling your home? Downsizing? Or even up-sizing? When you’re preparing your home for sale, there is so much to do! Decluttering should be one of the top items on your ‘to do’ list. The better you present your home, the greater the chance you may have of a quick and profitable sale.
Did you catch Better Homes and Gardens last Friday night? The Better Homes and Gardens team helped Brian clean and spruce up his home of 50 years, getting it ready for sale. There was years of clutter to sort through, as well as home improvements to be made. The team managed it all on a tight budget, and the results were fabulous!
Watch the full episode here. It was live on Seven on Friday 10 March. The online episode will expire soon, so be quick to watch while its still available.
Here’s a quick recap…
So you’re thinking of selling your home?
The Better Homes and Gardens team addressed a few key questions and issues many of us face when we’re getting ready to sell…
- How do you make your home stand out from the crowd?
- How much are you going to spend on your home before you send it to market?
- How do you create an environment that potential buyers can see themselves living in?
- How do you go about freshening up and cleaning out years of accumulated possessions to cut through the clutter?
In Brian’s story, he bought his home 50 years ago, raising a family and watching the suburb around him grow and change. He was ready to downsize and move to his dream retirement home on the central coast. He had already bought his new home, so was ready to move, but needed to sell his existing home first. Due to ill-health, it had been difficult for Brian to stay on top of what needed to be done to his home to get it ready for sale. That’s where the Better Homes and Gardens team stepped in.
The team set about creating some much needed street appeal with a tight budget of only $13,000 to get the house ready for market. An outdoor entertaining area added after the shed was removed from the back.
Then it came to the inside of the house, and there, everything had to go! And by everything, they mean years of collected clothes, furniture, boxes, paperwork, momentos and memories. Everything inside was moved outside and walls were painted. The bathroom replaced, and the kitchen given a spruce-up.
Downsize and Decluttering
Something that applies to most of us, not just Brian, is that we all have too much stuff. And if you don’t keep on top of it, it can quickly get on top of us.
Tara Dennis, Better Homes and Gardens presenter, set about sorting through Brian’s possessions – throwing rubbish into a skip, sorting no longer needed (but still usable) items to donate to charity, and packing what was to be kept and moved into a PODS container.
By using a PODS container, Tara could take her time to sort through Brian’s possessions, carefully and thoughtfully. She was able to separate the rubbish into a skip bin, items for charity into boxes, and precious possessions for Brian’s new home into the PODS container and ready for moving.
You don’t have to be moving or selling your home to make a big difference to the way you live. Decluttering is something many of us could do on a regular basis, even annually. If you getting ready for a downsizing move, start early to sort through and declutter your home, to make the task a little less overwhelming when it comes time to move. You might find some of these practical tips useful for downsizing. A decluttered home can have a huge positive impact on your mental and physical health.
Storage and Moving
Sometimes when decluttering, we understand that you either can’t or don’t want to get rid of everything. Maybe you are storing items for family, or you have precious collectables that you have acquired over the years. In this instance, carefully box up then place your belongings safely into storage.
With a PODS storage container you pack your items at your own pace, taking your time to sort through what you want to keep and what you can give- or throw away. When you’re ready, we’ll collect the container for you and store safe and secure at one of our Storage Centres. You also have the option to keep your PODS container onsite at your own premises for constant easy access. Don’t forget though, if you store your container at a PODS storage centre, you still have access to your goods.
If you are planning to store your items, have a read of these tips on how to prepare your goods for storage.
Once filled, Brian’s container was moved from the property to clear the way for house inspections and sale at auction. After its decluttering, the house had a new lease on life and was ready for sale to new owners and a new chapter.
SOLD! and Happy Ever After
What a mammoth effort! $13k and a lot of elbow grease and Brian’s house came up a treat. A street-front makeover, new entertaining area in the back, new bathroom, spruced up kitchen, bedrooms decluttered and beautifully decked out, and changing the office back to a bedroom. Some simple yet dramatic changes to add value to this much loved home.
Brian’s home went under the hammer with only a small investment, making a sizeable $100k profit.
PODS moved Brian’s possessions to his new home, and it is there that we wish Brian all the best as he settles in to his new life on the central coast.
Looking for some more helpful Decluttering tips?
Please have a read of these articles:
