We’re about 90% packed, which feels great with moving day right around the corner. We plan to load the truck on Sunday and officially move Monday afternoon, assuming the closing doesn’t get pushed to Tuesday. Fingers crossed!
Here’s our progress on the to-do list we shared earlier:
- Remove every item from the walls and patch/paint all nail holes (this turned out to be much easier than expected — remove nails in one go, spackle everything at once, then paint room by room instead of repeating each step for every room).
- Transfer utilities to start at the new place on move-in day.
- Pack the entire bathroom except travel-sized shampoo and conditioner, our toothbrushes, and the shower curtain.
- Pack frames, mirrors, books, ceramic animals, and about 80% of breakables (we still need to tackle dishware).
- Rake the yard so the new owners don’t inherit a giant leaf pile.
- Oversee completion of a few inspection items (a pro is handling some flue work).
- Get our oil measured for closing so the new buyers pay for the remaining oil in the tank.
- Say goodbye to our tan slipcovered Pottery Barn sofa in the den (someone from Craigslist is scheduled to pick it up).
- Pack the rest of the kitchen and the remaining 10% of other rooms.
- Clean the oven and fridge (we’ll do this right before we leave).
- Vacuum and sweep before locking the door — likely with a tear in my eye.
Not bad, right? With that last 10% of packing and a bit of cleaning left, we’ll be off to the new place soon, maybe carrying heavy boxes instead of springing around. After a long, stressful day of last-minute closing details, we drove by the new house and just stared at it from the car. Even Clara and Burger peeked out. It was enough to bring back the excitement we want to carry through these next hectic days. New house, we’re excited to move in.
For those who like to see the house mid-move, here’s how things look right now:
And since a few people asked, here’s what’s conveying (staying) with the sale of the house:
- All appliances in the kitchen and the laundry nook.
- Basement storage pieces and cabinetry.
- The built-in wardrobes flanking the bed and the bed frame itself.
- Floating shelves in the dining room.
- All hardwired light fixtures and the plug-in swing-arm bedroom lamps (we did remove the chandelier from Clara’s room and replaced it with a standard light).
- All blinds, shades, curtain rods, and curtains, except the curtains in Clara’s room, which we kept for sentimental reasons.
- A folder of manuals and house information plus labeled cans of exterior and interior paint by room.
We’re glad to leave those items — they helped the sale go quickly and even brought an offer above asking. Here are a few packing tips that worked well for our slightly obsessive, type-A approach:
- John used blue painter’s tape to mark boxes that contain breakables so we can identify them instantly.
- He also put painters tape on kitchen cabinet doors that are still full so we don’t keep opening every door to check if it’s packed.
- We labeled nearly every box with a Sharpie so essentials like Clara’s bath items are easy to find in a hurry.
- We grabbed extra sturdy boxes from our local wine store — they’re free and many have built-in handles.
- We packed a “vacation stash” with clothes, toiletries, and baby gear to use for the last days here and the first few days at the new place, so we’re not forced to unpack everything immediately.
- We also prepared a “good to have around” box to keep in the car for the new house containing toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap, cleaning supplies, cups, and a few items to help friends and family who are helping us move — and to make our first night easier.
Everything’s moving along. Eyes on the prize: the new house.