Audrey-

What has worked for me in the past is to start in one room and just go from top to bottom. If you focus on one area and thing at a time it won't seem quite so huge. I have been a renter all my life and have lived in two different homes as they were selling. I did not have to do the repairs but I am living through that as we speak. We have two kids, 5 dogs and 8 cats. Just make sure you run the vacuum everyday if you have carpets and make it a priority to make sure the little stuff is picked up every night before bed. We found once we got on top of all the clutter it is really easy to keep it up.

Trish in SC

We'll probably be listing our house in about a month or two. We were very lucky, and I strongly recommend this method if it's at all possible.

We bought our new house last summer. We've been gradually organizing, moving, trashing stuff for the past months. We're leaving just enough of our better furniture in the house so that it will showcase well to sell. And as I move stuff to the new place, I have the time to organize and put it away properly, since I only do a couple of carloads a week.

I'd strongly recommend doing at least some of the work yourselves. In this economy, you're probably not going to get what your house is worth anyway (I really don't think the housing market is going to sort it self out for at least a year.). Painting is simple. In the past 6 months, I've painted most of the interiors of TWO homes. Just got up at 6:30 this morning and painted my husband's basement 'lair' in the 'new' house, AND made curtains for the windows in it. All before lunchtime. You can do the painting--with all the help out there like 'blue tape' it's easy. And doen't take that long. You'll save thousands, if you at least do the painting.

And I agree with cutting the work down to reasonable bits. I've been working on one room at a time, and once it's ready, NO ONE is supposed to mess it up. Of course, once the house is on the market, we'll be mostly living at the new place, so the old one will stay pristine. I' just run up once or twice a week, to give it a spit and polish.

It's been a long time since I moved, but the checklists made a world of difference. I had several months time between when I bought the house and when I got possession. Since I knew I was moving, I started packing everything that I knew I wouldn't need and stacked it up. As I went I trashed, gave away and did what I could to cut it down. I set goals for myself to keep me on track, like this week finish the bathroom, next week, the bedroom, next week, etc. I also was able to get a much better idea on how many boxes I needed since I packed as I went and my source for boxes had an ongoing supply coming in so I could get some at a time, save special boxes for certain things, etc. Then I had a bit over two weeks from when I got possession until I had to be out of the other place. Each night I'd load a vehicle and go over, unload and bring to the room. Sometimes I'd load both vehicles, then come and switch. Some nights I'd unpack. It wasn't the "moving day rush" so it was almost, repeat, almost fun. And so satisfying that I organized as much as I did but you can always do more.

Other tips: Label each box well. I printed off a bunch of pages with all the rooms listed. Then I packed and would close up the box, tape a sheet on it and circle the room it should go into. I'd make a quick note if it was something special or something I needed right away, was fragile or whatever. It worked great. Had I had help (I wound up moving myself except for the big furniture) they'd know where to put it.

One great idea I saw was to make a 3 ring binder (or a briefcase or something) that is your move center. Keep your checklists in there. Write notes in there. Jot down sizes of windows, furnace filters, etc in the new place. Print out a list of your address book & important phone numbers. Things like that and keep it together. Keep receipts organized if it's tax deductible or anything.

Keeping it clean while you live is a problem. I think I'd contact a housekeeper to come in regularly for a touch up. And of course you just need to get into the mindset that you HAVE to do this. And have things like totes to hide dirty laundry and hey, dirty dishes could go in them two for the last minute showing. Nobody will mind a tote tucked under the dinner table, especially with a tablecloth on it!

It certainly can be overwhelming but recruit friends to help, if nothing else, to help keep you on track, remind you of things and maybe chat over a cup of coffee while you do something. Maybe they'll pitch in? Otherwise, it often helps just to have someone to talk to.

One suggestion for a nice thing to give to the new homeowner. Make a list of things like local stores, numbers, maybe some flyers with coupons for pizza or whatever, phone numbers for City Hall, council members, mayor, congressional reps & senators names/numbers, where to vote, neighbors' names & numbers, the names and phone numbers for the local utilities, TV channel lineup, emergency lights out numbers and things like that. Wouldn't it be nice to have that available so you don't have to scramble after moving to find out how to get the phone turned on (if you're not from the area), get the gas, electricity transferred, have cable tv ready to relax a bit, etc. Even things like knowing what day the garbage & recycling get picked up, parking regulations and things that you know off the top of your head but can be overwhelming to the new folks. And hey, maybe make the list and ask the new place to fill it in for you? Just an idea.

More than anything else is don't stress out. It really isn't worth getting all worked up. Things will work out.

Congratulations and enjoy the adventure!

I moved out first, then weeded things out.
Once I had it listed, my house sold in 3 weeks.

I had all the ceilings painted, wallpaper removed, and main rugs replaced...agents say to stay neutral, which usually is taken as pale brown tones...I painted in palest gray and installed pale gray rugs instead of tan - keeps house looking like all the others.
Replaced all hardware in the bathrooms and kitchen. Replaced vanity tops in the bathrooms.
Replaced ceiling mounted light fixtures.

Had furnace and central air conditioning checked over and certified.
Had an electrician come in and check circuits and all wiring to make sure it was all up to current code.

I also suggest - make sure ovens and stove tops are sparking clean and counters and walls clear of "stuff". Plain nothing is better than personal touches.

I also added up utility bills for the past year...water, heat and sewer, and agent included this info on the brochure he had done. People like to see real numbers for utility bills.

What good advice from everyone. Our last move (with my painful back problem) turned out fairly easy because I did the before mentioned things. We also rented a storage unit, and every box had detailed, itemized packing lists. Some are still packed, but I don't have to go searching. I used DVD like envelopes on each box with the list in it, and a binder-like folder with same lists, that are still in my file cabinet. Oh, when we had kids/grands available to help, off to the storage unit a load went.
We so loved our two former homes and bought them new and each improvement I had taken photo's for my own scrapbook, so made scrapbooks for our new buyers. We put in a hot tub, swimming pool, many fruit trees and berries...all photo recorded for the new folks. Not sure they appreciated it, but it was my thing. Nanny

BTW, both of our houses sold to the first people that looked at them....and not in a buyers market. We also had our grand sons with us for the summer. They were the greatest helpers.

Thats good advice...take one room and completely finish it before you start another.And also buy twice as many garbage bags as you think you'll need and as many boxes as you can get your hands on.
Can you tell I sold and bought another house this year?

I suggest you talk to your RE Agent about what work to do ie (siding and gutter repair, paint outside of house, ceiling repair and paint, etc) that you mentioned.

Often times it is better to set the selling price to include an allowance for those things. A buyer may prefer to do those things themselves. No matter what color you chose for the house, inside or out, it may not be what a buyer would prefer, and you could lose the sale on that alone.

Having everything neat is important. Have something spicy cooking on the stove? I've seen that as a suggestion in so many magazines, etc. If I were the "Looker" I would wonder what they were trying to cover up!

I had 3 china cabinets full of dishes and glassware to pack. I invited 3 friends to a "Packing and Pizza Party." We had a good time visiting as we packed and it was done very quickly.

Don't let it be a hassle. Take your time.

Sue

I think its great that you are thinking so far ahead. You are giving yourself a good amount of time to get ready for this big event. Although your to do list might seem overwhelming when you look at it or think about it, when you spread those things out over the period of time that you have, it should be pretty easy. I was going to say the same thing that Trish said. For example, you mentioned 6 book selves. Just do one shelf at a time. One cabinet at a time.

Good luck to you!

I don't know if your neighborhood is yard sale friendly, but taking on these projects over time will allow you to cull the trash and yard-saleable items from what you want to keep and pack. You could have several yard sales over the next year!