Help with moving!!
 

I have a manufactured home we are selling on craigslist and I need to de clutter and start packing.

The problem is I still want to keep quilting. I guess we will have a 30 day closing but the new house will take 6 weeks to be set up. A lot of things will be put into storage. I will set up house keeping in our garage till home is ready

What to keep out, what to take to storage. my friend said I can put some things with her. I think all thread and cutting mat should stay at her house.

Any ideas on the packing or where to list the home for sale by owner would be a great help.

Good advice. Bring some hand work with you to keep you buzy.......Hugs

Make sure to mark all your boxes and make a packing list.
My DS just moved and I can imagine how she packed those boxes...
now she can't find anything. LOL

No help from me. Make a list of things you leave at your friends house. Just in case. We haven't moved for over 44 years and never plan to. When we did move we didn't own a lot of stuff.

I would store the sewing things in the trunk of the car when anyone was coming to see the house A trunk will hold lots of things but just keep out enough material to keepyou happy but some of your stash could be put in storage. The things you store in trunk put into managable containers so when you want to use it is all ready to go back into your house. Hope this helps as this is what I do

Can you make up some kits for yourself from various projects you have going? Get all your major cutting out of the way before the pack/move so you'd only need a small mat for trimming, etc? Do you have more than one machine? If so, a smaller, more portable one for classes and the like? Will that work for you on a short-term basis? Put the major machine in storage (provided it's reasonably well climate controlled)?

As to where to list your house...here on the East Coast there is a company 'For Sale By Owner'. Not sure if they are nationwide or not but it might be worth looking into.

Good luck.

My husband was in the Marines for 27 years so we moved, plus I had the work of getting 3 homes ready to sell, so here's what I did. Rented a storage unit then went through every room in the house. Had 3 lists - one of items to keep, but store; one to get rid of (Goodwill or trash, etc.); and one for items to keep. In closets, for example, only keep the clothes you need for this season (summer), the rest should be either stored (winter clothes) or discarded. Amazing how large your closets will look. Do the same with everything in your house. At the end of this "triage" your house will be completely uncluttered and look larger. When I got that done I took a notebook and went through every room and wrote down absolutely every step I had to take to get that room spotless. As I completed each task I checked it off against my list. It's a lot of work but I managed to sell all three houses in two weeks to a month, even in a downturn economy.
As for your sewing stuff, do the same and store everything you don't need. Keep back what you need for a project but keep your sewing area spotless. I did this and turns out that one of the buyers of our house was a sewer and was able to imagine her stuff in my sewing area. Hope this helps.

Whatever you are doing make that the last to pack. As a realtor, if the manufactured is not conveying with the land, you can sell it on craigslist, Zillow, Trulia, or in your local paper. Word of mouth is good. Down here we have a couple papers that are local ad papers. If you have a local ad flyer, you can put it In there. Also you can send a mass mail out over the Internet to friends and family with photos of the home attached. Whatever stash you are not using and know you will not use, store that. I would absolutely make sure everything is in water proof containers. Good luck on your move and your sale.

If you're on FACEBOOK, share your sale with your friends with photos and a good description of size and all that conveys with the home, such as appliances. If it has to be moved let that be known also.

Just a word of caution. If you are selling it yourself, be sure you have your husband or another male relative or friend there when you show the home. There are too many crazies out there now so be careful. Anytime I sell anything on craigslist, etc. I make sure my DH is here too if it's something too big to take to a neutral location and then I make him go with me.

Sorry, no help on the packing. I've got to do the same thing. Janet's post has some good tips though.

Ok, here is a pro on moving and packing. First of all, clear one corner of your LR. Into that corner goes the things you can not live without: medicines, hearing/medical aids, important papers/checkbooks, pet immunization records,makeup/all beauty items, sewing machine and tools for quilting, insurance papers, doctors phone numbers/records. These items are not to be packed and everyone needs to know:Hands Off. When I moved across country, I had to clean the house so I included a vac sweeper and rags and chemicals to clean old house and new before furniture arrived. Each person knows what is important to them, but include much of what I listed above. A dear friend lost her earring aids for 6 months because a friend helped her and put them in a pair of shoes. I have moved so many times, I can't remember the number. As for selling your house, put it in CL, the local paper, grocery stores, and a huge sign outside and smaller ones nearby on cross streets. Good luck.

We unexpectedly sold our house 2 1/2 years ago just before Christmas. Had to be out by the 19th and didn't start packing until after Thanksgiving. I knew our things would be in storage for quite some time and as it turned out it took 1 1/2 years to finally get our new house built. In the meantime we rented a fully furnished and equipped home from some friends. This is how I packed my house:

- I got boxes, just any kind, and a spiral notebook. As I packed a box I put a number on it on all 4 sides and on top, that way no matter how it was put in storage I could see the number. As I put things in that box I made a list in the notebook of briefly what was in that box - ie - blender, processor, measuring cups, etc. I then taped that box and put it either in the hall or the corner of the Great Room. I also color-coded the sharpie I was using and designated a color for each room. If I knew I wanted to keep something out I put a big asterisk on the box. By the time I was finished I had over 130 boxes but each one had a number on it. We ended up with 4 storage units because the night before the moving guys came we found out that the house we had wanted to lease was not available so EVERYTHING went into storage, except for most of the clothes. When I needed to find a particular box, and believe me in the 1 1/2 years we were "homeless" I needed to find several boxes, I basically had to look for the number. Each evening I would take my list and put it on a spread sheet - box #, room, contents. With the spread sheet I could print it out 2 different ways - by room or by box #. I worked great for me. One thing I would have done was to be with the guys as they unloaded the boxes into storage. They just put them in where they were fit because they didn't know my "system"!! So there were some boxes that stayed untouched for the time. It really helped when we moved. While I was guiding the first moving van to the house I got a call and they had taken my mother to the hospital. I called my neighbor and she graciously said she would come supervise. So everything was put in the garage and believe me we barely had room to walk through. Long story short, my mother passed away that evening so it was a very traumatic move. My daughter and son-in-law live about 30 min. away and my son flew in from Baltimore. So that weekend instead of having to go though every box to see where it would go my daughter had the 2 lists and when the boys would bring a box she would tell them exactly what room to put it in! That was a little over a year ago and I have just finished unpacking all the boxes but I knew where something was if I needed it.
Sorry this was so long but I have always been wordy. So go get a LOT of boxes, several rolls of packing tape, a good spiral notebook and several different colors of sharpies.
And good luck!!

Fredda

yes
 

I have had that block up there for over a year I was trying some scraps...I never saw it......so funny

100 miles yes keeping machine out is good idea

thanks I had the list in mind but the color sharpies gave me an idea color code the room to box color I can put color paper on doorway and unless helpers are color blind it should help

Sewfriendly has the right idea and it'll really make your move much easier. Good luck.

you can also go to a place like uhaul that sells boxes and buy rolls of packing tape that are color coded and also printed with "bathroom, bedroom, kitchen" etc. VERY handy!!

Most important make sure your sewing machine is not kept in your trunk or car. The heat will distort it.

We have moved 17 times, each time something different is learned. Here are a few of my lessons learned:
1. Carry your sewing machine in your car. I don't think there is anyway you can pack them to ensure there won't be damage by someone who doesn't care about what's in a box.
2. If you have anything with wheels, either remove them or pack that item in a box with filler around and between the wheels.
3. If you have movers, don't leave any jewelry or valuables in your drawers or nightstands.
4. If you have movers, label in a general way. You don't want to draw attention to what is in a particular box. It can disappear. Yes, the moving companies number the boxes and have them listed for you, but if you aren't with the truck, or if it goes into storage for a period of time, there are two many opportunities for something to go missing, be it intentional or not. If you're a nut about details, make a list for each room, number the boxes and add details to your list. I only did the lists for particular items that needed to be unpacked first or were more valuable. Like: Kitchen 1:, coffee pot, toaster, silverware, large frying pan, 2 qt. pan.
5. Good idea noted above about sorting and get rid of unneeded items. Have a garage sale if you have time. If not, donate and get a tax deduction. If you haven't used it in 3 or 4 years, get rid of it.
6. I always packed what I needed soonest, last & what I needed last, first and stacked those unnecessary ones in a corner. One year I artfully arranged the boxes in a pyramid, covered it with a green tarp and we set our Christmas presents on top of the edges for a tree. Yep, had to move right after Christmas. :)
7. We don't smoke anymore, but in one move I opened a box that smelled a bit and found an ashtray carefully wrapped in paper with the cigarette buts and ashes in it. So -- if you have someone else pack, make sure everything is just the way you want it when it arrives! Tape the detergent box, cereal boxes or what ever else may be opened so nothing leaks.
9. Don't pack liquids in glass or plastic containers. Cans are OK as long as they don't hold anything acidic or flammable and it's not winter where the contents can freeze.
10. If you can your own veggies and fruit, don't let the movers repack your jars. I wasn't watching once when we moved from Cincy to Chicago and 15 boxes of jars got taken out of their cases, wrapped in paper and put in large boxes. Not sure what happened to the original boxes that were much easier to store and did a much better job of not chipping the jars. I am still using the jars but hate those large boxes and having to wrap up the jars each time!

Enough -- could write a book on this. I wish you and your family the best, enjoy your new home!

Tartan - I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that!!

You'll be busy with the move and may not have as much time as you think for quilting. I wouldn't advise you to keep too much out- you'll be surprised how much else you have to do.

Actually a mostly sewn quilt might give your old home a warm cozy feeling. Maybe you could have a very organized WIP.