Moving house...where to start

[Movinghousemum]

As the title really!

Hoping to get our house n the market over the next few months but it's been a long time since we last moved and it's all a blur!

We've had 3 EA valuations of our house and they were all within 10k of each other. Ha e decided which one we want to go with but not had pics done yet as we want to declutter first.

We know we need an EPC will get that booked in soon

We have an agreement in principle

We e chosen our solicitors and knows how much it will be including stamp duty

We need a big declutter before we have pics done. I'm trying to do a bit each week on my day off but it's overwhelming. I'm literally doing one shelf or draw at a time as every little counts!

Where do we go from here?

Our deposit for our new house will come from the same of our old house, plus moving, estate agent and solicitors fees etc

We have seen some houses we like but we weren't on the market yet and still aren't sure to aforementioned tidying needing doing!

Would it be worth you either taking a few days off together and committing to doing the tidying? Or asking some family or friends to help ?

I know how hard it can be, and I do so much better if someone has come round specifically to help me - as much as anything as it keeps me on task.

It sounds like you are putting the cart before the horse a bit in terms of having had valuations etc when you aren't ready to go on the market.

Forget about the drawers. Just focus on getting visible surfaces clear even if it means stuffing things inside cupboards for a day. Then, declutter slowly as you get ready for a move. 10 min a day is better than a whole day of decluttering once a week. Especially if everyone in the household does it.

Go on to Zoopla or Rightmove house prices/ sold areas in your near neighbourhood and see if you can find the estate agent listings for when these properties actually sold.
Look at how your ex neighbours presented their houses and see if there are any clever and sharp tips you can steal, or things to avoid or areas of your house that you can maximise to best advantage.
Next starting at the front street, do a forensic 'clipboard tour' with your DP , Have three columns. Declutter, Repair, Clean. The more ruthless and critical you can be, the better the outcome.
I also set myself a goal of decluttering 1 cubic metre of 'stuff' every day. and started selling gear we didn't need on eBay. DP and I agreed whatever we sold, the proceeds could fund the costs of 'dressing and staging.'

Decluttering is a big job! Can you take some days off work and really tackle it? I did a combination of charity, tip, a skip and giving things away. I then scrubbed. I also paid for professional photos and wrote my own lines for the description.

You will need to sell to be able to put a serious offer in on somewhere else.

Thanks all, I have one day a week child free and am trying to declutter one "section" a week. So this week on my day off I'm trying to do the hall. Then next week might be one chest of drawers for example. I can't sweep all the clutter into the cupboard as the EA looked in the cupboards during the valuation 😱 we had to get the valuation done first so we knew if we can make enough profit to move.

I don't know if it's best to just get pics done and get it on the market asap and then we can declutter while it's on the market as if we wait until we are ready we'll never be ready 😱

We have just sold ours and going through the conveyancing process now.
We went round the whole house and made a list of little jobs to be done and touched paint up. Spent a couple of weekends getting that done. We didn’t declutter any cupboards and not one viewer has looked.
We then got the EA round and literally put everything in the boot of the cars. Got rid of dog bed (and dog to family) all shampoo bottles from shower, toothbrushes, everything off bedside cabinets and kitchen worktops (no toaster out etc) , get rid of waste bins, oven gloves, dressing gowns on doors etc! They took photos like that which looked really good.
We put most of the stuff back for the viewings but dog out of the house and really tidy. Had 10 viewings in a week (had 3 each day with a day free between. Sold in a week over asking price! Good luck!

A whole day to clear the hall? A day???

Have a look on social media and Pinterest for staging ideas. I have bedding I put on the beds just for viewings. I also have cushions and throws that are only out for viewings. Have a look at other listings to see how other houses are staged.
Decluttering needs to be done before your pictures are done.

If you can’t get l the de cluttering done in a reasonable time frame to get the photos done, hide it! Put it in the garage, the shed, your car, someone else’s house! We had our stuff everywhere

Decluttering cupboards and drawers comes later. For photos you need to clear unnecessary items off surfaces and floors. Put it in places where photos won’t be taken like cupboards, in the garage, the car boot if it’s items you want to keep.

Definitely agree with all these suggestions it’s the surfaces that matter. Actual decluttering can come after you have an offer. Touching up paintwork fixing little niggles and a tidy garden are important. I nearly cried when my flowering poppy dropped its petals the day before the open day!

well done OP you've done a good amount of research. Don't think declutter - think start packing for your move. Get boxes and pack anything you can and store at a relatives or pay for storage. Get it all out of the house. It makes staging for photos/viewing so much easier.

Just going through this. House went on the market yesterday. Decluttering was exhausting but it’s worth it…it’s actually nice living in a house without all the crap. I’m actually less bothered about moving now, haha! If you have the time, I would do your draws etc, it will help clear space to put other bits for viewings. When you have pics, you can move bits from room to room, but when you have viewings there’s an extra layer of decluttering to do before viewings (e.g. random papers, shampoo bottles, kitchen appliances that reduce workspace), so you need somewhere accessible to put them. I was lucky to have a month between jobs and it took the majority of this time..it takes a lot of time/effort to know where to get rid of things. I find Anglo doorstop collections helpful.