Getting a long-stay visa to move overseas took forever… until it didn’t. The visa was approved and arrived in the mail around the first of February. The overseas apartment rental (contingent on our visa approval) started March 1st, so I technically had about 30 days to pack, move, and sell (or donate) everything a family of 4 had acquired over multiple decades.
The storage room (pictured above) was FULL of stuff that had to be individually reviewed, evaluated, and sorted.
Initially, I had hoped to sell the house furnished, as a turn-key AirBnB or holiday rental, but the realtor said there wasn’t much demand for those around us in Appalachia.
Additionally, I could have left everything in the house and just dealt with it after the house sold… but in my mind, that meant paying someone else to take care of all this stuff when I was overseas (instead of keeping that revenue). So, that meant I had to tackle it before leaving.
Here’s how it happened:
Week 1:
- Sun-Fri: Finalizing everything necessary to bring the dog to Europe, including her first pre-trip vet appointment on Friday.
- Mon-Thurs: Working! I’m fortunate to work remotely, but spend 8 hours a day on a computer, so everything else was happening in addition to a typical workday.
- Sun–Thurs: Identifying & packing anything really worth keeping (or that family members wanted). This includes family heirlooms, valuables, certain furniture, and our children’s artwork/photos/paperwork, etc.
- Fri-Sat: I rented a 12′ moving truck for that weekend, packed all the random items into it, and drove them approximately 4h to my parent’s house. There, I unloaded it and separated items into what my sister wanted (and she would take to her house in North Carolina), what my parents wanted (and would be used), and what they would temporarily store for me somewhere (this was mostly tax paperwork, sporting equipment, kids photos, and keepsakes).
Week 2:
- Sun-Thurs: Upon returning home to a house with all the important stuff removed, I started organizing and planning an Estate Sale the upcoming weekend. It’s important to note that I put more time into prepping for a sale like this than many would, but – based on prior experience – the better organized a sale is, the easier it is for people to shop. The easier it is for people to shop, the more they are likely to buy. So, I group like items into sections (ex: small appliances & electronics, home improvement, kitchen & dining, home decor). I also pre-package, fold, and label all bedding by size. That way, it’s clean and organized, and all pieces in a set stay together. I also placed a sign in the yard, so people driving by would have the sale on their radar for the weekend.
- Monday-Tuesday: This. (Took off work; couldn’t function. I was a mess.)
- Wednesday-Thursday: Working all day while trying not to cry. The house ‘FOR SALE’ sign was placed in the yard by the realtor. Although the house wasn’t officially on the market yet, I wanted to encourage potential buyers to come in and look around during the estate sale.
- Friday-Saturday: Indoor Estate Sale daily from 8a-4p. The MLS listing photos would look better without personal clutter, so I planned to have the sale before listing the house, to help everything look bigger (and less personal) for prospective buyers touring the property.
I closed off the basement, 2nd floor, first-floor bathroom, and kitchen; the sale was concentrated on the first floor across the living room, dining room, foyer, and two bedrooms. I cannot stress enough that making a pleasant shopping experience encourages people to buy more; ALL the lights were on, giant IKEA bags were available for people whose hands were full, instrumental music played in the background, and an unoffensive scented candle was by the front door (so everything smelled great as people entered). These are basic retail tricks and small measures that – while seemingly superfluous – created a pleasant atmosphere and environment where people wanted to spend time. I also informed each shopper that new items would be added daily (since we didn’t have room to put everything out at once).
It paid off. Each day, the majority of traffic was comprised of repeat shoppers (who became repeat purchasers). Items you’d never think to sell… people will buy! As long as it’s packaged, presented, and priced well, you can sell almost anything.
However, these were LONG days for me. When the sale officially closed at 4 pm, I immediately started bringing new items out and re-organizing the shopping areas. From day to day, I moved sections around so returning shoppers couldn’t just glance over an area they looked at yesterday. Each day, the layout was notably different so shoppers had to take a fresh look in each area, AGAIN. Each night, I was up till at least 1 am adding new items and pricing as many items as possible. Having prices on items also makes shopping easier for buyers – so they don’t have to ask about every single item of interest.
In retrospect, I wish I’d taken more photos during the sale, but at the time, documenting this ordeal was the LAST thing on my mind.
Week 3:
- Sunday: This was the “garage sale” day. Friday & Saturday shoppers were informed that Sunday, the ‘house’ sale would be closed and we’d be selling EVERYTHING out of the garage that day – including lawn equipment, tools, gardening stuff, and whatever else people typically keep in their garages.
- Monday – Thursday: At work all day. Cleaning and organizing each evening.
- Monday: House officially listed in the MLS; two buyer viewing appointments
- Tuesday: Four buyer viewing appointments & a full-price offer from the couple whom I showed the house to during the estate sale.
- Wednesday: The house went under contract.
- Thursday: Home Inspection took place (and passed with flying colors). I also did a walk-through with the buyers to see what, if any, furniture they might like to purchase. We made a small (but worthwhile) list of items they wanted to purchase. All those items were then removed from my ‘find-a-place-for-this’ list. (:
- Friday: A much-needed day of rest
- Saturday: Clean up and the final clean-out push officially begins. Some of the furniture and kitchen items that didn’t sell at the estate sale were distributed to interested friends.
Week 4:
- Sunday: My mother drove up, I loaded her car with additional items that I wanted to keep (but weren’t discovered until AFTER the moving van trip was completed). A few hours later, when she pulled out of the driveway, her car looked amazingly similar to the last helicopter out of Saigon.
- Monday – Tuesday: I worked during the day, packed at night, and attempted to fight off a miserable head cold which was creeping up on me.
- Wednesday: After a Telehealth appointment with a doctor, I got antibiotics for a sinus infection, packed, and tried to keep my germs to myself.
- Thursday: AM – We drove 4 hours to the airport, said goodbye to our kids, then got on a plane. I suffered the worst sinus pain I’ve ever felt (thanks to the combo of pressurized cabin and sinus infection). Good times.