As briefly mentioned in recent blogs, my husband and I are in a transition phase – moving and downsizing. The last time we moved it was halfway across the country which brings its own challenges. What’s different this time is the number of people we’ve needed to help us, the number of new resources we’ve learned about through networking, and the focus on downsizing which means finding places where we can donate or sell stuff.

I’ve learned a lot the past few months and found some great resources. It’s no surprise to my regular readers that I’m willing to share some tips and resources. Here goes:

Finding trusted helpers – Our realtor lives in the neighborhood and has people he regularly uses and refers. Taking his recommendations, we used a handyman on some small projects and a few strong young men willing to move boxes and heavy items. This was all part of getting the house ready for photos, the listing, and open houses.

Sourcing local resources for small jobs – From our realtor I also learned about Surv, a company founded with community in mind that operates in eight states. CEO Pat Brown believes that Surv has the power to bridge social gaps, elevate young adults, and meet a community’s needs. Their mission is to build stronger communities through service. As they say on their website, “it’s more than an odd-job. By connecting Neighbors with hardworking Local Workers, we build lasting relationships that can uplift a community.”

Finding specialized services – Disassembling a very large free standing custom closet to move and reassemble at our new place became the biggest challenge for a few days after we accepted a very attractive offer. Our buyers said they didn’t want it because they planned to build a walk-in closet. We inherited the custom closet when we moved in so building a walk-in closet was something we too had considered but dismissed. If we were going to move it, I wanted someone who had some experience with custom closets. With a little research I landed on Home Depot and their Pro Referral service. Independent contractors fully vetted in terms of any criminal record, liability insurance, and licensed if needed. It took one call then I received an online link to a project request form and was matched with a few possible contractors.

Finding where to donate – Before we listed, we took several loads of donations to Savers. When it came to my business books and professional clothes, I wanted to find a more targeted place to donate. My husband is a retired minister and has 10 times as many books as me. Finding places to donate these items became a challenge. Sources I found include:

• More Than Words – a Boston based nonprofit social enterprise that empowers youth who are in the foster care system, court involved, homeless, or out of school to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business. My business books are going there.
• Better World Books – a socially conscious online bookseller that has sold over 100M books since it started in 2003. They have donated over 29M books, raised over $32M for literacy and libraries, and over 373M books have been reused or recycled. Tom’s books will go there.
• Dorcas Clothing Collaborative – part of the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, they provide free professional clothing to low-income individuals who are completing job training, education programs, or seeking employment. Good business clothes will go there.
• Habitat for Humanity Restores – independently owned reuse stores operated by local Habitat for Humanity organizations accepts donations of gently used furniture, appliances, home goods, building materials and more. No donation there yet but we have a few more weeks.

Selling through consignment shops – This has always seemed like more effort than it’s worth. But for a few never worn (yes, embarrassed to say still have labels on) and nearly new clothing items I may try out an online resource, Thred Up, that a colleague recommended. As their website says, they believe in a sustainable fashion future.

Selling on Facebook Marketplace – We have given some furniture to our daughters and sold some on Marketplace. Watching a man with the help of his two sons pack a king-size mattress, bed frame and headboard into his mini van while leaving enough room for them to drive home to Connecticut was something to see. Listing on Marketplace and monitoring the interested buyers was easier and faster than I expected. Three big items sold quickly over Labor Day weekend. And yes, I learned quickly to ignore the scammers.

We have several more weeks yet before we move so donating and packing continues. Getting ahead of the big tasks is key (putting my project management skills to work) – whether they are fix-it projects required on the buyer’s inspection report, donating used goods to the most appropriate places, selling things or scheduling movers.

If you don’t get ahead of it, when you get to that final week, you’re more likely to just toss stuff or move it even though you don’t really need it.  As you decide you have usable stuff that you don’t need, finding a new home for it takes time but it’s the right thing to do.