Top 10 tips for your best Garage Sale EVER!

So, you’re selling your house and need to declutter. Clear out the old, the unwanted and the unused. There’s an incentive to clearing. Creating more space in your place may have a positive effect on your peace of mind, as well as move you along the home selling process. A fun way to deal with the stuff you don’t need is to sell it all at a yard sale. Make extra cash, ask a few neighbors to join you for a block sale, and get rid of the things that haven’t been serving you for years!

Doesn’t that sound great?!

Here are tried and true Top 10 Tips for your best Garage Sale EVER!!

1. Six or more weeks before the sale choose the date for your sale. Weekends, of course, are best. With good planning, a 3-day weekend is fine for a 1-day sale because people have more time for chores, shopping, and playing.

2. Schedule an entire day to clear your garage before the date of the sale since you will want to be ready bright and early in the morning of your sale. Throw away the obvious trash. Add colorful post-it notes to the sale items, and different color post-it notes to items that you plan to give away or keep.

3. Stage an area in your home or garage where all your “for sale” items can sit until the sale. Take a few pictures of some of your sale items.

4. De-clutter for the sale: Go through all the spaces in your home, office, garage, closets and drawers. Everywhere. Carry a box or bag with you as you go through each area and fill it with that which you no longer use, want, or desire. Be ruthless. And try to not let guilt guide your decisions about letting go! Now put all the stuff in the staging area.

5. Pre-sale advertising on Craigslist and NextDoor.com: This is the key to having the best garage sale EVER! Each week for four weeks prior to the sale, post an ad about your sale on craigslist. The weekly ads should include the same important information: title of ad, city/community of yard sale, dates/times of yard sale, but the body of the ad should change each week. Your ad should excite, delight, and attract potential customers! Show pictures of some of the sale items. Comments may include, EVERYTHING MUST GO! MORE ITEMS IN NEXT WEEK’S AD! Each week post different stuff with different but similar comments. The goal is to build a “following” so people look for your ad next week. Do not include your address until your final post a week before the ad. Very early on the morning of the sale, post ad #4 a second time (for a total of 5 posts).

6. Signage (part 1): Signs should be clear, simple, and readable. Cut a poster-board in half. That’s about the size you should make the signs. Use block letters, printed with date/time of sale, address of sale. Each sign should have a space to draw a directional arrow. Plan to start the sale in the morning because people are more likely to show up to your door before 7am!

7. Signage (part 2): Before you hang your signs, spend a few days driving around your neighborhood for all the ways to get to your house and likely places to hang the signs. If your sale is on a Saturday, post the signs on Wednesday evening. When you go out to hang signs, bring these with you: thick-tip Sharpie marker, heavy duty tape, hammer and a few nails. Add a directional arrow to each sign just before hanging. IMPORTANT:

REMOVE YOUR SIGNS THE DAY AFTER THE SALE (or better, THAT NIGHT!!!) Do not clutter your neighborhood with your old yard sale signs.

8. Day before the sale: Take everything from the staging area inside the house to the garage or area where you plan to hold the sale. Get the items into boxes and bags and close to the front door. Wipe down dirty or dusty items. Have a bunch of paper or plastic grocery bags to help cart away the purchases. Also, have a change purse with several $1s, $5s, a couple of $10s, and coins. Get a good night’s sleep.

9. Day of sale: Get up and out EARLY! People will be waiting when you get outside. Feel free to politely ask them to return at the designated time or… start selling! Put a tall/large item near the curb to attract people driving by your house.

10. To price or not to price an item: If the point of your sale is to get rid of your old stuff, don’t add a price tag on anything. When a customer asks about the cost, ask what they want to pay and take their money! Or name a price, and banter back and forth with the customer until you come to an agreement. If you’ve got a big-ticket item such as a treadmill, couch, or dining set, go ahead a name a price and guage a customer’s reaction. Bottom line: sometimes when an item has a price tag, it may discourage the customer from asking for a lower price. I’ve done at least 25 yard sales (personally and professionally). I’ve never tagged a single item and always had a great sale.

I wish you amazing success with your sale. Put what you’ve earned in the bank, or take yourself and a friend out to dinner! But please don’t go shopping!

De-Cluttering a Kitchen – Top Ten Tips

The Kitchen! OY!!

Some places in our kitchen resemble caverns – dark and deep. We’ve got stuff tucked way, way back that haven’t seen the light of day for years (heck, we could say the same about refrigerators!). In addition, many of us no longer entertain as we once did but our bulky serving trays and bowls are also stuck in time. From my observation, most kitchens have more than one junk drawer (and if it’s junk why do you throw it in a drawer?). Old table napkins take up space, and a birds-eye view indicates more than enough wooden spoons, potato mashers, garlic presses, and spatulas.

The task of clearing the kitchen of superfluous items seems daunting. Planned well, the job may be performed relatively easily. I can’t overemphasize the importance of using your calendar to schedule time to get the work done. If it’s not on the calendar, the likelihood that you will reach your goal of tackling your kitchen is decreased.

Our Top Ten Tips to de-clutter your kitchen provides a good start to creating better flow in the room you use several times a day. For more advice, send an email to me with photos. I can help assess and offer suggestions.

Happy June!

June Top 10 Tips: An Organized Kitchen

1. Start by getting rid of expired or unused items (yes, even spices and tea expire eventually). Discard items that you haven’t used, or don’t plan to use. How many toasters do you have? How many do you or your family use on a regular basis?

2. Take everything that does not belong in the kitchen out of kitchen. Oftentimes, the kitchen serves as a catch all for all activities for all members of the family.

3. If you’re short on space, think vertically and stack items. Hang pots and pans to free up storage space.

4. Avoid counter top clutter by using a cake stand to store salt and pepper and other frequently used items when your cake stand isn’t housing a cake, think of it as a Lazier Susan.

5. Evaluate your cookbooks. Which ones have you used and what is decoration? Are your cookbooks near grease or humidity? Consider taking out the recipes you use and putting them in a binder. Better yet, use a tablet instead of a cookbook to save space.

6. If you don’t have much space and entertain often, consider purchasing a rolling cart. Not only can you easily transport and store heavy dishes, but you will also get extra counter space.

7. Save money by purchasing in bulk and storing in large glass containers or mason jars.

8. Take inventory regularly, Hang a whiteboard near the refrigerator to help keep track of what items you need and what items you have.

9. Get rid of items that are missing their partners. For example, if you have one chopstick but are missing the other, get rid of it. Same thing applies for Tupperware lids and bowls. Mark your calendar to spend some time with the plastic-ware and match everything up!

10. Corral loose flavor packets, tea packets, personal size condiments, etc. into small bins and containers. Bins can also be used to store bigger items like reusable water bottles.

Relocating your home office

Has your business outgrown your home office? When should you consider relocating your home office?

It can be quite rewarding for startup businesses to work at home because it’s a good way to save on expenses. Not only do you save money on rent, utilities, office supplies and personnel expenses, but since you don’t have to commute, you save on fuel and vehicle maintenance. However, the business could grow to an extent where you need more space, but how can you tell if it’s the right time to move?

Reasons to Consider Relocating Your Home Office

You Need More Employees

When you need to hire employees to work at your office, you may not want them entering your home every day. Depending on your business, it could be possible to have them work remotely, but for some, supervision may be crucial. For this reason, if your business has grown and you want to have employees working in the office while you are away, it’s time to think about relocating out of your home.

You Are Running Out of Space

As your business grows, you might be forced to accumulate inventory or technology to enhance your operations. If you find your home office space is getting smaller by the day, then it’s time to consider other options. You could rent a storage space for your product inventory, if that is your only concern. However, if you need to upgrade equipment, such as an industrial printer, and it’s larger than the space available at your home office, you’ll need to move.

Present a Professional Appearance

For businesses where clients need to visit the office before they decide whether to purchase your product, renting an office space can help to improve your business image. The more professional your business looks, the more moving with the help of a certified professional organizer like Regina Lark can ease the stress of any move attractive it will be to customers, and therefore earn more money. If the estimated increase in the customer base or sales is higher than the expenses incurred when renting an office space, relocating might actually help your business to grow.

Finding a reason and deciding to relocate your home office can be quite straightforward, but when it comes to deciding where to relocate to, well, it may not be easy. Here are a few tips:

Proximity to Your Home

If you can find an office space close to home, you’ll save a lot of time by having a short commute. The more time you spend commuting to work, the less time you have for work. However, if your clientele is location-specific, you may need to strike a balance on the distance.

Consider a Shared Office

You can save on rent and curb any loneliness by opting for an open office. In this situation, you share the office cost with others, as well as employees, such as the receptionist. The opportunity for community conferences can also come in handy.

Hire a Moving Company

Since your home office is a source of income for the household, you need to give it the utmost attention when moving out. With the heavy and sensitive equipment around the office, such as desks, electronics, computers, printers, and books, it’s always a good idea to hire a reputable moving company. This will ensure that all of your items are handled with care, and that what would have been an overwhelming experience goes smoothly.

Upon moving, be sure to notify your clients that you’ve changed your address. You can do this by email, phone, with business cards, or put it on your website.

Good luck in your new office!

May and June Speaking Engagements for Regina Lark, Ph.D. CPO®

5/24/16:
Speaker – “Strategies for De-Cluttering your Life”
Brandeis University Alumni Knosh & Knowledge
Rustico’s Ristorante Italiano
11:30 – 2:00
1125 Lindero Canyon Rd., Westlake Village
Closed to Alumni and their guests

6/1/16:
Speaker – “Psychic Debris and crowded Closets – the Relationship Between the Stuff In Your Head and the Stuff Under Your Bed”
Jewish Family Services Life Program at Park LaBrea
Park La Brea Activity Center Theater – 535 S. Curson Avenue, Los Angeles
1:00-2:00pm

6/2/16:
Speaker – “Help for Hoarding: It Takes a Village”
21st Annual Professional Fiduciary Association of California Educational Conference
Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa
2:30-4:00pm
PFACMeeting.org

6/8/16:
Panelist – “People who Hoard and those Who Help Them”
LA County Department of Mental Health Hoarding Forum
8:00-4:00pm
1000 North Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Free

6/9/16:
Speaker – “Help for Hoarding: It Takes a Village”
Silverado Beach Cities | Memory Care Community
11:00-1:00pm
514 N Prospect Ave | Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Free – but RSVP Tel (310) 896-3100

6/10/16:
Speaker – “Strategies for De-Cluttering your Life”
Benjamin Center Cancer Support Community
3:00-4:30pm
1990 S Bundy Dr #100, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Free

Relocating Your Business

Businesses move for a variety of reasons, and moving can often be a logistical challenge, with unexpected pitfalls. There are many approaches to take when uprooting your company, but certain tenets remain the same. You should always be realistic about what you can afford, do your homework, and plan until you cannot plan anymore.

Whether you are moving to accommodate growth, to save money, or to be closer to your market, these steps will help you stay on track:

Assessment

Prior to moving, make an inventory of everything you have. Highlight items you plan to keep, and decide where these items should go. Before you uproot your business, write a list of requirements for your new location. This includes taking into consideration things like price per square foot, lease terms, build-out costs, and space for growth.

It is important to have the essential supplies before moving day. Be sure to have:

Duct tape/Packing tape
Professional quality boxes of differing sizes
Bubble wrap
Packing peanuts
Markers
First-aid kit
Utility knife

Declutter

The cost of moving items is based on weight and volume; sorting through your items to weed out nonessential items now will save money later. You may donate or discard anything you deem expendable. Here are some places to start:

Items that are no longer suitable: Anything you have not used in a while, outdated items, and things you have replacements for. cluttered-desk

Expired items: This pertains mostly to food, but can also apply to items like cleaning supplies; check the expiration date on anything that has one!

Items still packed: if you still have items packed from your last move, then you do not need them.

Books and Magazines: as any reader can tell you, these items are like trophies. But what is the use of an outdated magazine from 10 years ago? If you have to ask, it goes in the trash!

Different items have different disposal requirements. The type of item, its condition, and reusability, will determine these requirements. Here are some key ways to properly dispose of unwanted items:

Burning/Shredding: Anything with your name, address, and social security number should be destroyed. This is the only way to ensure any identity theft or fraud will not result from your move.

Selling: Craigslist and eBay are excellent places to list your unwanted items.

Donation: Ask your family, friends, and neighbors to help themselves to any items you are not taking with you, or reselling. The Salvation Army or another local charity may accept office supplies or other items.

Packing

Once you have everything decluttered, it is time to box it up. You should have all packing materials on-site, and ready, the day before. Depending on the size of your business, this process can take anywhere from 1-3 days, so plan your work schedule accordingly. Be sure to label everything properly; this streamlines the unpacking process. Once you are packed up, it is time to move into your new space!

Moving a business requires more planning than actual production. With the proper tools, game plan, and extra hands, you should have no problem establishing yourself in a brand new space!

We can help! Call Now (213) 798-4748

Organizing your home before the move

People move for different reasons, but one thing they all have in common is that they must organize their homes beforehand. Getting rid of clutter in your home is just as important as organizing and packing up items for the move. Don’t just pack all items in one box if you want a fresh and organized start in your new home. You have to distinguish between unwanted or unused items and valuable items that you’ll pack for the move. You need to be cautious and orderly to avoid getting rid of items you may need in the future. Use the following to classify items you should dispose of:

Items that are not suitable anymore

These are items that you haven’t used for a long time simply because you don’t want or need them anymore. In some cases, you might have already found their replacements. Examples of these items are clothes, electronics and furniture.

Expired items

Food items fall under this category. If they’ve already hit the expiration date or if they’re close to it, don’t hesitate to dispose of them. You can also donate or sell food items that have not expired yet if you don’t think you’ll be consuming them.

Items that are still packed since your last move

If there are items you haven’t unpacked since your last move, chances are that you won’t unpack them in your new home. Think about whether or not you really need these items.

Gifts you’ve never used

You’ve probably received a number of gifts from friends and family over the years. Unfortunately, some of them are not much use, but you might feel obligated to keep them as a sign of gratitude. However, you shouldn’t let such items use up the space in your new home.

Books, magazines and journals

If you love reading, you might find yourself with a stack of reading materials. Don’t feel obligated to bring them with you if you really don’t need them.

How do you handle these items?

When you have gathered all of your unwanted or unneeded items, pack them in storage boxes that are separate from your moving boxes. Make sure to label the storage boxes so that you’ll know what’s in each of them in order to avoid possible mix-ups. Here are possible actions you can take for the items you won’t need in your next home:

Burning or shredding

You can’t leave unwanted private documents in your current home, since this can increase your risk of identity theft. Burn or shred these documents in order to avoid having them land in the wrong hands.

Selling

For electronics and other valuable items, you can list them on trade websites, such as Craigslist or eBay. They may take long to sell, but at least you’ll make extra bucks from items you would have just thrown away.

Donating

Some items may be essential, but they wouldn’t give you much value if you sold them. Items like food and clothing can be donated to the nearest charity.

Giving to friends and neighbors

Instead of burning up your books or magazines, ask your immediate neighbors if they’re interested. Let them have anything they think is useful to them.

If de-cluttering is not an easy task for you, you can trust Silk Touch to do it for you. Using our 4-step formula, we guarantee the safest move, with all your items in tact like they were before the move. Contact us today for your moving needs.

5 Mistakes to avoid when moving

Mistakes to Avoid When Moving

Are you looking to move out of your existing home and into a new one? If so, you are faced with the massive task of packing up all of your belongings and having them moved to your new location. This can be a very frustrating process that can make you want to pull your hair out in the end. But all hope is not lost. Today, we are going to go over some moving mistakes to avoid that will help your next move to go as smooth as possible. If you are a real estate agent, these tips will also help your clients so make sure to pay close attention to the information below.

Five Moving Mistakes to Avoid

1. Hiring the wrong moving company: This can be a huge mistake and you might not even realize you have made it until it is too late. Not all moving companies are the same and some will take you for a ride. To ensure that you are dealing only with a professional moving company, do your homework. Ask to see references from past clients and check to see if they are both licensed and bonded for your protection.

2. Packing too much stuff: Over the years, most homeowners build up a lot of things. Many of these items that we collect we simply never use. When preparing to move, you A happy family fully pack waiting for the movers to take the last box should ask yourself, “Do I really need to take everything with me?” Most of the time the answer is no. A great way to de-clutter and only take the items you need is by hiring someone to help you. A professional de-clutter expert can come in and help you weed out those unused items. You can then give them to a charity of your choice and get a nice tax deduction.

3. Forgetting to label your boxes: This is a common mistake that many people make while moving. The hurry to move can make you forget to label boxes and when you get to your new home, it can make things really confusing. To save time after the move, make sure to label each box with what’s inside and which room the movers should place it in.

4. Waiting too long to schedule your move: Especially during the summer months, many moving companies and truck rental companies will be incredibly busy. If you wait too long to schedule your move, you might find yourself out of luck. Make sure to schedule your move at least a few weeks before the moving date. This will allow you time to plan and ensure that you will have the help you need come moving day.

5. Not having enough insurance for valuable items: Depending on your homeowner’s policy, your more valuable items might not be covered completely. Fine art and other valuables that are easily broken will need to be completely insured to protect your investment. Before your move, make sure to make a list of all your higher valued items and shop around for full coverage insurance.

Hire a Professional Moving Company

Moving can be a difficult task, but when you are prepared and have the right moving team on your side, your move can go much smoother than you thought possible. To find out more about how Silk Touch Moves can take the stress out of moving, contact us today!

Keeping it Simple

Here is how simple we make moving to a new location. Just 4 steps: De-clutter, Pack, Unpack, Organize:

You’ve decided to make a change, or change has been thrust upon you. Working with the Silk Touch team will get you on track, and keep you on track from the beginning (starting with those junk drawers?) to the end (beds made, towels hung).

Silk Touch Moves and Relocations uses a proven 4-step formula to guarantee the best move ever. Since the physical part of moving is based on weight and volume, the Silk Touch team saves you money while we spend one day, or several:

to de-clutter
sort, donate or discard
unnecessary and/or
unused items and artifacts.

Packing and move coordination are part of the system. On the other end, the Team unpacks, and then organizes, the contents of home or office – clothes folded and hung, kitchen/common spaces organized, packing materials removed.

Here’s how it works:

Needs Assessment:

Do you need to de-clutter before you move? (most people do!)
Mover
Shred company
Electronics and technical move management
Packing materials
Measure interior spaces at new space (drawers, closets, etc.) for post-move organizing supplies

Clutter Assessment

Complete tour of the home or office
Open all drawers, cupboards, closets, examine areas beneath beds/furniture
Schedule de-clutter dates with Silk Touch team at least 2 weeks before packing dates

Packing Days:

All packing materials ordered and delivered day before packing begins
Depending on size/scope of project anticipate 1-3 packing days with Silk Touch team
Boxes labeled according to load-on to the truck and according to load-into the new space

Moving Day 1:

Starts when Team leader meets movers at old space to ensure truck is packed according to unloading plan
Team leader follows moving truck to new location
Silk Touch team meets movers at new space within 2 hours of movers’ arrival (to give time to start unloading)
Team begins unpacking

Unpack and Organize Days 3-4-5 (as needed):

This is where the magic happens!
Silk Touch team organizes your belongings into drawers, cupboards, kitchen area, closets, etc. using your supplies or supplies purchased during the Needs Assessment phases.

Beds are made,
linens put away,
kitchen is organized,
clothing is folded and hung,
office is set-up
packing materials are gone.

Like it never happened. Only now it is better!