Nurture

Food for the soul

And then…

So your back? Looking for more hints on how to manage your own house pack then? Or just plain curious about that meltdown?

April Week 1- prepare for advertising:

Launder cur20130419-062845.jpgtains: disassembled three lots, floor to ceiling necessitating an extremely clever use of ladder, bundled for eLaundry pick up and drop off, re-assembled, hang and a gave self a congratulatory pat on back, rewarded with well deserved wine.
Hint – photograph how curtain hooks actually connect curtains to linings prior to dismantle…you’ll be glad you did!

Assemble spring cleaners: provided clear and concise instructions, place must look sparkling and immaculate ready for photographer ok? Clearly not concise enough. Reassembled, provided clear, concise instructions… again; limited English, this could take a while
Hint – develop creative use of sign language, may be necessary sans English

20130420-213234.jpgEnter carpet cleaner: moved everything off floor then back on again when finally dried…at midnight. Then ‘styled’ in preparation for Photographer due next day.
Hint – give carpet an extra day to dry pre traffic

Style for photographs: must look exactly as it would for prospective tenants therefore kept a few less precious decor items back for styling purposes.
Hint – supplement with flowers and fruit, just one color, efforts could result in an additional 5%+ rent

Meanwhile…about that Italian accommodation that just fell through? Oh! And organizing the finer details of connecting flight, insurance etc…stay tuned!

 

 

 

And continued with…

Sunday:

Pack kitchen ware: discovered saucers breed, broke up their little party, tenants only need six of everything, packed the rest.
Hint – leave only essential electricals, if it breaks you’re obliged to repair/replace

Pack office cupboard: retired Thesaurus to Google, personalised stationery to email, complete Twilight series to maturity.
Hint – Books are heavy! If you must keep, spread the load across several boxes and top with lighter stuff.
De-clutter hint – books on Kindle take up zero space

Pack recipe books: reminisced over 70’s Maori Cookbook; nostalgic for Kedgeree, not so Puha, loving memories of early married life in NZ.
Hint – Upon return promise yourself you’ll expand your cooking repertoire by actually using the books
DeClutter Hint – Cooking lovers, notice how few recipes you actually cook per book? Scan/photograph faves, store in a suitable iPad/tablet app, then donate the books

Stack ‘n store: wheeled box upon box into lift, over children and small dogs, down to basement, between parked cars all the way to storage space…a solid Gym workout right there!
Hint – label every box re contents, store important boxes last for easy access upon return
DeClutter Hint – packing and storing takes time and energy, have the contents earned their space? See ‘DeClutter & Desist’ post

Now about that BBQ!!!: a can of oven cleaner, a lot of cussing…sage blokey advice said ‘Turn it on, crank it up, let the gunk burn off‘. Vivid imagination heard fire brigade chief yelling ‘Right you are then chaps, hi-vis on, there’s a spiffing little fire raging at No.20!’
Hint – Never let it get to that stage

And that was Sunday…deserved that glass of wine! But then came April weekend one!

 

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It started here…

Keen to learn a few hints and tips on how to pack and store an entire household’s worth in a single weekend whilst maintaining sanity? Read on…

Context…leasing one’s nest for 6 months requires advertising a month in advance to ensure sufficient time to secure a tenant willing to take up residence upon exit.

Photos associated with advertising must depict exactly what the tenant can expect, thus requiring the removal of personal and precious belongings while maintaining ‘appeal’ for maximum rental return. As well necessitating a savvy strategy and more than a few lessons along the way!

The list started here…March weekend 4

Purchase pl20130415-065625.jpgastic bins: Bargain City did the trick, dragging 10 bins the entire length of a shopping complex didn’t.
Hint – perfect for storing clothing, linen and precious items when living in flood prone regions
Oh! And park at the right end of the shopping complex!

Purchase storage cartons: determined quantity based on guesstimate per room plus 10 more just in case.
Hint – choose a manageable size if sans muscular man and a cardboard weightaccording to amount of expected man handling. Storage co’s will buy back unused boxes.

Box and ship wardrobe cull: dropped boxes to size 8 friend, now busy sorting for ‘Dress for Success’ and other charities in return for first dibs.
Hint – sort into categories for ready drop off to appropriate charities sans willing friend

20130417-071041.jpg• ‘Style’ balcony: popped Saarbi Barbie car’s roof, buckled fresh new palms in, avoided speeding despite rain, hauled ’em upstairs, cleaned up dirt trail, nursed frond poked eye, poured well deserved wine.
Hint – Pop tall plants inclined to topple into a high sided carton for ease of transportation

And that was Saturday! But then there was Sunday…and Monday!

 

 

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