Once a For Sale sign goes up, it’s official! You’re ready to begin your new journey! Or are you? It’s normal to experience some raw emotions as you embark on selling your beloved home.

Follow these simple steps to help you take memories from one home to another.

Create a Memory Box

There’s no need to wait until your house is sold to start packing, especially when it comes to the sentimental items. Locate a sturdy box or storage container, mark the box as “Memories” and start gathering!

• Event/Occasion Items: These items may be related to a favorite vacation, a wedding or a day that symbolizes an accomplishment or achievement.
• Gifts and Mementos: Did you receive a cherished item that reminds you of a loved one whenever you see it? Put it in the box!
• Geographic Items: Are you moving to a new town or a new state? Look for items that represent the town that you’ve lived in and know, and place them in the box. If you don’t have any of these items, head to your local gift shop, buy yourself something beautiful and add it to the box.

Organize Décor

Look around your current home and note what you absolutely love about it. Is it the window that overlooks the beautiful yard? While you can’t take the window with you, it will be easy to re-create that feeling in your new home by capturing the surrounding décor. Take a picture and upload it to Pinterest. Name the board “New Décor.” Type the paint color and brand into a search engine, and once you’ve found it, pin that page to your new board. Do the same for the blinds, the curtains, the hardware, flooring, et cetera.

Keep moving around your home until you’ve captured everything in an online album. Moving is a busy, stressful time, but these photos will give you something to draw on when you are ready to make your new home a reflection of you, both the old and the new.

Dream Big

What are you hoping to achieve by moving into your new home? Gain more space? A better location? Create a new space for yourself and someone you love? In order to achieve it, you have to dream it first.

Go back to Pinterest and pin away with photos that reflect the feeling you are hoping to create inside your new home.

Once you’re finished, be sure to share these photos with your realtor. Finding your next home should be exciting and fun, and keeping your realtor in the loop will help him or her locate the next perfect home for you.